Thursday, October 06, 2022

The Joy of Six 1079

Matthew Pennell explains why our economic situation is seriously bad and why the government's reponse appears absurd.

"Nowhere in the world does tradition confer intellectual status as it does in Oxford and Cambridge. Impressionable teenagers (I accuse myself!) grow towards the myth like plants towards the sun - even in this era of pink-haired gender revolutionaries, Oxbridge is filled with preposterous tweed-jacketed 19-year-olds. Many will perpetuate their affectations into adulthood." James Marriott says Oxbridge is to blame for the British affliction of mistaking fusty learning for intellectual heft.

Mark Conrad lays bare the brutal reality of county lines: "The grim and uncomfortable truth of the modern war on drugs is that while the ultimate crime bosses are often wealthy and middle-aged, their frontline foot-soldiers are predominantly adolescents. Often very young. Think primary school age."

"Why does Gabor have poor impulse control, hyperactivity and tuning out? Because he’s got ADHD. How do we know he’s got ADHD? Because he’s got poor impulse control, tunes out, and he’s hyperactive. Why is he hyperactive, tunes out and has poor impulse control? He’s got ADHD. How do we know he’s got ADHD? Because — you know, it’s circular, it doesn’t explain it, it doesn’t explain anything." Gabor Maté on the circularity of the ADHD diagnosis.

"Pringles, skittles and a ham sambo: check. Camera, phone, pen and notepad: check. Steely determination: let's see." Siobhan Osgood explores Dublin's suburbs, looking for lost railway stations.

James Devereux looks at John Cleese's book on creativity.

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