With Both Hands

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History

Hukt awn Fonix Wurked fur Mee

Courtesy of the National Right to Read Foundation, a report on the differences between phonics and whole language methods of teaching children to read. The report lays blame for increasing illiteracy on constructivist, whole language methods of teaching. Very interesting, although perhaps a bit intemperate. Just for balance, here is

Chinese Science

John Derbyshire has long been an interesting writer to me. In some ways similar to Theodore Dalrymple, they are both Englishmen of similar age, with acerbic styles. Derbyshire has a more solidly middlebrow view of life, having come from the lower orders of the English middle class, which formerly had

Cycles: The Science of Prediction

Finally finished a review of Cycles, by Edward Dewey and Edwin Dakin. A fun little book on how to know whether a business is doing well or poorly using simple graphs. A book that deserves to be more widely read. It seems to have been popular in the past, but

Dorothy Sayers on Education

Dorothy Sayers wrote a brief essay on education in 1947, the Lost Tools of Learning. I have observed that her ideas are about as welcome as Charles Murray's, but for a different reason. In Real Education, Murray rightly criticizes the idea that schooling was better in America in

Italian Politics

Anyone wishing a brief primer on Italian politics after WWII might consult Steve Sailer's review of the movie Il Divo. Italian politics in some ways still operates in the Renaissance mode of constant intrigue and upheaval. Overlaid on that was the colonization of the South by the North

Irish Deserters and the Mexican-American War

I'd heard from Steve Sailer that Mexicans in general are more likely than Americans to have strong feelings about the Mexican-American War of 1846. I had never been too surprised about this, after all, I live in a state that was part of the spoils of that war.

How Many Divisions does the Pope have?

A fun piece of history, and an interesting artifact, is the M1868 Pontifico, the only modern rifle ever manufactured specifically for the Vatican. An extremely rare military rifle, the M1868 was manufactured for the Zuavi Pontifici, the international brigade that defended the Papal States. There were a mere 5,000