In 2005 (http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en), writer Chimamanda Adichie spoke powerfully about the danger of having a single story: “Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanise. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that... Continue Reading →
Why I teach
When people find out that I am a teacher, they often look at me in the way one would look at somebody who had just confessed to being a substance abuser - vaguely distrustful, slightly embarrassed for having asked, and possibly possessing a morbid curiosity about what on earth it was that compelled me to... Continue Reading →
Would the World Be Better Off Without Religion?
Every time an atrocity is committed in the name of religion, it spawns a host of tirades by atheists online, proclaiming that the world would be better off without religion. It has become an argument popularised by the likes of Christopher Hitchens, and it can sound quite persuasive. After all, the history of religion on... Continue Reading →
Too Slow to Anger
The recent shootings in Paris have given rise to a lot of really interesting debate about freedom of speech and legitimate ways to exercise it, as well as about the bias towards European stories, given that the massacre of 2000 people in Nigeria at roughly the same time made significantly less impression in the media.... Continue Reading →
The Road to Wisdom
My son has absolutely no sense of fear. To add to my stress levels, he is also uncommonly daring. He loves anything that gives him an adrenaline rush. Fortunately, he is in the habit of announcing to the world what adventure he is about to undertake. Recently it has been: “Nathan swimming”, before attempting to... Continue Reading →
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Maybe it is just nostalgia speaking, but I believe that – on the whole - the music from the ‘80s and the early ‘90s is better than what is being produced today. It may simply be that I am getting old. Every generation complains that the music of the subsequent generation is loud and incomprehensible.... Continue Reading →
The Walking Dead
I have a confession. I am addicted to The Walking Dead. It’s not the zombies so much, although I think the make-up and special effects are fantastic. I don’t find gore particularly appealing. Anyway, zombies are not particularly terrifying. Any determined child with a sharp enough crayon and a penchant for violence could subdue one.... Continue Reading →
The True Test of a Man
The true test of a man’s character is to give him the moral high-ground and watch how he defends it. It is one thing to be right. It is quite another matter to be right graciously. This morning I passed the test. It was with some dismay that I discovered yesterday evening that there was... Continue Reading →
Against New Year’s Resolutions
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. People who need to make them are either not committed enough to make the desired change, or have no strategy for effecting the change, thus ensuring failure. It requires serious dedication to break a bad habit and reforge a new one. Not a vague, whimsical suspicion that one’s... Continue Reading →
Merry Christmas, Flatland
In Series 3, Episode 12 of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon mentions that Flatland is one of his favourite imaginary places to visit. Flatland is the title of a Victorian novel by Edwin Abbott Abbott (I don’t have a problem with giving a child a surname as a second name – after all, Nathan’s second... Continue Reading →
Vapors In The Wind 