Idiotic opinions on Zuma’s penis
Following the Goodman Gallery’s exhibition of the Brett Murray painting of Zuma (featuring penis), cultural relativists have been bleating about respect.
Freedom of (hate) speech
While the outrage at racist speech, exemplified by the recent cases of dos Santos and Tshidi, is appropriate and justified, we shouldn’t forgot that legal censure is only one option for dealing with hateful speech – and that it might not be our best option.
Racist models: apparently worse than homophobes in the legislature.
The proposed Constitutional amendment removing sexual orientation as grounds for protection against discrimination, alongside the Traditional Courts Bill, are grounds for deep concern regarding the commitment some of our representatives feel towards social equality.
Thinking fast and slow
Kahneman and Tversky’s work on decision-making and judgement, and particularly heuristics, highlight the ways in which we make systematic errors even when we think we are being rational. If we’re to learn from each other and flourish as a society, it’s worth being reminded that we’re far less equipped to make the judgements we so routinely do than we think we are.
“New atheists”, stridency and fundamentalism
The so-called “New atheists” now carry the apparently unshakeable tags of being militant or strident. In some cases, they certainly might be – but this has nothing to do with the truth or falsity of what they say.
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