It’s not uncommon for us in the United States to have arguments about generational differences. Baby Boomers are stubborn and selfish, the Gen X crowd is cynical and rebellious, and Millennials are whiny and entitled. That’s just the tip of the iceberg in the generational blame game. It’s no wonder we fixate on our differences…
“The Essex Serpent”: Faith is Not the Absence of Reason
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry weaves a strange story of friendship between the most unlikely people. But slithering between the lines of this Victorian tale is a much darker theme—a theme that permeates much of today’s literature and film: that religion is the biggest threat to reason and progress. Set in London, 1893, The Essex…
A Fable in 100 Words
At first I gave only a crumb. The raven swallowed and returned the next day bearing a solitary teardrop pearl. Next a diamond ring, purchased with a disc of deli meat. The following day it appeared larger, keener.
Bad Robot: The Moral Quandary of Artificial Intelligence
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in mainstream culture, the futures depicted in TV shows like Black Mirror and films like Ready Player One don’t seem so far off. This pressing reality, coupled with some disturbing behavior recently discovered in AI, has forced leaders of major tech corporations to take a seat at the table and have an open discussion about morality,…
“Where the Crawdads Sing”: Natural Does Not Equal Moral
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by wildlife scientist Delia Owens is marketed as an “ode to natural world,” but Owens takes the theme further than a simple celebration of nature and into the realm of morality. At the heart of the novel is this presupposition: what is natural is inherently moral. Owens’ story follows Kya Clark,…
Bone of Bones 