The New Barbarians: Los Alamos & the End of Mankind

By |2023-07-16T00:52:42-05:00August 8th, 2022|Categories: George Stanciu, History, Science, St. John's College, Technology, Timeless Essays, War|

The Nation-State possesses an absolute moral authority that overrules the authority of any religion and every individual citizen.The new barbarians gave to the Nation-State a weapon that Genghis Khan never dreamed of, a “technically-sweet” marvel that could destroy humankind thrice over on a lazy Saturday afternoon. I am a Romanian gypsy from a long line [...]

On the Value of “Canned” Art

By |2022-07-05T16:17:22-05:00July 5th, 2022|Categories: Michael De Sapio, Music, Senior Contributors, Technology|

The development of mechanical reproduction and transmission at the dawn of the 20th century changed how we experience music. It remains true that technology has allowed us to extend, amplify, and disseminate the experience of art. This is, in itself, a good thing. The question is how we use this gift. In the past, when [...]

The Bohemian Tory & the Oxbridge Knights

By |2022-05-20T17:41:30-05:00May 20th, 2022|Categories: History, Russell Kirk, Science, Timeless Essays|

Russell Kirk knew that in the empire of science, if it be genuine science, one must pursue wisdom and leave space in the world for mystery and faith. Mystery isn’t something that is gradually evaporating. It grows along with knowledge. —Flannery O’Conner to Alfred Corn, 12 August 1962 When thoughtful conservatives commemorated the fiftieth anniversary [...]

Being Alive to Reality

By |2022-05-03T16:50:45-05:00May 3rd, 2022|Categories: Existence of God, Joseph Pearce, Science, Senior Contributors|

Perceiving metaphysical reality requires being spiritually alive to its presence. It is the virtue of humility which opens the heart in gratitude and the eyes in wonder. A very thoughtful and thought-provoking comment on my recent essay “Tolkien on Reality” merits a response. Here’s the comment in question: The conflation of “real” and “alive” isn’t [...]

Tolkien on Reality

By |2022-04-27T15:59:11-05:00April 27th, 2022|Categories: J.R.R. Tolkien, Joseph Pearce, Literature, Senior Contributors, Technology|

What does Tolkien mean by insinuating that centaurs and dragons are more “alive” than cars? Well, he is referring to the fact that centaurs and dragons are animate creatures, albeit animated only by the imagination. He seems also to be saying that subcreation in the service of goodness, truth and beauty is better than subcreation [...]

Out of the Metaverse

By |2022-02-04T19:19:08-06:00February 5th, 2022|Categories: Glenn Arbery, Senior Contributors, Technology, Transhumanism, Wyoming Catholic College|

Isn’t this the next thing we really want—young people with vision and confidence, willing to stand up and speak the truth? The metaverse is pure sophistry, the flattery of an audience it literally encompasses. Our students speak on behalf of God and the best of our inheritance. Where are the billions being invested on their [...]

The War Against Science

By |2021-09-08T16:01:54-05:00September 8th, 2021|Categories: History, Mark Malvasi, Science, Senior Contributors|

If we do succeed in killing ourselves and destroying the world, then it will not matter who was right and who was wrong about science, the pandemic, climate change, or a host of other problems and afflictions. Our vicious quarrels, which at the moment so distort our perspective and seem so vital to our identity, [...]

Why Can’t They Make Beautiful Windmills?

By |2021-05-21T12:54:32-05:00May 21st, 2021|Categories: Beauty, Civilization, Culture, Economics, Environmentalism, John Horvat, Technology|

No one wants these disproportional, ugly windmills. People don’t want their views obstructed. Even in a godless society, the modern cult of ugliness is so unnatural that human nature rebels against it. So why can’t they make beautiful windmills? Why must the industry insist upon these cold, depressing behemoths? A green new world is coming [...]

Cursive and the Brave New World

By |2021-05-08T14:58:34-05:00May 8th, 2021|Categories: Glenn Arbery, Language, Science, Senior Contributors, Space, Writing, Wyoming Catholic College|

Once mastered, cursive enables us to write rapidly without lifting the pen from the paper—a skill that has major advantages over printing. Cursive now stumps many college students today. Whether it can ever make a comeback seems to be an issue. At about 10 o’clock the other night, my wife called me out of my [...]

Neil Postman’s Vision of Humane Education

By |2021-04-24T08:09:06-05:00April 23rd, 2021|Categories: Education, Information Age, Liberal Learning, Neil Postman, Technology|

Whether it be in the context of public schools, private schools, home-centered education, co-ops, or learning pods, revisiting Neil Postman’s vision will help foster humane education in our Zoom World. It was nearly sixty years ago when famed media theorist Marshall McLuhan penned The Gutenburg Galaxy as “a series of historical observations” regarding the cultural [...]

Zoom, the Pandemic, & the Death of Sacred Spaces

By |2021-04-15T12:32:24-05:00April 18th, 2021|Categories: Community, Coronavirus, Culture, Education, Science, Technology|

When the pandemic separated us from our sacred spaces like the church or other communal places, Zoom promised connection. However, Zoom—as a medium of education and relationship—prevents us from truly connecting because of technology’s nature to divide, distract, and isolate. But when it came to the subject of letters, Theuth said, ‘But this study, King [...]

Designed for Distraction

By |2021-03-25T17:29:14-05:00March 29th, 2021|Categories: Architecture, Culture, Science, Technology|

The internet is like a city; websites are like buildings. In the same way that architecture works in and through the technological design of the building and produces an aesthetic effect, so does web design. Therefore, the websites we visit are forming our souls, not merely by their content, but also through their design. The [...]

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