Translated material
Other languages #10
Heredity, environment and talk Thomas Sowell Jewish World Review
What should a child learn earlier - drink, smoke or talk? Another way to say it. If a two-year-old child has not said a word, this is not a reason to drag him to a psychiatrist. Research by English doctors refutes the myth that the delayed appearance of speech is a sign of developmental delay. A journalist in a white coat reports on the work done: it is not yet entirely clear whether this is a matter of heredity or upbringing, but the main thing is that there is no reason for alarm. For the time being, silence is golden.
Quote: Only 22% of late-talking children show signs of other developmental delays... Many outstanding people began to speak late. The famous 19th century pianist Clara Schumann remained silent until she was four years old, as did the famous nuclear physicist Edward Teller. And, of course, the most brilliant example of “late speech” is Albert Einstein.
Order a full translation of an article?Hitler's two faces (Unknown Hitler) Gitta Sereny (Gitta Lilac) The Times
Adolf Schicklgruber led a double life. In public, he screamed terribly, waved his arms and said nasty things about Jews. But at home it was as if he had been replaced: he never raised his voice to members of the household, was quiet, attentive to the ladies, and when he dictated something to the secretary, he became completely like a professor. 80-year-old Trodl Junge, the Fuhrer’s personal secretary in the last years of his life, shares her memories.
Quotes: In the Berlin bunker, a few hours before his suicide, Hitler came up to me with the words: “How are you feeling, dear? Are you rested? I would like to dictate to you a little. How do you look at this?” I understood what he was talking about only when he said the title - “My Testament.”
I didn't realize before how much influence he had on all of us - including the generals. You see, it was more than just charisma. Sometimes, when he left somewhere without us... at the moment when he left, it seemed as if there was not enough air around. Something important is missing - some kind of electrical tension or even oxygen, the feeling of being alive. It was... it was a vacuum.
PS Stalin was a despot in everything - he tyrannized not only the people in general, but also his family and friends. Maybe somewhere here lies the difference between fascism and communism? Or simply between East and West? Every nation gets the dictator it deserves.
Order a full translation of an article?The last word on Mathematics ACGrayling The Guardian
The Queen of Sciences must return to the throne. Despite the fact that today half of students study programming and the rest study economics, mathematics has paradoxically found itself in a corner. Fewer and fewer people are ready to engage in it professionally, reaching a truly high level. For modern people, it has acquired a purely practical meaning, and this is a dangerous trend. The London philosopher who denounced religious morality (see his article "Religion is selfish, narrow-minded and immoral" ) now lays out what he believes.
Quote: Some philosophers believe that mathematics is a creation of the mind. We ourselves invented numbers, and we ourselves came up with the rules that determine their relationships. Therefore, all truths born as a result of the manipulation of numbers are a logical consequence of the definitions we have invented. It is enough to change the original definition - the truths flowing from them will also change (remember how Alice practiced multiplication while falling down the rabbit hole). If mathematics is a product of the mind, and reality is described by mathematics, does this mean that human consciousness is the only reality?
Order a full translation of an article?Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (Is multiculturalism bad for women?) Susan Moller Okin (Susan Moller Okin) Boston Review
Feminism has seriously clashed with defenders of the rights of national minorities. Many traditional cultures, defending “their ancestral”, have in mind, first of all, ideas and customs associated with the family: divorce cases, sexuality, raising children, etc. It is in this sphere - private, home, least regulated by laws - that invisible women's tears to the world. Fighters for the rights of small nationalities do not notice this, because they consider nationality as a “thing in itself,” integral and conflict-free inside. Meanwhile, the definition of “our traditions” most often implies the preservation of power over women, sometimes in the most archaic forms. An article published two years ago in the Boston Review caused an unprecedented stir in the press (the following article is one of many responses to it).
Quotes: Most cultures are patriarchal. Moreover, many (though not all) cultural minorities that claim group interests are more patriarchal than the cultures around them. The vast majority of "cultural differences"... concern gender relations - mainly the maintenance of male control over women and children.
The French government allows immigrant men to bring multiple wives with them; as a result, approximately 200 thousand polygamous families live in Paris... In interviews with these women, it unexpectedly became clear that in their homeland, in Africa, they do not try to fight polygamy and are quite tolerant of their situation, but in the French context it begins seem to them an unbearable duty. Overcrowded city apartments, where women lack personal space, become breeding grounds for hostility and hatred, even to the point of cruelty from one wife against another or against her children.
Order a full translation of an article?Sexual Equality vs. Religion: What Should the Law Do? (Gender Equality and Religion: Whose Side is the Law?) Cass Sunstein Boston Review
God is high, the king is far away, there is no one to look for justice from. Religious institutions always stand guard over patriarchal societies that infringe on women's rights as they wish. The relationship of religious organizations with the law is a delicate matter and not fully clarified. It is clear that sectarian murderers are being persecuted to the fullest extent. If we are talking about the education of boys and girls in church schools or about some special religious areas that are forbidden for women, then neither criminal nor civil legislation, as a rule, will undertake to restore order. Liberalism cannot make ends meet: either the autonomy of the church or the rights and freedoms of the individual will suffer.
Quotes: A law prohibiting the burning of animals or the use of peyote is certainly neutral, whereas a law prohibiting the text of the "Jesus Prayer" would certainly be discriminatory.
A secular government may prohibit members of a religious organization from killing, kidnapping, or abusing people, even if these actions are part of a religious ceremony. At the same time, the law on sexual discrimination applies to the activities of religious organizations only to a certain extent. The state cannot force the Catholic Church to ordain women to the priesthood... Interference with religious autonomy usually ends when it comes to gender discrimination.
Order a full translation of an article?Marginal groups thrive on the Internet B.Bower Science News Online
Where should a lover of iron phalluses, seven-tailed whips and other sadomasochistic pleasures go? Previously, only to the district police station. Now, fortunately, there is the Internet. Which, if it does not heal human vices, then in any case makes it possible for adherents of non-conventionally accepted values to find others like themselves and while away online time in their society. The psychotherapeutic effect is obvious: the feeling of a virtual elbow has become available to any renegade maniac. Scientists are optimistic: over time, perhaps, it will be the Network that will correct cruel morals.
Quote: Members of online news groups include alcoholics, people with incestuous tendencies and those prone to sadism in sexual relationships. The results of the study showed that people viewed by society as cultural outsiders can form stable communities with enduring emotional connections.
Order a full translation of an article?Baffled, Bewildered - and Smitten (I came, I saw - I was defeated) Hilarie Sheets (Hilary Sheets) Art News Online
What did the author want to say with this work of art? The question, as is commonly believed, is an idle one. An advanced consumer of artistic products should not be so naive. However, sometimes the public “votes with their feet”, not wanting to visit galleries where artists exhibit things that are too incomprehensible. About a dozen New York gallery owners showed courage by admitting in interviews that they themselves did not understand a single thing about this modern art. This, however, does not bother them, nor does it bother the author of ArtNews . Let's be like children, Mrs. Sheets urges: relax, boldly go towards the high, let's be carried away and enchanted without trying to understand. At least mentally.
Quote: This has probably happened to everyone. You go into an art gallery and see something hanging on the wall that could even take away the saints. What does all this mean and what does it have to do with art? Such an exhibition may irritate you. Or intrigue. Or even like him, despite the fact that you are completely unable to explain why.
Order a full translation of an article?