Author Archives: Ken Stange

What makes something humorous?  There are two ingredients of humour that seem to be virtually universal. One is the pleasure we get from feeling superior to the butt of the joke. That sense of superiority is even more enhanced if … Continue reading →

And the message is that anything can be an artistic medium. No culture has ever existed that did not create art, yet many cultures don’t have a word for ‘art’. They just don’t feel the need for a special term … Continue reading →

Many people have a very ambivalent attitude toward the rich: they want to be rich but don’t like the rich.  Ironically, liberals, who are often quite well off, blame the rich for all the evils in the current economy, while … Continue reading →

Ay, there’s the rub!” This is because that sweet “sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care, / The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath, / Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, / Chief nourisher … Continue reading →

In his book, Consciousness Explained, the philosopher Daniel Dennett writes, “Human consciousness is just about the last surviving mystery… Consciousness stands alone today as a topic that often leaves even the most sophisticated thinkers tongue-tied and confused. And, as with … Continue reading →

We all get sick—and eventually die. It is natural to try to find someone to blame for the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. But where once we cried, “Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?!”, now we’re more likely to … Continue reading →

Curiosity may have killed a cat now and then, but it evolved the human. It is responsible for all of science and art: home sapiens’ two unique accomplishments. It may, of course, eventually kill us, for the incurious cockroach has … Continue reading →

…to the U.S.A.” or so sings Leonard Cohen in typically ironic lyrics. The key word is “coming”. While it is true that there is a worldwide movement toward democracy, achievement of the ideal of a truly functional democracy that respects … Continue reading →

“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” is the name of a great film. (It would also be a great title for a book about poetry.) How do you convince people who say westerns are boring to watch this so-called … Continue reading →

Plagiarism has been in the news a lot lately, so much so one would think it is a virtual epidemic in academe and politics. And being labeled a plagiarist has dire consequences: students are expelled from university; politicians are forced … Continue reading →

It’s a cliché to say Canucks have an identity problem—unlike Yanks, who have no such problem because they are quite comfortable wearing their Superman costume. The truth, however, is we’re not really envious of our neighbours with their delusions of … Continue reading →

Your Man Friday may live on an island, but he didn’t always. He grew up on the infamous South Side of Chicago. His Alma Mater was Harper High School, a small high school where last year 29 current and recent … Continue reading →

Everybody loves weird factoids.  Unfortunately, many are just fictoids. Still, there are enough bizarre, but true, facts to make us wonder at the world we live in. SHIT YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT BIOLOGY This is both informative and solid science—and … Continue reading →

Surveillance cameras have become virtually ubiquitous, but we are usually oblivious of being so closely watched (and our every action recorded) as we go about our business. Not only are we often in the eye of a camera in many … Continue reading →

We all have them, and some really are bad.  But, frankly, most are not—at least not in the grand scheme of things. So when we’re feeling sorry for ourselves, it’s probably worthwhile, albeit very difficult, to remind ourselves that other … Continue reading →

An appalling question—too often answered, rather than viewed with shock—is  “Where did you complete your education?” Why do so many people believe that one completes one’s education? Why do so many people think education is a time-limited thing that ends … Continue reading →

If it is true that you get what you pay for, then posterity will probably judge what we’re getting as being of little real value.  What we apparently value, if financial reward is any indication, is not what we claim … Continue reading →

It’s happening:  a long overdue bridging of the chasm between the two cultures of science and art. The reason seems to be that somehow popular culture has decided that science is ‘cool’.  Being a ‘brain’ is even becoming sexy, rather … Continue reading →

One of the year-end traditions is compiling a ‘best of’ for that year.  Often this is done well before the New Year to inspire people’s choice of Christmas gifts.  Books make good presents, because unlike many other presents, the full … Continue reading →

Homo sapiens have made it this far, but let’s get real: that ain’t very far in the grand scheme of things. The universe as we know it has been around for 13.7 billion years, our planet for a mere 4.5 … Continue reading →