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THE BURDEN OF WRITING

George Orwell:
All writers are vain, selfish and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.

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FOSS AND PLAIN TEXT

It’s not unusual for someone writing a blog like this to describe the process they use to write text and get it up on the web.

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WHAT TO READ IN RETIREMENT

When I retired from the big full-time academic work over three years ago, I donated several boxes of books to my university library.

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COGNITION AND LOCOMOTION

Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber:
Cognition is first and foremost a means for organisms that can move around to react appropriately to risks and opportunities presented by their environment.

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TOTALITARIANISM, PERFECTION, AND OPPRESSION

Milan Kundera:
Totalitarianism is not only hell, but also the dream of paradise — the age-old dream of a world where everybody would live in harmony, united by a single common will and faith, without secrets from one another.

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ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED

There are many examples of cruel injustices, often inflicted by people intent on personal gain, at the expense of others’ pain.

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