In Defense of James Cameron
Steve Sailer loved Terminator and Aliens, and he’s a bit of a contrarian, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when he wrote a piece in defense of James Cameron — but calling Cameron a worthy successor...
View ArticleTrooper in a Strange Land
I did not realize that Heinlein was in the middle of writing his “hippie” classic, Stranger in a Strange Land, when he decided to write his “fascist” classic, Starship Troopers: When Robert A. Heinlein...
View ArticleIt’s Not Monolithic
Anyone who actually believes that the entire scientific community is embroiled in a monolithic AGW conspiracy is an idiot, Eric S. Raymond says — because it’s not monolithic: There are a lot of players...
View ArticleThe Machinery of Freedom
David Friedman has posted a pirated copy of his own anarcho-capitalist book, The Machinery of Freedom, in PDF format: Since he felt free to pirate my work, I think it only fair to free ride on his...
View ArticleG20 Looter Gets Owned
I don’t know if this counts as “owning” a looter during the G20 Toronto Riots, but it’s a step in the right direction: My inner-Heinlein wants to cycle such “anarchist” looters through the nearest...
View ArticleWhat’s your favorite Heinlein novel?
Tor Books is about to release the first-ever authorized biography of Robert Heinlein, and they’ve asked a number of SF authors the obvious question, What’s your favorite Heinlein novel?. David Brin...
View ArticleHistory and Moral Philosophy of Puppy Housebreaking
In reference to Foseti’s theory of crime and punishment, Winchell Chung just mentioned this passage from Heinlein’s Starship Troopers: I found myself mulling over a discussion in our class in History...
View ArticleViolence Never Solves Anything
Heinlein’s Starship Troopers presents many ideas through Mr. Dubois: I thought about it during the last session of our class in History and Moral Philosophy. H. & M. P. was different from other...
View ArticleThe Disheveled Old Mystic of Das Kapital
You can quickly see why Heinlein’s Starship Troopers would get labelled fascist — it mocks communism: He had been droning along about “value,” comparing the Marxist theory with the orthodox “use”...
View ArticleThe Moses of Nerds
Steve Sailer calls Robert Heinlein the Moses of Nerds: A central figure in the evolution of obsessive geeks into a self-aware, self-confident community was science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein...
View ArticleHeinlein’s Political Evolution
Jeet Heer is baffled by Heinlein’s political evolution: Heinlein went from being a left-wing New Dealer in the 1930s and 1940s to flirting with the John Birch Society in the late 1950s and supporting...
View ArticleWhy Starship Troopers Is the New Art of War
Robert A. Heinlein’s Starship Troopers, published in 1959, is aging remarkably well, because it offers practical lessons for modern warfare: What Is War Good For? “Violence, naked force, has settled...
View ArticleTribalism in a Starkly Capitalist Atomic Age
James Lafond reviews Heinlein’s classic Destination Moon: A scientist, a retired admiral, a test pilot turned entrepreneur, and a second string radio technician decide to defy U.S. environmental...
View ArticleIs transgenderism an autism spectrum disorder?
Steve Sailer has a vague hunch that the transgender movement is somehow related to what he calls the Nerd Liberation movement, the most unexpectedly successful identity movement of his lifetime: It’s...
View ArticleThis is known as “bad luck”
The creative class drives cultural and economic flourishing, Richard Florida argued (in The Rise of the Creative Class), but now the “superstar cities” that attract the creative class have grown...
View ArticleAmbiguous, longed for and desolate
Science fiction illuminates the dreams of the new moon-rushers: Take the origins of Pence’s reference to the “lunar strategic high ground”. In one of the first moon novels written after the second...
View ArticleA toy, suited only to make pretty scars for girls to admire
Our Slovenian guest recently suggested that I take a look at the traditional German sword-fighting art called Mensur, which reminded me that I’ve discussed Germany’s odd fencing fraternities before,...
View ArticleThe head is mostly teeth
I recently mentioned that Robert Heinlein’s Glory Road introduced me to Germany’s tradition of fencing in order to earn a dueling scar. The other tidbit that stuck with me from this book was his...
View ArticleNobody knows where it comes from but it can’t be ignored
When I read a friend’s copy of Robert Heinlein’s Glory Road back in high school, only a couple things stuck with me: (1) dueling scars, and (2) methane-burning dragons. When I recently re-read it, it...
View ArticleInstead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it is
Robert Heinlein’s Glory Road is chock-full of Heinlein-isms— plus dueling scars and methane-burning dragons — but one passage stands out for stating his theme outright: I wanted a Roc’s egg. I wanted a...
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