History

The great illustrated encyclopedia, the Nuremberg Chronicle, appeared in 1493. Despite its age and value it's a much more common book than the average academic monograph published in 2026: over a thousand copies still exist, whereas the typical academic work prints a few hundred. pic.twitter.com/tx3fdxr1uu

— Antigone Journal (@AntigoneJournal) April 22, 2026

 

An Insight

There was a massive DOJ study done decades ago that among people in Federal custody, the single trait career criminals had most in common was that they had all gotten caught as a teenager and the case resolved in a way that left them feeling like they 'got away with it.'

More in… https://t.co/3Mhfi2Tvg8

— J.T. Alexander (@JTAlexander) April 20, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Four photos of Wimbledon’s Centre Court show how tennis has shifted: from grass worn across the whole court (serve-and-volley era) to damage almost only at the baseline today. A slower, power-driven game played from the back.

The 1970 picture (top left) shows the grass played… pic.twitter.com/QBSYE0WFsX

— Simon Kuestenmacher (@simongerman600) April 23, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Guardian US opinion columnist on left; Guardian UK sports writer on right. Both articles published on the same day, three hours apart.
Never seen the schism within the organisation laid out so clearly. (A number of UK staff think some US staff are bonkers.) pic.twitter.com/sD98dKexhU

— Charles Arthur (@charlesarthur) April 22, 2026

 

Data Talks

Energy is prosperity. The demise of German and British industries is caused by energy policies.

You cannot have well-paid jobs, economic growth, and high energy prices.

Want to help the climate? Invest in nuclear. It’s not one or the other. Why do Greens hate nuclear so much? pic.twitter.com/VaWqYOnKx1

— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) April 20, 2026

 

The Young Astronaut, 1953 by John Philip Falter

The Young Astronaut, 1953 by John Philip Falter (America, 1910 - 1982)

Click to enlarge.

History

One of the GREATEST Biblical Archaeology Discoveries in History? pic.twitter.com/MDVvXbEzHK

— Frank Turek (@DrFrankTurek) April 20, 2026

 

An Insight

"Feminization equals wokeness."

That single sentence from Helen Andrews at NatCon 5 stopped me cold.

She argues that everything we call wokeness — empathy over rationality, safety over risk, cohesion over competition and hierarchy — is simply the downstream result of… pic.twitter.com/DGWtbm5Xt4

— Camus (@newstart_2024) April 19, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

These are the authentic sounds of musical instruments used in ancient times. pic.twitter.com/SjXOIssZjX

— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 22, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

pic.twitter.com/6JDYtXJL4R

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) April 22, 2026

 

Data Talks

About 54% of U.S. adults (ages 16-74) — roughly 130 million people — read below a 6th-grade level.

Why does nobody talk about this? pic.twitter.com/Mw6aP39xfM

— Athenaeum Book Club (@athenaeumbc) April 20, 2026

 

Pasadena Morning, 2018 by Kenton Nelson

Pasadena Morning, 2018 by Kenton Nelson (America, 1954 - )

Click to enlarge.

In such communities, the glue is neighbourliness, a thirst to find a middle ground, a place where everyone has something in common.

Via Quote of the Day. From Canada’s Middle Ground by David Lawson, Wine Access, September, 2005. 

Winnipeg is in the geographic centre of Canada and perhaps our cultural centre in terms of defining what is really Canadian — not just because it’s called Winterpeg. Vancouver culturally associates with San Francisco or Seattle, Calgary with Dallas, Toronto with New York, and Montreal with Paris.

But Winnipeg is a place unto itself, a place that reflects the vast space and isolation one feels in countless Canadian communities from the Maritimes to northern Ontario to the interior of B.C.

In such communities, the glue is neighbourliness, a thirst to find a middle ground, a place where everyone has something in common.

Bullying, hazing, shaming, or peer pressure

An interesting post and resulting conversation going on over at InfantryDort about the beneficial attributes of bullying.

Any man who thinks bullying is ubiquitously inappropriate has the survival instincts of a deer gazing longingly at headlights.

For most of human history, communities had weak formal institutions. Public ridicule, shaming, and ostracism were used to enforce norms.

Examples:… https://t.co/njbFS7fCLV

— InfantryDort (@infantrydort) May 29, 2026

There is of course, commentary trying to distinguish and delimit the behavior as whether we are talking about bullying, hazing, shaming, or peer pressure.  

There does seem general acknowledgement that bullying can function as a mechanism for enforcing social norms.  

The thought which occurred to me is that since at least the 1960s, we have slowly been trying to reduce bullying in high school and college, perhaps reaching peak aversion in the Woke Micro-aggressions back in the 2010s early 2020s.   

In the same period we have seen the cult of multiculturalism post-1980s, the failed belief that multiple, and any, cultures can coexist within one governance system.  

Finally, this is the same era, especially post-1990s when we became averse to any measurement or testing on people which might highlight differences in capabilities.  

So in the same period, we were insisting that bullying was wrong, that there were no real differences between people anyway, and pretending there were no social norms that needed to be enforced anyway.

The wreck of those philosophical indulgences is spread on the shore and people, everywhere across the OECD, seem to want to return to their cultures, their social norms, and reasonable means for achieving those social norms.

Is bullying an appropriate societal tool for setting and enforcing social norms?  I think that is what is being discussed here.  

Obviously sadism and injury are out, but there remain many implacable issues.  Social norm policing has to be unpleasant to be effective; non-physically injurious forms of bullying such as ostracism can cause real psychological injuries; how do you ensure that the social norms being enforced are the social norms you want enforced, etc..  

An interesting and wide ranging discussion with many points made in a largely civil fashion.  

History

This Hellenistic mosaic glass bowl looks so modern, yet it was made over 2,000 years ago!

Ancient glassmakers created the tiny flower pattern using a technique now known as ‘millefiori’ (thousand flowers). A timeless design still made by glassmakers today!

British Museum… pic.twitter.com/t0JEGjZArM

— Alison Fisk (@AlisonFisk) April 20, 2026

 

An Insight

The year is 1950. Your doctor lights a cigarette and tells you smoking is fine. He read it in a study. He is telling the truth about having read it. He does not know, or is not saying, that the study was funded by the tobacco industry.

The year is 1958. Your doctor tells you to… pic.twitter.com/CTg7Wec8bQ

— Sama Hoole (@SamaHoole) April 18, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Barred owl shows the full range of motion.

Owls can rotate their heads up to 270° without harming blood vessels or cutting off circulation.pic.twitter.com/fZnRbSlfB2

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 22, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Brutal line in Politico pic.twitter.com/Zc4BC19CIi

— James Heale (@JAHeale) April 20, 2026

 

Theophilos Palaeologos

Theophilos Palaeologos

C.P. Cavafy 

translated by Rae Dalven.

This is the last year.  He is the last

of the Greek emperors.  And alas

how grievously they speak when they are near him.

In his despair, in his pain

Kyr Theophilos Palaeologos

says, “I’d rather die than live.”

Ah, Kyr Theophilos Palaeologos

how much longing of our people and how much exhaustion

(how much weariness from injustices and persecution)

your five tragic words contained.

Data Talks

Narcissism has taken over the feminist movement.

"Paralleling previous research, higher pathological narcissistic grandiosity was found to be statistically significantly related to greater involvement in feminist activism. Unexpectedly, gender did not moderate this…

— Femme (@FemCondition) April 20, 2026

 

Still Life with Oranges, 1863 by Rafael Romero Barros

Still Life with Oranges, 1863 by Rafael Romero Barros (Spain, 1832-1895)

Click to enlarge.

History

Isaac Newton's college notebook, handwritten by the genius himself around 1664 pic.twitter.com/LZHtCnlNfP

— Black Hole (@konstructivizm) April 19, 2026

 

An Insight

Somewhere in the twentieth century, we took the foods that had built every healthy human population on earth and quietly replaced them with their industrial caricatures.

Butter swapped for margarine.

Lard swapped for seed oil.

Full cream milk swapped for skimmed.

Liver…

— Sama Hoole (@SamaHoole) April 19, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Fabergé Eggs, perhaps considered one of most famous examples of exquisite and luxurious craftsmanship to this day; Fabergé eggs were originally commissioned by the Russian Imperial family in late 1800s AD. Tsar Alexander III wanted a richly jeweled egg as an Easter gift for his… pic.twitter.com/vPmZrEabb7

— Archaeo - Histories (@archeohistories) April 22, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!! pic.twitter.com/fRtWoz9Z28

— Branch Floridian (@JackLinFLL) April 19, 2026

 

Data Talks

There you go. https://t.co/9myvGwZEzC

— Gad Saad (@GadSaad) April 20, 2026

 

Circe, 1889 by Wright Barker

Circe, 1889 by Wright Barker (England, 1863-1941))

Click to enlarge.

History

Six Bronze Age shields from Scotland, each over 3,000 years old, have been returned to the National Museum of Scotland. pic.twitter.com/RaVPuLMkFz

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) April 20, 2026

 

An Insight

Do you want to know what Israel does?

What Israel does is prevent the United States from needing to have a much larger military presence in the Middle East

What Israel does is what Europeans failed to do in Europe with regards to Russia

That's what Israel does https://t.co/0omY4MZv4R

— Gummi (@gummibear737) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Mel Gibson was right all along pic.twitter.com/SUYEDjzfWG

— MERICA MEMED (@Mericamemed) April 20, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Macron, Starmer, and Meloni opening the Strait of Hormuz 👇 pic.twitter.com/TXvKJrk14P

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) April 17, 2026

 

Data Talks

As a percent of GDP, hyperscaling isn't that extreme. The railroads were goddamn crazy, though! https://t.co/2OESGnu3JD pic.twitter.com/PHkCBG8gtd

— Quintin Pope (@QuintinPope5) April 17, 2026

 

Noon on Country Road, 1869 by Ivan Shishkin

Noon on Country Road, 1869 by Ivan Shishkin (Russia, 1832–1898)

Click to enlarge.

History

The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 stands as one of the most spectacular vindications of free market principles in modern American history. Before deregulation, the Civil Aeronautics Board controlled every aspect of commercial aviation: routes, schedules, and most critically,… pic.twitter.com/thdjhS7uQv

— Handre (@Handre) April 19, 2026

 

An Insight

Yale’s long-anticipated report: Elite universities, including Yale, played major roles in degrading themselves. It urges Yale to recommit itself to protecting free speech zealously, but also cautions that fixing academia’s toxic culture will be neither easy nor quick (Clip: NYT). pic.twitter.com/rWMbFW7jGg

— Timur Kuran (@timurkuran) April 15, 2026

 

If everybody must be equally well-off all the time, there can be no significant movement up or down.

Reeves has declared war on inequality – but it is the engine that drives success by Janet Daley.  

Written in the context of the evils the British Labor government but pertinent generally.  Emphasis added.  

The great social evil now is relative poverty. Having succeeded in eliminating the mass hunger and life-threatening conditions in which so many once struggled to survive, we must finish the job and go on to abolish inequality which is the great injustice of our own age. The inference is that some people being relatively less well off than others is the precise moral equivalent of people starving to death while others feast.

Ironically, it is the great success of free market economics and the unprecedented mass prosperity it has produced which brings this reckoning. The economic system that has delivered more people from poverty than any previous one in human history is now attacked for failing to bring everyone’s lifestyle to the same standard all at once. There are some real problems with this. If everybody must be equally well-off all the time, there can be no significant movement up or down. That would rule out what might be seen as a natural trajectory from less successful to more successful, or from early struggle to affluent independence, perhaps involving personal resourcefulness or a climb up a professional ladder.

Relative poverty, so long as it is not permanent, is the obverse – the other side of the same coin – of social mobility. If there is a political guarantee of economic equality, as there was supposed to be in the old Soviet societies, the possibility of individual self-improvement is lost. For some people to be better off than others is not, in itself, morally unacceptable: their affluence may be a reward for talent, effort and risk-taking. (The argument that such traits are themselves unfair advantages is beyond ridiculous: it is positively pernicious.) Of course, they might have achieved their success through unscrupulous means, but that is the kind of moral affront which laws and social disapproval are intended to prevent.

The idea that anyone who is significantly better off must be, by definition, immoral is what lies behind the logic of a wealth tax – which is, in effect, a success tax. This is the real crux of the matter. Personal achievement and self-improvement are among the greatest satisfactions life has to offer. The possibility of moral agency and the scope for taking individual responsibility are probably the defining attributes of emotional maturity. We have spent a generation or so arguing about whether the government should guarantee equality of opportunity – which would provide as many people as possible with the chance to experience these things – or equality of outcome which would, by definition, eliminate them.

Relative poverty – which is to say, being less well off than some other people – is not, in itself, a bad thing, so long as it is temporary and remediable. It should be something that you can escape, leave behind, look back on as a formative time. (You may have guessed that I speak from experience here.) But the possibility of it must exist.

The emphasized text gets to the point I harp on - All systems need variance in order to evolve.  You can only have zero variance in contexts of zero change.  If the environment or context is itself subject to change, then your system within that environment needs variance to allow the evolution of the system to adapt to the changes in the environment.  Darwin's theory of evolution has application beyond the biological world.

Any ideology which insists on removing variance between individuals in order to achieve "equality" are guaranteed to fail.  Social systems are subject to exogenous change and therefore there needs to be variance (inequality) within the system to allow it to evolve in the context of those exogenous changes.  By disposing of differences, you guarantee the eventual collapse of the system.  

I see wonderful things

Only one chance in this lifetime…

Like watching sunset at the beach from the most foreign seat in the cosmos, I couldn’t resist a cell phone video of Earthset. You can hear the shutter on the Nikon as @Astro_Christina is hammering away on 3-shot brackets and capturing those… pic.twitter.com/8aWnaFJ69c

— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) April 19, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

This is a bit like my wife and me meeting to discuss the unsuitability of a particular lunar landing location. https://t.co/OYM8Avtb54

— George MF Washington (@GMFWashington) April 17, 2026

 

Data Talks

For the 2025 Math SAT, 189,177 students scored 700-800. Of those test-takers, 63% were boys (118,890) and 37% were girls (70,287). Stated differently, there were 169 boys scoring 700-800 on the Math SAT for every 100 girls.

The male math advantage has persisted for generations… pic.twitter.com/OHYwo266il

— Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) April 16, 2026

 

It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffeehouse, for the voice of the kingdom.

The Conduct of the Allies (1711) by Jonathan Swift. 

It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffeehouse, for the voice of the kingdom. The city coffeehouses have been for some years filled with people, whose fortunes depend upon the Bank, East-India, or some other stock. Every new fund to these, is like a new mortgage to a usurer, whose compassion for a young heir, is exactly the same with that of a stockjobber to the landed gentry. At the court end of the town, the like places of resort are frequented either by men out of place, and consequently enemies to the present ministry, or by officers of the army: no wonder then if the general cry, in all such meetings, be against any peace, either with Spain or without; which, in other words, is no more than this; that discontented men desire another change of ministry; that soldiers would be glad to keep their commissions; and that the creditors have money still, and would have the debtors borrow on at the old extorting rate, while they have any security to give.

For all that we bemoan fake news, press release journalism, rank propaganda and the gulf between the chattering class and most ordinary citizens, it has ever been so as evidenced by Swift.

315 years ago and he might as well be speaking of X/Twitter.

It is the folly of too many to mistake the echo of a London coffeehouse, for the voice of the kingdom.

We keep discovering, age by age, that the loudest, most persistent, grating and annoying voices, whether in the London coffehouse or on X, are unrepresentative of the vox populi.  The NGOs, 501(c)(3)'s, Think Tanks and academia do their advocacy press releases; legacy media fills their column inches and social media regurgitate for likes, all fueled by self-interest; and all that noise correlates poorly with the interests and opinions of the great bulk of the nation.

Data Talks

今日のセミナーで紹介されていた論文。「親になると良い人間になるのか？」母親だけでなく父親も、妊娠が分かってから有意に犯罪率が下がって、生まれた後も低い水準に留まる。セミナーでは、SNSの投稿も減って、より良いことを投稿するようになっていると報告。子育てから人間学ぶことも多いらしい。 pic.twitter.com/agetu5Ejay

— Kosuke Uetake (@Chanman_ECON) April 16, 2026

 

Sun, Sea and Sky: a Summer Phantasy, 1892 by John Atkinson Grimshaw

Sun, Sea and Sky: a Summer Phantasy, 1892 by John Atkinson Grimshaw (England, 1836-1893)

Click to enlarge.

History

Like just to show how insane this was--British garrisons in Sierra Leone had a 40% annual death rate. This is *twice as bad as Dachau*; it's about the same as the first-year mortality rates of newly-arrived slaves in Haiti. Getting stationed here was basically a death sentence! https://t.co/Gm1Ie2kRId pic.twitter.com/ZxC35RzOLz

— Aminadad Mercilesse Butcher (@OttokarHochman) April 17, 2026

 

An Insight

Minnesota is so retarded

We give hundreds of Billions of dollars to daycares and autism centers and they don’t verify they are an actual business or have kids or clients there

Meanwhile,
I’m getting my kitchen remodeled.

My licensed and insured contractor had to get a permit… pic.twitter.com/k2Z3CE4D1u

— Jason Robertson (@JRobFromMN) April 15, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

The physics of a pendulum wave

📹Marcel Clemens pic.twitter.com/zHd4W8AbhY

— Science girl (@sciencegirl) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

In Japan, police and local government officials conduct a joint exercise with anti-bear patrol teams for when the bears come out of hibernation.

They literally send a guy out in a bear suit while the team drills him with practice darts. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/3MXAumydLG

— Dudes Posting Their W’s (@DudespostingWs) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

In double-blind placebo-controlled trials, 'gluten-sensitive' people who *think* they're going to eat gluten have reactions.

But if they don't expect gluten, there's no reaction.

Expectancy has a bigger effect than actually eating gluten! pic.twitter.com/Kdqc6kQc1Y

— Crémieux (@cremieuxrecueil) April 16, 2026

 

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it

From The Examiner No. XIV (Thursday, November 9th, 1710), Jonathan Swift.

Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead.

Prairie Sky by Joseph Alleman

Prairie Sky by Joseph Alleman (America, 1975 - ) 

Click to enlarge.

Wilmer McLean

That the US Civil War began and ended on the properties of the same man.

— Richard 🇺🇸 (@Richard79139714) May 23, 2026

Grok, is this true?

The X post replies to a prompt for favorite historical facts by claiming the US Civil War began and ended on properties of the same man, later identifying him as Wilbur (a minor misremembering of Wilmer McLean).

Wilmer McLean's Virginia farmhouse near Manassas served as Confederate Gen. Beauregard's headquarters in July 1861 during the First Battle of Bull Run, where a cannonball struck his kitchen.

McLean moved to Appomattox Court House to escape fighting, but in April 1865 Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in the parlor of his new home there, effectively ending the war.

 

Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot that swore so much at his funeral it had to be removed because it wouldn’t stop screaming obscenities

Andrew Jackson had an African grey parrot that swore so much at his funeral it had to be removed because it wouldn’t stop screaming obscenities, I love this one because I also have one that swears and I hope she does the same when I die lmao.

I also love that Australia had an…

— Courtney (@CourtneyWRocket) May 23, 2026

Question to Grok - Did that really happen? (the grey parrot story; I know about the Emu war.)

Andrew Jackson owned an African grey parrot named Poll (sometimes called Polly). It originally belonged to his wife Rachel and was acquired around 1827. After Rachel's death, Jackson kept the bird. 

[en.wikipedia.org]

At Jackson's funeral on June 10, 1845, at The Hermitage in Tennessee, Poll reportedly caused a scene by swearing loudly. Reverend William Menefee Norment, who attended, later recalled (as quoted in Samuel G. Heiskell’s Andrew Jackson and Early Tennessee History):

"Before the sermon and while the crowd was gathering, a wicked parrot that was a household pet, got excited and commenced swearing so loud and long as to disturb the people and had to be carried from the house."

The bird was removed to restore order. African greys are excellent mimics, and Jackson was known for his colorful language, so the parrot likely picked it up from him or others in the household. 

[jacksonianamerica.com]

This is an anecdotal story based on a contemporary eyewitness account, but it's widely accepted as credible (though not 100% proven with multiple independent sources). It's documented in historical books, the Presidential Pet Museum, and Snopes rates the core claim as true based on the reverend's recollection.

History

Women: "Do men even have feelings?"

Meanwhile men: pic.twitter.com/A0DJ3EiIxB

— Jash Dholani (@oldbooksguy) April 17, 2026

 

An Insight

A single accountant stole $53 million from her employer over 20 years and nobody noticed

Rita Crundwell was the comptroller of Dixon, Illinois with a population of 15,000

She opened a secret bank account called “Reserve Sewer Capital Development Account”

For two decades she… pic.twitter.com/puqRzoYL2Z

— Uzi (@UziCryptoo) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

These are vintage lightbulbs from the 1930s pic.twitter.com/B2ZaiZWVjK

— James Lucas (@JamesLucasIT) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

There were five murderers in Fairfax County this year. Three were illegal immigrants and one was a Democrat lieutenant governor

VA Democrats are now trying to arrest ICE and ban guns, while exempting legislators from the gun laws.

— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

For people without access to the Nature paper who want more than the abstract, this is a nice summary.

But something needs publicizing: Little in this paper is new.

In 2010, Cochran and Harpending correctly described the basics of recent evolution in The 10,000 Year… https://t.co/vAYpBBUJUC

— Charles Murray (@charlesmurray) April 16, 2026

 

So thick the confusion, Even the cowards were brave.

From Carmina Archilochi: The Fragments of Archilochos translated by Guy Davenport.

So thick the confusion,

Even the cowards were brave.

Palo Alto Circle, 1943 by Richard Diebenkorn

Palo Alto Circle, 1943 by Richard Diebenkorn (America, 1922-1993)

Click to enlarge.

The sweetness Of homecoming

From Carmina Archilochi: The Fragments of Archilochos translated by Guy Davenport.

How Many Times

by Archilochos

How many times,

How many times,

On the grey sea,

The sea combed

By the wind

Like a wilderness

Of woman’s hair,

Have we longed,

Lost in nostalgia,

For the sweetness

Of homecoming.

History

In 1955, Algeria had 1 million Catholics and 140,000 Jews. Today there are 8,000 Catholics in Algeria and fewer than 200 Jews.

Christians and Jews had lived in Algeria since Roman times. Now they’re gone.https://t.co/BvwwQ15dYk

— Daniel Greenfield - "Hang Together or Separately" (@Sultanknish) April 16, 2026

 

An Insight

"An absolute pacifism that denies the law any and all coercive measures would be capitulation to injustice, would sanction its seizure of power, and would abandon the world to the dictates of violence." - Pope Benedict XVI on Islamic terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons pic.twitter.com/OY39r7HtC5

— Kaitlin Bennett (@KaitMarieox) April 15, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Scientists discovered the world’s largest spiderweb, covering 106 m² in a sulfur cave on the Albania-Greece border.

Over 111,000 spiders from two normally rival species live together in a unique, self-sustaining ecosystem—a first of its kind.pic.twitter.com/LPLKVElSNv

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

🙄🕰️ pic.twitter.com/ei5KiPKshE

— Judianna (@Judianna) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

"Spouses who don’t share a surname divorce at about a 50% higher rate than those who do share a surname, and their divorces come about 30% earlier in their marriages." Striking new divorce research from @lymanstoneky reinforces my earlier research on marital quality & naming: https://t.co/RnZuCgHOh0 pic.twitter.com/oijqyg4P4n

— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) April 16, 2026

 

Distich

From Carmina Archilochi:  The Fragments of Archilochos translated by Guy Davenport.

Hipponax alone among the archaic poets, we are told, had as sharpened a stylus as Archilochos, and Hipponax is remembered for a black little distich:

Woman is twice a pleasure to man.

The wedding night and her funeral.

Leading to the question:  What is a distich?

A distich is a literary term for a stanza, strophe, or poem consisting of two lines of verse, typically forming a complete thought or rhyming couplet. It is derived from the Greek distichos ("having two rows") and often refers specifically to classical elegiac couplets (one hexameter and one pentameter line) or similar two-line structures.

Salamovka at Night (Judy’s Window Lit), 1975 by Lois Dodd

Salamovka at Night (Judy’s Window Lit), 1975 by Lois Dodd (America, 1927 - )

Click to enlarge.

290 million Americans have flow at least once in their life.

I saw the claim that the median American takes zero flights a year.  

One of my favorite stats that serves as a reality check for people:

The median American took zero flights last year. https://t.co/SsRHHEQeCo

— Alec Stapp (@AlecStapp) May 9, 2026

I am willing to believe that it is true, but is it true?

To Gemini

What percent of Americans fly at least once in a year?

Depending on the year and the specific survey methodology, between 43% and 52% of American adults fly at least once a year.

The most comprehensive data comes from the annual Air Travelers in America survey conducted by Ipsos for Airlines for America (A4A). Their recent tracking shows the following stability in annual air travel:

2023: 43%

2024: 46%

2025: 45%

By contrast, independent polling by Gallup historically puts the normal baseline slightly higher, tracking near 48% to 52% in peak non-pandemic travel years.

Key Data Insights

• The "Super-Users" Distort the Average: While roughly half of the population does not step onto a plane in a given year, total passenger volumes remain massive. This is because a small segment of frequent fliers (roughly 8% to 10% of the population) takes five or more round trips per year, heavily skewing the total number of flights taken. 

• The Five-Year Window: If you expand the timeline slightly, about 64% to 68% of Americans report flying at least once within a 5-year period 

• Lifetime Flight Data: Flying is overwhelmingly common over the course of a lifetime; 86% to 87% of all Americans have flown on a commercial aircraft at least once.

So strictly just barely true, depending on definitions and source.  But broadly, true.  Roughly half of Americans do not take a flight in a given year.

However, another way of looking at it, and a miraculous way, is related to the final statistic.  Roughly 15 fifteen percent of Americans have never flown.

But invert that and you have the neat miracle that 290 million Americans (85% of the 342 million Americans) currently alive have at some point in their lives been hoisted to some 35,000 feet in the air for an hour or more and flown some hundreds or thousands of miles at a speed of 5-600 miles per hour.  Truly miraculous.  

History

Lebanon was a beautiful, metropolitan paradise known as “The Jewel of the Levant” and in fact, had a Christian majority population too.

What happened?

Oh yeah Palestinians and then Hezbollah. pic.twitter.com/bY3KI8jNLa

— Kosher (@koshercockney) April 15, 2026

 

An Insight

What the NYRB article about Passage leaves out is that the publishing industry has become utterly DOMINATED by women and leftist sensibilities.

Any meaningful correction to that is going to look reactionary to the people swimming in the fishbowl (NYRB’s editors, eg). https://t.co/mKXiqRM2bK pic.twitter.com/ckeda0eK1k

— Lomez (@L0m3z) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

"In the country of the backward-walking, the forward-walker is king." https://t.co/bFj9XUIfZb

— Armand D'Angour (@ArmandDAngour) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

I’ve never seen anything more accurate pic.twitter.com/9QcLM1JAzy

— Out of Context Human Race (@NoContextHumans) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

"The heritability of IQ varies, but in wealthy, industrialised countries, it approaches .80 in adults, which indicates that 80% of individual differences in IQ are associated with individual genetic differences."https://t.co/9yG8oVzJ7U pic.twitter.com/IyFjYZRjZl

— Steve Stewart-Williams (@SteveStuWill) April 15, 2026

 

The result is that whenever those who are opposed to change have the chance to attack the innovator, they do it with much vigour,

From The Prince by Machiavelli.  Chapter 6.

Interesting to reread at this moment when AI is challenging old commercial orders and the public will is overturning old political settlements.  

Those who, like them, become rulers through their own abilities, experience difficulty in attaining power, but once that is achieved, they keep it easily. The difficulties encountered in attaining power arise partly from the new institutions and laws they are forced to introduce in order to establish their power and make it secure. And it should be realised that taking the initiative in introducing a new form of government is very difficult and dangerous, and unlikely to succeed. The reason is that all those who profit from the old order will be opposed to the innovator, whereas all those who might benefit from the new order are, at best, tepid supporters of him. This lukewarmness arises partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws on their side, partly from the sceptical temper of men, who do not really believe in new things unless they have been seen to work well. The result is that whenever those who are opposed to change have the chance to attack the innovator, they do it with much vigour, whereas his supporters act only half-heartedly; so that the innovator and his supporters find themselves in great danger.

In order to examine this matter thoroughly, we need to consider whether these innovators can act on their own or whether they depend upon others; that is, whether they need to persuade others if they are to succeed, or whether they are capable of establishing themselves by force. In the former case, they always fare badly and accomplish nothing. But if they do not depend upon others and have sufficient forces to take the initiative, they rarely find themselves in difficulties. Consequently, all armed prophetsa succeed, whereas unarmed ones fail. This happens because, apart from the factors already mentioned, the people are fickle; it is easy to persuade them about something, but difficult to keep them persuaded. Hence, when they no longer believe in you and your schemes, you must be able to force them to believe.

[snip]

Such innovators, then, have to confront many difficulties; all the dangers come after they have begun their enterprises, and need to be overcome through their own ability. But once they have succeeded, and begin to be greatly respected (after they have extinguished those envious of their success), they remain powerful, secure, honoured and successful.

I should like to add a less important example than the eminent ones already discussed. But it certainly is worthy of mention in this context, so let it suffice for all the others like it: I refer to Hiero of Syracuse. From being a private citizen, he became ruler of Syracuse. He enjoyed a fine opportunity but, apart from that, his success owed nothing to luck. For when the Syracusans were in desperate straits, they chose him as their general; afterwards he was deservedly made their ruler. And even in private life he showed so much ability that it was written of him ‘quod nihil illi deerat ad regnandum praeter regnum’. He disbanded the old army and raised a new one; he abandoned the old alliances and formed new ones; and as soon as he possessed his own troops and had reliable allies he could build any edifice he wanted upon this foundation. Thus, it was very difficult for him to attain power, but not to keep it.

Moon Lights by Phil Greenwood

Moon Lights by Phil Greenwood (Britain, 1943 - )

Click to enlarge.

He lives more in the same amount of time.

From On Losing the Cold War by Severian.  Long, rambling, in a style I am not enthusiastic about.  But with several worthwhile insights.

Where Marx really went wrong was — and I know this sounds flip, but I’m as serious as cancer — being born in 1818. He lived his entire miserable life in a world where “labor” really was a physical thing. The richest robber baron of the Gilded Age lived a far different life, materially, than the poorest serf-in-all-but-name working in his factories…

…but the robber baron knew he needed the serfs. Their relationship was purely dialectical. Without his factory hands, no robber baron. And in a strange but very real way, the higher up the food chain your Gilded Age robber baron went, the more he was dependent on his serfs for his lifestyle. J.P. Morgan is usually credited as being the first guy to become a Robber Baron purely through finance. Carnegie, Rockefeller, all those guys had most of their wealth in financial instruments, of course, but those financial instruments rested on control of a physical product — Carnegie Steel, Standard Oil.

I’m probably being unfair to Jay Cooke, the Michael Milken of his day, but since more people have heard of J.P. Morgan let’s roll with it. Even though Morgan’s wealth was entirely on paper — he was nothing but a securities trader — his lifestyle utterly depended on a battalion of servants. In a very real way, you yourself, right now, live much better than J.P. Morgan did in his heyday. And not just because you have aspirin, antibiotics, and air conditioning, three taken-for-granted things ol’ J.P. would’ve given half his kingdom for. But because you have more time. If you’re hungry, you can open the fridge or the microwave and have all the food you need in a matter of minutes.

J.P. couldn’t. J.P. had to deploy an army of servants every time he wanted a snack, and those servants were constrained by things like “availability of ice” and “when is the fishmonger at his stall.” You’re hungry at 2am, you jump in your car and get some Taco Bell. It takes ten minutes. J.P.’s hungry at 2am and it’s tough titty, J.P., your ass is going hungry. Because even though you’re the richest man in the world and have legions of manservants at your beck and call, Taco Bell just isn’t there. Even if someone had had the brilliant idea to create a Gilded Age Taco Bell, it still would’ve taken hours:

Wake up the manservant. Wake up the groom and stableboy. Hell, wake up the horse, then saddle the horse, ride to the drive thru window… which in this case means “the house of the guy who runs Gilded Age Taco Bell.” At which point he has to fire up the oven, start pounding the tortillas, send his own legion of valets and stableboys and whatnot out to get the refried beans…

And that’s the other thing, J.P. — you’d best not pull that shit too often, because those people know where you live. Not only do they know where you live, they live with you. Literally under the same roof. You want to sleep easy? You’d best not beat the servants too often, buddy.

There’s only so much “class consciousness” one can develop in that world. Oh yeah, J.P. thought of himself as one of the Masters of the Universe, there’s no denying that. But J.P. lived in what was still a brutally physical world, in a way we PoMo people really can’t grasp. If you can’t imagine what it would take to get some Gilded Age Taco Bell, maybe geography will do the trick. Ever seen Gangs of New York? Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard the name “Five Points.” The worst slum in America in the 19th century, and 19th century American slums were world class….

That was right down the street from Wall Street. Literally. I am not in any way joking, and if I’m exaggerating a little for effect when I say “J.P. could’ve hit Five Points with a five iron from his swanky digs on Central Park West,” I promise you I’m not exaggerating much. You can look it up for yourself. The main reason the Union rushed troops straight from the Gettysburg battlefield, and no-shit shelled parts of the city with gunboats, during the Draft Riots was because Five Points (et al) was right fucking there, and they might’ve gotten it into their heads to lynch a few Masters of the Universe. Rich man’s war, poor man’s fight, right? Let’s see how you like it, you bankster bastards…

The PoMo “information economy” removes all that. The other day I joked about colleges like Bennington and Goucher. I cracked some jokes, yeah, but I wasn’t really joking. Those places aren’t for us. Wall Street is still a physical location, but it might as well be on the dark side of the moon for all any of us have access to it. J.P. couldn’t beat the servants too hard, or too often. The modern equivalent of J.P. isn’t even aware that he has servants. He just clicks on a website, and stuff appears at his door. Like magic. Hell, it IS magic for all he knows, and he surely doesn’t care, because all that shit is his by right. He went to Bennington, after all. He has achieved full class consciousness.

I like the point that our modern systemic efficiency and effectiveness makes everyone dramatically better off than almost everyone way back when (up until recent times such as even a decade or two ago.)

Not just the normal points regarding technology and medical sophistication and longevity - all good points.  People can, if they wish, live more than Morgan could.  More intensely and with more time.  

I am always struck by this in historical accounts even into the first half of the 20th century.  During the October 1929 Crash and subsequent depression, when the President summoned the owner of the biggest bank on the West Coast, it was a four day train ride from San Francisco to Washington, D.C.  When Britain dispatched troops and a new leadership team to South Africa to deal with the Boer War, it was a five week steamship journey to arrive - with no radio communication in the duration.

Time wasn't wasted on those long journeys, but it was also certainly not optimally used.

Not only does everyone now live longer than even fifty years ago, but everyone lives more in the time that they have.  

All of that ties into another idea which has been floating around in my head for some reason in the past day.

It is well established that people with high general intelligence (IQ) have, on average, better desirable life outcomes along the standard sociological outcomes (education attainment, longevity, morbidity, income, marriage rates and stability, etc.)  

There are many reasons for the correlation and one which I do not see much discussed but which I suspect is a significant one is time efficiency.

High IQ generally allows better estimation of what is likely to happen in the near future.  High IQ is a form of reading the future and acting on that future in the present to better optimize time and resources.

A simple example.

You approach a door that will need to be unlocked.  High IQ John anticipates this and has the key out and ready as he approaches the door.  Low IQ Jack does not anticipate this and waits till he is at the door to get the keys from his pocket.  

It is a minor time savings.  Maybe 10 seconds saved by John over Jack.  But repeat that 10 second saving dozens or hundreds of time during the day and it adds up.  Not only adds up, but compounds.  And lets not get distracted by the greater range of opportunities opened up through that saved time.  Let's just focus on the time.

If John gets a half hour more done in the work day than does Jack simply through having the capacity to hold multiple future scenarios in mind, assess the probabilities of those scenarios and then act on the most likely scenario, that implies that John lives/works/enjoys two and a half hours more a week, 130 more hours a year.  On an eight hour day, High IQ John "lives" 16 1/4 more days a year than Jack.

The JP Morgan issue elaborated by Severian and the High IQ John example here revolve around the efficiency and effectiveness of time utilization.  Do you want to be JP Morgan with his massive wealth but in a system of low personal productivity (and poor health, etc.) or you want to be the average person today whose personal efficiency and effectiveness in the modern system can be so much dramatically greater?

It is a variant of the hoary conundrum - do you want to be a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond.  

High IQ John gets the best of both worlds - he optimizes personal efficiency and effectiveness in a system which is already geared towards enabling and rewarding efficiency and effectiveness.  Plus, he lives more in the same amount of time.

History

Lapis lazuli has one of the longest, most geographically expansive histories of any gemstone. The oldest known mines, Sar‑e‑Sang in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, were already active by the 7th millennium BC, supplying a deep blue stone so rare that Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures… pic.twitter.com/TJP0NaEbc1

— Dr. M.F. Khan (@Dr_TheHistories) April 17, 2026

 

An Insight

Philip Tetlock's results in the early 2000s were the most important in the history of political science: on average, subject-matter experts didn't beat random guessing—and did worse than simple heuristics.
If this isn't part of your worldview, you're ngmi pic.twitter.com/KGCA7PVriO

— Werner Zagrebbi🇦🇿 (@zagrebbi) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

The perfect take off for this swan pic.twitter.com/o7ua6HlJVL

— Science girl (@sciencegirl) April 17, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Like I keep telling you they're actors. Nothing less, nothing more. https://t.co/SRAPltzLfi

— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) January 29, 2026

 

Data Talks

Trump is the most libertarian president we've had in decades and libertarians will never forgive him for it https://t.co/WHPme4lwhB

— Matt Forney (@mattforney) April 15, 2026

 

The Pearl Necklace, 1930's by Dod Procter

The Pearl Necklace, 1930's by Dod Procter (England, 1892-1972)

Click to enlarge.

History

316 lb stone from Ancient Greece with the inscription: “Bybon, son of Phola, has lifted me over [his] head with one hand.”

The only known reference to Bybon comes from a single inscription carved into a sandstone block discovered at Olympia.

The stone features two deep grooves,… pic.twitter.com/FYCcunMmVC

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) April 16, 2026

 

An Insight

UAE executed while many in the west called it impossible. The UAE had no nuclear engineers. No regulator. No nuclear history. In 2009, it decided to build four nuclear reactors anyway.

By 2024, all four were operating. Delivered on time, on budget, and cleaner than almost… pic.twitter.com/tsPgUBkdjT

— James 🌸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇦🇺 (@comical_engr) April 16, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

After the Battle of Marathon (490 BC), Miltiades offered his helmet to Zeus. On the helmet you can read the inscription: "ΜΙΛΤΙΑΔΕΣ ΑΝΕΘΕΚΕΝ ΤΩΙ ΔΙ" which means "Miltiades dedicated this to Zeus"

Miltiades’ helmet was found at Olympia, in the sanctuary of Zeus, 2.400 years later pic.twitter.com/x9FTSxIHal

— Homer Pavlos (@HomerPavlos) April 16, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Pam Luongo bought six plastic flamingos at a garage sale in March 2019. She stuck them along her front walkway in Beaufort, South Carolina, and forgot about them. By September, seventeen real flamingos were standing in her yard. Wildlife officials couldn't explain it. Caribbean… pic.twitter.com/ijmXFiERlP

— Mr PitBull Stories (@MrPitbull07) April 16, 2026

 

Data Talks

Researchers successfully cloned a single mouse and then repeatedly cloned its descendants for 58 generations over two decades, producing more than 1,200 animals from one original donor.

Yet the experiment ultimately ended in failure when the entire lineage collapsed due to… pic.twitter.com/e8WEm1Eabw

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) April 15, 2026

 

House at Dusk, 1935 by Edward Hopper

House at Dusk, 1935 by Edward Hopper (America, 1882-1967)

Click to enlarge.

History

The Pope cites Lebanon as an example of peaceful “coexistence” between Christians and Muslims.

Fun fact: Lebanon was literally created to be a homeland for persecuted Christians in the Middle East. And it was for a few decades.

The moment Muslim invaders thought they had the… pic.twitter.com/eQIRwTXU3g

— Dr. Maalouf ‏ (@realMaalouf) April 16, 2026

 

An Insight

Had a fun day today.

2 weeks ago an Indian (US Citizen) IT employee called ICE on his own department because he heard that many of them were here on fake H1-B Visas. 25 employees were arrested out of 100ish.

He was correct. After talking to his leadership he also informed them…

— MeanHash ₿ ✪ (@MeanHash) April 15, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Twitter sometimes can suck. But sometimes it helps people realize things like their grandfather liberated a concentration camp and someone else pipes in that *their* grandfather was liberated from that very camp. pic.twitter.com/OvdqwrAhMW

— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) April 16, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

I think a left-wing appeal to Catholics would work better if the left stopped attacking nunshttps://t.co/eMvrDsn6lB https://t.co/DcYC6kZDYz

— PoIiMath (@politicalmath) April 15, 2026

 

Data Talks

Source of figures is Shalev's 100 Years of Nobel Prizes, 3rd ed (Los Angeles, 2005) 57–61. Here is a rough graph of percentage of agnostics and atheists over the 20th century worldwide. https://t.co/Ml1KhcMjYi pic.twitter.com/fH0UfFUsbv

— Antigone Journal (@AntigoneJournal) April 15, 2026

 

Reflection, 2024 by Inari Krohn

Reflection, 2024 by Inari Krohn (Finland, 1945 - )

Click to enlarge.

History

apparently the territory of the roman empire didn't grow back to peak roman population until the early 19th century and didn't hit roman living standards until the mid 18th century pic.twitter.com/rjoDaylwGi

— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) April 15, 2026

 

An Insight

“Time flows in the same way for all human beings; every human being flows through time in a different way.”

―Yasunari Kawabata pic.twitter.com/8Zo2siODbT

— Hesse Philosophy (@HermannHessed) April 15, 2026

 

I see wonderful things

Umarell are men of retirement age in Italy who spend their time watching construction sites, stereotypically with hands clasped behind their back and offering unwanted advice pic.twitter.com/z1tidsrJe1

— Science girl (@sciencegirl) April 15, 2026

 

Offbeat Humor

Shocking that as soon as USAID is gutted and eliminated the entirety of South America starts rejecting Leftism

Huh…

— Pub (@PubWanghaf) April 15, 2026

 

Data Talks

🚨 Pope Leo XIV just praised 99% Muslim Algeria’s “rich diversity” and claimed everyone gathers there in “unity and peace”.

Algerian Christians who actually lived under that regime tell a very different story.

Pastor Nourredine Benzid, former General Secretary of the… https://t.co/L0JqJHXuVV pic.twitter.com/crRt0iBQjw

— Jews Fight Back 🇺🇸🇮🇱 (@JewsFightBack) April 14, 2026

 

The Yellow Birds, 1950 by Grandma Moses

The Yellow Birds, 1950 by Grandma Moses (America, 1860-1961)

Click to enlarge.

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places

From A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.

History

that's actually what literally happened.

the Reconquista began with the muslims bringing forth a Bishop, Don Opas, who urged Don Pelayo to make peace with the invaders, and to live in comfort.

it fell to Don Pelayo to correct the clergyman. https://t.co/ryMcEhQEEV pic.twitter.com/NW4O9vPTeA

— Fool (@NonyaBidne94503) April 14, 2026