Jews, pro-Indians, lesbians…’we have been tolerant too long.’… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Postmodernism and ‘Vedic Science’ 
Jul 9th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Meera Nanda on the repackaging of Hindu obscurantism as ‘science’.… Read the rest
Inclusion and Wishful Thinking
Jul 9th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Liberals and conservatives put aside their differences to come up with a terrible idea.… Read the rest
A Book With Everything, Even Classy Prose
Jul 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Alas poor Joe McCarthy, martyr to the com-symp liberals and Ed Murrow.… Read the rest
Ersatz Magic versus the Real Thing
Jul 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A.S. Byatt ponders why adults are so smitten with Harry Potter.… Read the rest
Rashomon is Fiction, the Friedmans are Real
Jul 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Postmodern ambiguity as marketing ploy, and how gullible reviewers help.… Read the rest
Larkin Wasn’t Cuddly
Jul 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Misogynist, racist, hated children, pessimistic, and deeply drunk. So?… Read the rest
Private School or State School?
Jul 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Adam Swift and Anthony Seldon debate issues of fairness and positional goods.… Read the rest
Private School After All
Jul 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
State school is better socially, but what of children who want to do sums now?… Read the rest
Argument Over Academic Boycott of Israel
Jul 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Oxford professor rejects Israeli student, and is now being investigated.… Read the rest
The Weather
Jul 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The stuff of small talk and of survival, and all is not well.… Read the rest
Fiedler’s Legacy
Jul 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Do you still believe that st-st-stuff about Huck Finn?” asked Hemingway.… Read the rest
Orwell Bash
Jul 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Contradictions, inconsistencies, and life-risking commitment to the truth.… Read the rest
The Bush Administration Versus Scientists
Jul 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
To Karl Rove, a Democrat is ‘someone with a doctorate’…and that’s not a compliment.… Read the rest
Hobsbawm as de Tocqueville
Jul 2nd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not egalitarianism but individualist, antinomian-but-legalistic anarchism is the core value system in the US.… Read the rest
Affirmative Action Debate Continues
Jul 2nd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Chronicle of Higher Education surveys the Supreme Court decision in the Michigan case.… Read the rest
Houdon and the Enlightenment
Jul 1st, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Diderot, Rousseau, Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, captured as no one else knew how.… Read the rest
Read All Year
Jul 1st, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Children who read more are better at reading, researcher says.… Read the rest
Himself in Letters
Jun 30th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Flaubert’s letters tell more of him than a biography can. Julian Barnes on the late Flaubert scholar Jean Bruneau.… Read the rest
Winner-Take-All System in US Universities
Jun 30th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A star system for a few while the drones barely make a living. Is this education or show biz?… Read the rest
