i have no subject, SRY
The enlightenment was a beautiful thing. People cast aside dogma and authority. They started to think for themselves. Natural science flourished. Understanding of the real world increased. The hegemony of religion slowly declined. Real universities were created and eventually democracy took hold. The modern world was born. Until recently we were making good progress. So what went wrong?
The past 30 years or so have been an age of endarkenment. It has been a period in which truth ceased to matter very much, and dogma and irrationality became once more respectable. This matters when people delude themselves into believing that we could be endangered at 45 minutes' notice by non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
It matters when reputable accountants delude themselves into thinking that Enron-style accounting is acceptable. It matters when people are deluded into thinking that they will be rewarded in paradise for killing themselves and others. It matters when bishops attribute floods to a deity whose evident vengefulness and malevolence leave one reeling. And it matters when science teachers start to believe that the Earth was created 6,000 years ago.
-The Age of Endarkenment, Guardian.co.uk
I've made it a point lately to talk about what I (and a few others) thought was a loss of American intelligence, but apparently in other countries, like Britain, there are similar sentiments. I'll admit that it makes me feel more justified in my opinion to read articles like the above quoted but that justification comes with the caveat that there actually may be something wrong occurring within Western societies that may become a problem much worse in scope and magnitude. Then again, reading comments like this one (from the Reddit page which linked the above quoted article) lessons my apprehension a good deal:Perhaps irrationality is not on the rise. Perhaps we're only better able to see it. Our enhanced perception on it makes it seem bigger but perhaps it isn't.
I wonder whether we aren't in an age where irrationality is becoming more obvious and can be communicated about more easily. Irrationality itself may not be increasing but, using modern communication media, we are much more easily able to judge something as irrational and communicate to others about it.
The enlightenment was fueled in part by a revolution in information technology: the printing press. In part it was a reaction to, and rejection of, the attitudes that had come before. Let's hope that the internet is not really fueling irrationality but is instead helping us see it better.
I'm no longer one to bank on 'hope,' but I'll certainly look forward to any proof of the chance we aren't moving backwards.
On a much lighter note...
1). Stardust: Funny lil' fantasy/comedic-romance. It was well done I think. A nicely told story of fantasy that never takes itself too seriously. I did notice one inconsistency that shouldn't have made it out of the editing room, but... I'll let it slide, 'cause it only lasts a few seconds anyway and doesn't take away much from the scene unless your paying close attention (i.e. if you're really into fantasy and/or sci-fi; e.g. me). If you're not big on fantasy, wait 'til it comes out on DVD, buy it for a young family member and watch it them at some point.
2). Rocket Science: Man, what a delightful, awkward, honest movie. This is the kind of coming-of-age movie I enjoy the most. None of that tried-and-true sad, awkward kid turns into happy, popular kid crap here. Let me reassure you the same dim bulb you're presented with at the beginning of this movie is the same dim bulb it ends with, no matter what the narrator tells you in the beginning (which confused the hell out of me, 'cause all through out the movie I kept waiting for the montage-into-manhood that plagues these movies, but it thankfully never came). The movie does, however, happen to be, at different points, honest, poignant and funny. It's a damn good movie, and I hope for a larger release at some point in the future.
I still haven't seen: Knocked Up, Rush Hour 3, Die Hard 4 or Jason Bourne 3. This is truly the Summer of sequels.
I'm lookin' forward to The Golden Compass and The Spiderwick Chronicles though. Yes, they're both children's movies... don't judge me! :P