The Narthex

Have you ever heard the protestation “There’s no such thing as a bad boy!” It’s what a doting grandmother might say, at least in Grand Rapids, Michigan. What did my grandmother really mean? Probably something like “There’s hope for him yet.” That was true, although it’s false that there’s no…

When I die, I’ll have plenty to say. But, gentle reader, you’ll not hear it. Friends, neighbors, and writers of obituaries will, no doubt, have something to say. Fortunately, with my not being an old soldier, no one will comment that “he just faded away.” Most of us, it seems,…

Puzzles, especially real life puzzles, can drive us crazy. (When my dad was charged with doing this very thing, he’d reply “Sir/Madam, in your case it will be a short, quick trip.”) But puzzles can also lead to insight, and the harder the puzzle the more valuable the insight can…

Let’s list a few words: smart, clever, bright, ingenious. They’re all familiar. No one needs to make a pitch for aspiring to being smart, clever, bright, or ingenious. With “practical reason” we’re in a different territory. The term isn’t so familiar. It’s easy to confuse with “practicality.” And we can’t…

America, it’s said, is the land of the free and home of the brave. It’s also said, and might well be true, that America flies the flag of pragmatism. But if we are pragmatists, then the star spangled banner is at risk. So is our freedom, and our bravery is…

The headline caught my eye: “Banksy shreds a painting, and its value likely rises.” Even if you sampled the media fanfare, some background helps. Banksy is an unnamed but not unnoticed U.K. street artist. The painting, Girl with Balloon, first appeared in 2002 as a stencil on a London building.…

A character in Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, tempted to despair, asks an intriguing question. Will beauty save the world? There are a couple of reasons to answer “not likely.” Here’s a first reason. Since there are sharply differing accounts of the nature of beauty, it probably isn’t any one thing. But…

Hummingbirds are wonderful creatures. Happily, their range is expanding. Studies show this expansion! Of course, we often read of studies that reach less welcome conclusions. Studies have shown that fish oil does little to lower cholesterol; they’ve shown that aspirin doesn’t reduce heart attacks. New studies cast doubt on the…

Let’s start with good blockers. Alpha-blockers and beta-blockers play a strategic role in reducing high blood pressure and even some cardiac problems. They’re health-defenders. Next up? Something seasonal: Fall’s the season for football blockers, especially welcome as goal-defenders. What about bad blockers? They’re a motley crew of offenders. Enter name-droppers…

“Don’t mess with Texas!” Right, probably a mistake. There’s no doubt, though, that it’s folly to cross Mother Nature. And Father Time? Why, he chronicles the history of our lives. Surely, then, Henry Ford’s famous “History is bunk!” is nonsense—on stilts.  Isn’t it history that decides our worth and measures…

What is the aim of our clicking and reading? It is not to say, "Whatever!" The aim is thinking. And when we think, we form judgments. We think, for example, that G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, that gin merits tonic, that the Babylon Bee has great satire. When we think we…