Err, personally, I think Joel Kotkin has fallen into the same populist trap that seems to ensnare fiction writers and serious journalists alike, roughly every decade – a somewhat unknown but economically prominent non-American, non-European race is targeted as the lurking enemy that will surely ruin us [the west]. Japan is the most notable of these erstwhile enemies of the state – remember Michael Crichton’s “Rising Sun” from 1992? Kotkin’s article borrow’s liberally from the anti-Japanese tropes of 20 years ago, codifying our own economic insecurity, and reinforcing the tribalism that he himself decries.

With China’s new prominence in global affairs, the Han race, which constitutes 90 percent of the Chinese population, is suddenly the most dominant cohesive ethnic group in the world — and it is seeking to remain that way through strategic alliances, aggressive trade policy, and attacks on racial minorities within the country’s boundaries. The less tribally cohesive, more fragmented West is, meanwhile, losing out.

via Rise of the Hans – By Joel Kotkin | Foreign Policy.

What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it. To get good at anything you have to work, and children on their own never want to work, which is why it is crucial to override their preferences. This often requires fortitude on the part of the parents because the child will resist; things are always hardest at the beginning, which is where Western parents tend to give up. But if done properly, the Chinese strategy produces a virtuous circle. Tenacious practice, practice, practice is crucial for excellence; rote repetition is underrated in America. Once a child starts to excel at something—whether it’s math, piano, pitching or ballet—he or she gets praise, admiration and satisfaction.

via Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior – WSJ.com.

I have to imagine (as a non-parent) that there other factors that contribute to a child’s “success.” The definition of “success” for example, or the peer groups that they are exposed to. Nonetheless, an interesting perspective on a key psychological difference between two societies.

via Reddit.

In the late 1950s, psychologist Milton Rokeach was gripped by an eccentric plan. He gathered three psychiatric patients, each with the delusion that they were Jesus Christ, to live together for two years in Ypsilanti State Hospital to see if their beliefs would change.

Read on at Salon – “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”. (found on Reddit)

The reason for the arrest was a tweet I had posted on the social network Twitter, which was deemed to constitute a bomb threat against Robin Hood airport in Doncaster: “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You've got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I'm blowing the airport sky high!” You may say, and I certainly realise now, it was ill-advised. But it was clearly frustration, caused by heavy snowfall grounding flights and potentially scuppering my own flight a week later. Like having a bad day at work and stating that you could murder your boss, I didn't even think about whether it would be taken seriously.

via My tweet was silly, but the police reaction was absurd | Paul Chambers | Comment is free | The Guardian.

Ms. Hegemann finds herself in the middle of a collision — if not road kill exactly — between the staid, literary establishment in a country that venerates writers from Goethe to Mann to Grass, and the Berlin youth culture of D.J.’s and artists that sample freely and thereby breathe creativity into old forms. Or as one character, Edmond, puts it in the book, “Berlin is here to mix everything with everything.”

via Author, 17, Says It’s ‘Mixing,’ Not Plagiarism – NYTimes.com.

I’m all for remixing, mashups, and creative plagiarism – provided its done with proper credit and attribution, and respectfully of other artist’s rights where applicable. Hegemann erred in presenting the work as exclusively her own, not the literary remix that it apparently is.

Question 1: Is the Mohawk culture that vulnerable? Question 2: Is evicting other races really the best way to protect it? Question 3: Is there more story to what looks like a simply bizarre move?

Picture credit: Ericcson’s Blog