Our universities are floundering. Critical studies are hopelessly muddled. Professors are afraid to speak honestly. #MeToo and cancel culture have ruined the universities for dating even; the majority of students are now young women whom the young men are afraid to ask out.
But it doesn’t really matter because here on Substack, you can learn everything you used to be able to learn at university and more. There are so many good writers here. Some are credentialed historians, psychologists and so on; many are published writers, novelists and journalists; but many are people just thinking through the complexities of life. It’s all wonderful.
I generally try to “save” anything I find interesting, especially if there’s a word or expression in it I don’t know. Here are some examples.
Substack Readings May 5-10, 2025
"defensible clumped resources” — if one social group has by chance exceptional access to resources, this naturally gives rise to a stratified society comprised of elites, commoners, and slaves. Hypothetically, this has been happening in human societies since the beginning of time: a model for inequality everywhere. Why, I wonder, are we so uncomfortable with the idea of inequality? We’re not robots.
“Hollywoke” — I just made this term up, but I’m sure others have too. The era of America’s dominance of global culture is over. The anti-colonial, anti-imperialists should be happy, but they all work in Hollywood, and the talent that hasn’t already left the building, is hiding under their desks. Tariffs won’t save Hollywood; they will nail the coffin shut.
“playpen of infantile regression” — Need we say more?
Quotes this: https://x.com/JDHaltigan/status/1920207926267871236
“adulting” — "In the words of the late Italian theologian Luigi Giussani, the essence of love for one’s neighbor is not to ‘fix’ or ‘revolutionize their situation,’ but rather to ‘share life’ with them." — some plain ol’ fashioned wisdom that is definitely a sign of being a grown up.
“toxic” positivity — There’s no winning down the rabbit hole of second-guesses.
If you’d like to contribute Readings to Substack U, send a link or two to what’s blowing your mind, or put a link in the comments.
P.S. The slogan for Substack U is “scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim” (trans: Each desperate blockhead dares to write.) - Found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_phrases_(S)
Thanks for reading.