Order & Evasion

07/25/2026

Some social scientists love saying “but it’s more complicated than that”…but this habit is generally killing good theory, not improving it.

Of course, it is not a case against subtlety or care in general rather it is a case against nuance being treated as automatically a virtue, the reflexive move people make when they don’t have a real answer. The rule is simple: stop demanding more nuance, start demanding clearer, bolder ideas.

07/25/2026

It actually happened in Washington, D.C., in April 1986. A group of math teachers, led by textbook author John Saxon, picketed outside the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) conference to protest a new policy pushing calculator use.

07/05/2026

America didn’t invent rejecting kings. It just invented a version that protected property first. Now that monarchical presumption is back in the US, maybe it’s time to learn from the ‘other republicans.’ Historian Priya Satia’s latest essay.

07/04/2026

There is no ‘Muslim world,’ and there never was. Cemil Aydin shows the idea was invented in the 19th century, by European imperialists and pan-Islamists alike. Every pundit who says ‘the Muslim world thinks…’ needs this book.

07/04/2026

"For as long as human societies have been telling stories, the patriarchy has felt threatened by women"

07/04/2026

Why do we feel lonelier despite being more ‘connected’ than ever? Bowling Alone answered this before smartphones even existed. Putnam’s data on America’s vanishing social ties is the backstory to our loneliness epidemic. Read it.

06/22/2026

How did James Scott respond to his critics?

06/21/2026

What is legibility? James Scott explains the origins of his famous book Seeing Like A State.

06/20/2026

06/20/2026

How does Anthropology help political scientists? James Scott explains.