Miscellaneous

Question 1

What is the original “Catch-22” from Joseph Heller’s 1961 book?

Answer 1

You can be excused from flying missions if you are insane
But if you ask to be excused on account of being insane, that proves you’re sane

Question 2

How do you work out the distance you can see to the horizon?

Answer 2

Take your altitude in meters
Multiply by 13
Square root of that

Question 3

David Brooks: two types of virtues

Answer 3

Resumé virtues and eulogy virtues

Question 4

David Brooks: three things he means by “moral formation”

Answer 4

1. Finding ways to overcome our natural selfishness
2. Finding a purpose in something larger than ourselves
3. Developing social skills, like how to end a disagreement gracefully

From Grey Area podcast

Question 5

David Brooks: four stories that seek to explain the rise of sadness and meanness in Western life

Answer 5

1. The social media story
2. The sociology story
3. The inequality story
4. The moral story

From Grey Area podcast

Question 6

What was the last Bill to be refused Royal Assent?

Answer 6

Scottish Militia Bill 1708

Queen Anne got nervous that Scots in this militia would be disloyal, particularly when the French sailed towards Scotland planning an invasion, during the War of the Spanish Succession

Question 7

Ezra Klein quote about the difference between podcasts and Twitter:

Answer 7

Podcasts make me like the people I disagree with; Twitter makes me hate the people I agree with

Question 8

What is one contradiction making up what Ruth Whippman calls “impossible masculinity”?

Answer 8

We expect men to be strong and dominant and to make the first move; we also tell them to never overstep or give out unwanted attention, or they’ll be a creep

This was on the Jordan Harbinger show. She said many men just don’t bother with relationships as a result

Question 9

In Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of Our Nature, what are the six historical trends he identifies?

Answer 9

1. Pacification process
2. Civilizing process
3. Humanitarian Revolution
4. Long Peace
5. New Peace
6. Rights Revolutions

Question 10

In Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of Our Nature, what are the five ‘inner demons’ he identifies?

Answer 10

1. Predatory/instrumental violence
2. Dominance
3. Revenge
4. Sadism
5. Ideology

Question 11

In Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of Our Nature, what are the four ‘better angels’ he identifies?

Answer 11

1. Empathy
2. Self-control
3. Moral sense
4. Reason

Question 12

In Steven Pinker’s Better Angels of Our Nature, what are the five historical forces he identifies?