The Disappearing Intellectual
We live at a time that might be appropriately called the age of the disappearing intellectual. In a media scape and public sphere that view criticism, dialog and thoughtfulness as a liability, anti-intellectuals abound, providing commentaries that are nativist, racist, reactionary and morally repugnant. But the premium put on ignorance and the disdain for critical intellectuals is not monopolized by the dominant media, it appears to have become one of the few criteria left for largely wealthy individuals to qualify for public office. Underlying this drift toward the disappearing critical intellectual and the erasure of substantive critique is a regime of economic Darwinism in which a culture of ignorance serves to both depoliticize the larger public while simultaneously producing individual and collective subjects necessary and willing to participate in their own oppression. The cheerful robot is not simply an opprobrium for ignorance, it is a metaphor for the systemic construction in American society of a new mode of depoliticized and thoughtless form of agency. Democracy places civic demands upon its citizens. It may be the case that everyday life is increasingly organized around market principles; but confusing a market-determined society with democracy hollows out the legacy of higher education, whose deepest roots are moral, not commercial. This is a particularly important insight in a society where the free circulation of ideas are not only being replaced by ideas managed by the dominant media, but where critical ideas are increasingly viewed or dismissed as banal, if not reactionary.
http://www.truth-out.org/the-disappearing-intellectual-age-economic-darwinism61287?print
The Dark Triad
Peter Jonason of New Mexico University believes that narcissism and callousness may have an innate, genetic component. Speaking in New Scientist, Dr Jonason describes the "Dark Triad" of traits: the self-obsession of narcissism, the impulsive, thrill-seeking and callous behaviour of psychopaths, and the deceitful and exploitative nature of Machiavellianism. "We have evidence that these traits may represent a successful evolutionary strategy," he says. While acknowledging that clinical levels of the Dark Triad traits are certainly socially undesirable, Dr Jonason and his colleagues argue that the traits that underlie the Dark Triad, which are partially independent but moderately related to one another, are best viewed as one particular social orientation towards others and may facilitate people's goals, especially when those goals involve an exploitative social strategy and a short-term mating strategy. Those scoring high on the Dark Triad tended to be more extraverted, open to experience, and have higher self-esteem. They also tended to be less agreeable, neurotic, and conscientious. "The traits reflect a highly selfish social strategy. High level of self-esteem, extraversion, and openness, along with low levels of conscientiousness and anxiety, may be instrumental in enabling an exploiter to persist in the face of potential social rejection and retaliation." "In a world where individuals want to avoid being taken advantage of, those high on the Dark Triad, like James Bond, who tend to be more agentic than others, have a particularly difficult task at hand. How to get what they want without rousing the suspicions or retaliations of others? The answer is to be extraverted, open, high on self-esteem, and low on conscientiousness and anxiety while being individualistic and competitive," Dr Jonason argues.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201007/james-bonds-psyche
World's Worst Apartment Building
Hookers, Slot Machines, Rats: Life at The Bronx's 2320 Aqueduct Avenue.
Everything about the derelict apartment building at 2320 Aqueduct Avenue in the Bronx is a gamble. The place is pretty much a madhouse. From 1994 to 2007, the prewar building was owned by Jacob Selechnik, a former member of the Voice's "10 Worst Landlords" list, whom tenant activists dubbed "Jake the Snake" -- and not just for his rap sheet of more than 10,000 code violations on his vast array of Bronx properties. Not so long ago, pigeons were being raised on the roof of 2320 Aqueduct, prompting an invasion of rats on the floors below. More recently, prostitutes plied their trade in the lobby's utility closet. When the dope dealer out front concluded his business for the day, you could find him living in the building's elevator machine room. Currently, a makeshift casino and numbers parlor operates out of a first-floor apartment. http://www.villagevoice.com/2009-12-01/news/hookers-slot-machines-rats-life-at-the-bronx-s-2320-aqueduct-ave/
