Steveawiggins

LATEST ARTICLES ( 4659 )

• Devonian Dreams

  

  Toothbrush and dental pick in hand, I go at it. Not that I’m a professional, mind you, but curiosity drives me to this. You see, this crinoid before me is at... Read more

  Posted on 16 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Big Shoes

  

  Belief in the supernatural seems to be alive here in the northwest. At least if the culture at Sea-Tac Airport is anything to go by. Read more

  Posted on 15 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Of Fancy

  

  Later today—at this time of morning the use of the word “day” feels ironic—I’ll be on a plane heading out of civilization. Well, to be more precise I’ll be... Read more

  Posted on 14 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Pagan Values

  

  “Pagan” used to be a pejorative term. If we’re honest we’ll have to admit that it is still used that way by many people. All the term really denotes, however, i... Read more

  Posted on 13 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Average Reality

  

  One of the stranger dynamics of higher education is its unquestioning acceptance of a one-size-fits-all methodology. Don’t get me wrong—the empirical method... Read more

  Posted on 12 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Clean Sweep

  The other day I was reading about cleaner wrasses. These are the fish, usually in coral reef community, that establish a place of business, and other fishes... Read more

  Posted on 11 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Any Means Necessary

  

  As one of his first acts as governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie cut the Access to the Region’s Core tunnel project. This was before he closed the state-run... Read more

  Posted on 10 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Literary License

  

  Whenever I orient myself to a new place, I tend to do so by the writers who’ve lived there. As a family we used to take “literary trips” to visit locations... Read more

  Posted on 09 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Consequences of Being Smart

  

  A few years ago my wife bought me a smart phone. Being lifelong Mac users, the iPhone was the model of choice. I don’t have the intense connectivity issues of... Read more

  Posted on 08 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• The Ezra Puzzle

  

  America loves the Bible. Thing is, most Americans have no idea how complex the Bible actually is. Jewish, Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Christian Orthodox... Read more

  Posted on 07 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Epics of Humanity

  

  The Epic of Gilgamesh survived only by being buried. Its survival is perhaps less surprising than its discovery after having been lost for many centuries. Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fundamental Law

  

  Last year I posted a piece on Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints fugitive Lyle Jeffs. The occasion for my venturing into this sect was... Read more

  Posted on 05 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Liberty and Justice

  

  I confess to being a bit vexed. How are we supposed to celebrate Independence Day under the Trump administration? Since January our government has demonstrated... Read more

  Posted on 04 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Heresy Collection

  

  Geology isn’t a great avocation for those of us with an unsettled existence. Having grown up with a fondness for fossils—maybe because they were so... Read more

  Posted on 03 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Classical Education

  

  Andrew Dickson White famously wanted Cornell University, unlike what would become known as the other Ivy League schools, to be non-sectarian. Read more

  Posted on 02 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• 1985

  

  My edition of 1984 contains an afterword by Erich Fromm. I’m afraid I’ve been in publishing long enough to be somewhat cynical about “value-added content” that’... Read more

  Posted on 01 July 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Editing Sheep

  

  Many academics I know dismiss editors as just another species of laity put on earth to serve the guild. There’s perhaps some truth to that. Read more

  Posted on 30 June 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Sky Blue

  

  How do you capture a true and abiding fascination in words? That’s a thought that comes to me once in a while when I think about the sky. It’s so hard to define... Read more

  Posted on 29 June 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Serpent Number One

  

  I haven’t read The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. Yet. My reading list is frighteningly enormous and constantly growing. I just can’t seem to get on top of it. Read more

  Posted on 28 June 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY

• Fishers of Cars

  

  The car was drunkenly weaving across lanes in substantial traffic along Interstate 80. Erratic driving that, although not breathalyzer confirmed, suggested... Read more

  Posted on 27 June 2017 POLITICS, RELIGION, SOCIETY