Links for 2011-01-26

"When some polarizing figure publishes a book, the sales of that book do provide one useful way of gauging the popularity of that figure or that point of view.[...]

But say some less polarizing figure also publishes a book taking the opposite view and it doesn't sell anywhere near as well. Is that an indication that the opposite view has relatively less support?

That's one possibility. Generally, though, it's difficult to compare the two books head-to-head. One might have received a great deal more publicity than the other, might have more money or media power behind it, etc. It also may be the case that the more polarizing book generates more publicity and garners more attention because it is more provocative, more outlandish and more controversial.

It may even be the case that the more popular book is more popular because it is obviously and extravagantly wrong."

"TB is curious about what it means to be a man, and I'm acutely aware that he sees me every single day. He hasn't yet hit the age at which I turn stupid; in his eyes, I'm still a pretty smart guy. He wanted to watch the game with me not because he particularly cares about football -- he doesn't -- but because it was the kind of thing that boys do with their Dads. He wants to be part of the club, and he looks to me to teach him the rules of the club.
[...]
Later, after he went to bed, I thought about it some more. He's not some androgynous cipher, or a tabula rasa. He's a specific, three-dimensional boy. He's tall for his age, and well on his way to being tall for any age. He plays basketball and builds sculptures and wants to go to M.I.T. In a few years, the hormones will kick in, and he'll have to find his way through the sheer hell of adolescence.

He needs a model of manhood that he can actually use."

"Everyone loves a good courtroom scene. We get lots of dramatic speeches and over-acting and Jack Nicholson reminding us that we can in no way handle the truth. But more than that, these scenes ultimately lead to Lady Justice being served. The bad guys go to jail.

Unfortunately, much of the time justice gets served only because a screenwriter twisted the law beyond recognition."