Author Insights

AI Generated Image While reading my email this morning I accidentally came across Pau NG's channel posting of Carvalho's Laudate Pueri Dominum on Youtube. From the first sound, my attention was fully diverted from reading to listening. Among the many sacred texts set by composers across the centuries, Psalm 113 (Laudate pueri Dominum — “Praise the Lord, you servants of the Lord”) occupies a distinctive place. Its language of praise, majesty, and humility has inspired se

Hans Olde, Portrait of Friedrich Nietzsche, ca. 1890s. Public domain. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. A recent article in the May 2026 issue of The New Criterion rekindled an intellectual interest I first developed nearly six decades ago while studying German language and literature. The article, “Language Matters,” appearing in the Critic’s Notebook section, prompted me to revisit the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche, perhaps the most persistently misunderstood philosopher of

As I have pondered the art of writing over the last couple of months, particularly since Thanksgiving, four names have kept resurfacing in my mind. Not as a syllabus checklist, but as a recurrent, almost private refrain: Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Goethe, and Proust. I have enjoyed reading many authors with equal sincerity, yet these four keep coming to mind lately. They are different writers in almost every way I can imagine, so why the persistence? The Power of Literary Reflect

In ordinary speech, intuition is the sense that an answer is correct before one can articulate the full reasoning that supports it. In the research literature, intuition is better treated as a family of rapid inference procedures. Some fast judgments are genuinely skilled when the environment is stable, learnable, and provides repeated feedback. Others are heuristic: they are efficient, but they can mislead when the task requires combining imperfect evidence with background p

In the realm of thoughtful commentary and intellectual discourse, the journey of crafting a piece does not end with the final word typed. Rather, it begins anew with the process of post analysis. How often do we pause to reflect on the impact of our words, the resonance of our ideas, or the clarity of our message? This reflective practice is essential for anyone who values the written word as a living conversation rather than a static statement. Through careful examination of

A review of Elliott Ash, Daniel Chen, and Suresh Naidu (QJE, February 2026) U.S. Supreme Court Building Years ago a good friend told me something to the effect that those who claim all politics is local are incorrect. Instead he offered 'all politics is economics.' This was a bit before I took my first course in economics and before I read Galbraith, Mises, Sowell, Williams, or Hayek. Those with a penchant to categorize things might make valid inferences about my preferred

In the realm of literary commentary and intellectual discourse, few topics invite as much reflection as the nuanced examination of language and expression. From the time of the mandatory book reports I was forced to write, I was nevertheless curious about the point of such an exercise. In an advanced writing class, I realized that it was all about the synthesis of ideas and the potential depth of understanding such a process could offer. As I grew in my desire to communicate

When we engage with art and design, we often find ourselves drawn to the surface - the colors, shapes, and immediate emotions they evoke. Yet, beneath this initial impression lies a complex web of intention, technique, and cultural context that demands a more measured and reflective approach. In this exploration, I invite you to join me in peeling back the layers of art and design critique, a process that enriches our understanding and appreciation of creative works. The Esse

Modifiers, conflation, and the mechanics of manipulative media Headlines: see first & remember. A very long time ago, perhaps when I was in junior high, I picked up a newspaper and encountered a headline that triggered an immediate, febrile response … anger. I do not remember the topic, but I suspect it involved Germany and the Holocaust. It seemed not merely unfair, but malicious. At least that was what my gut was telling me. That moment taught me to read headlines more

I hear Irene playing the piano in the background. That explains the smile! The genesis of Y Naught Books emerged from a confluence of...

In the realm of captivating fiction, there lies a world where suspense, action, and intrigue come together in a symphony of words and...