THE DUNNING-KRUGER EFFECT, ME, AND JOHN CLEESE
IT SOUNDS like a Grade-B sci-fi theme, but the Dunning-Kruger Effect is, alas, as timely as today’s headlines, rings true with my own intellectual life, and, what’s more, has an … Continue reading
THE MEAL/LE REPAS/DIE MAHLZEIT/IL PASTO
OF COURSE, even jingoistic world travelers need sustenance. And, indeed, mealtimes are part of the pleasure of mixing with foreigners, especially if you know how to order them around. Have … Continue reading
TOADY, pl. TOADIES (THERE’S NO LACK OF THEM)
I FIND it odd that the word “toady” dates from not quite 200 years ago. One would have thought such “flatterers in hope of gaining favors” had been around long … Continue reading
HEDGING THE ODDS OF WARTIME AVIATION
IT HAS been said, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” And so it is for those fighting in the air above. Flying Against Fate, by S.P. MacKenzie, is a highly … Continue reading
MASANIELLO MAKING NAPLES GREAT AGAIN?
TOMMASO ANIELLO, Masaniello, for short, was a Neapolitan fisherman who led a populist revolt against Habsburg Spain in 1647. So far, so good. However, he was destined to be dissed … Continue reading
RACECAR NOISE!
LET US celebrate the New Year with racecar noise. This celebration came to mind a couple weeks ago when I unearthed my Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band Beatles album … Continue reading
2017—WE MADE IT TO THE END!
IT HAS been an interesting year here at SimanaitisSays. I’ve had a ball researching and composing items at a rate far exceeding my pre-retirement editorial activities. Here, celebrating 2017’s passage, … Continue reading
AAAS LOOKS AT AUTONOMOUS CARS
SCIENCE, THE WEEKLY magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, asks on its December 15, 2017, cover, “When Will We Get There?” Its subhead: “Deploying driverless cars … Continue reading
A PAIR OF BLITTS, ONE WITH WINTER
BARRY BLITT is a wonderful political cartoonist whose work in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and other publications has earned him “adoration from critics and fans … Continue reading
РОССИЙСКИЙ РОК
ROCK MUSIC in Russia has an interesting history, as I was reminded while sorting some old vinyl LPs looking for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band that appeared here at … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 