If you missed yesterday’s total eclipse of the sun (21 August 2017), the next one will occur in less than seven years (8 April 2024). (Bonus material: Walter Cronkite reports on the 1979 eclipse, and here is a collection of the best photographs and videos of the 2017 eclipse. Double hat tip: Jason Kottke.)
In memoriam: Cedric J. Robinson
Even after so many years, one of the things that I loved the most and still remember about my political theory professor Cedric J. Robinson was the quiet cadence and authoratative tone of his voice. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you too can listen to Dr Robinson here:
Assorted links (Cedric J. Robinson edition)
We are writing a series of blog posts in honor of our teacher, mentor, and friend Cedric J. Robinson (1940-2016). Dr Robinson was a prolific and creative scholar who wrote about culture, history, political theory, and much more. For your reference, here is just a small sample of his work:
- 1980a: The terms of order: political science and the myth of leadership
- 1980b: Notes toward a “native” theory of history
- 1983: Black Marxism: the making of the black radical tradition
- 1990: Oliver Cromwell Cox and the historiography of the West
- 1993: The appropriation of Frantz Fanon
- 1998: Blaxploitation and the misrepresentation of liberation
- 2007: Forgeries of memory and meaning
In honor of Cedric J. Robinson (1940-2016)
I have just learned that my teacher and mentor Cedric Robinson (pictured below) passed away last summer. (I was his student at UCSB and was awarded a scholarship named after him.) Dr Robinson was a student and critic of Marxist theory. Among other things, he wrote about “racial capitalism,” and his critique of traditional politics anticipated the organization of “horizontal movements” such as Black Lives Matter, a decentralized political movement without a single, unifying political leader. I will share some remembrances about my teacher, mentor, and friend in my next blog post.
Assorted links (daily routines edition)
- Introduction (Tyler Cowen): Do we undervalue routine?
- Mornings (Kristin Wong): Why your morning routine isn’t working
- Afternoons (Patrick Allan): You need an afternoon routine
- Evenings (Sam Thomas Davies): The evening routines of the most successful people
- Writing (Peg Boyle Single): A writing routine
- Against routine (Jessica Stillman): An argument against routine
Visualization of aliens (1947-1992)

Hat tip: The Amazing Cliff Pickover
What illegal immigration crisis?
Hat tip: Noah Smith, via Bloomberg View.

How to become a Bayesian in eight easy steps
That is the title of this paper (preprint via PsyArXiv) by Alexander Etz, et al. We plan on reading it in the next few days and will report back soon! (Hat tip: Brian D. Earp, via Twitter.)

Image credit: burrsettles






