{"id":7682,"date":"2025-05-23T18:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-24T01:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/?p=7682"},"modified":"2025-05-23T18:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-05-24T01:44:07","slug":"things-glen-found-interesting-volume-505-porn-divorce-and-a-delightful-philosopher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/05\/23\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-505-porn-divorce-and-a-delightful-philosopher","title":{"rendered":"Things Glen Found Interesting, Volume 505: porn, divorce, and a delightful philosopher"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4396\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=2048&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/issachar-update-logo-wordswag.png?w=1680&amp;ssl=1 1680w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 85vw, 300px\"><\/a>\n\n    On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Things Glen Found Interesting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/19\/opinion\/pornography-harm-society.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Delusion of Porn\u2019s Harmlessness<\/a> (Christine Emba, New York Times): \u201cDespite significant evidence that a deluge of pornography has had a negative impact on modern society, there is a curious refusal, especially in progressive circles, to publicly admit disapproval of porn. Criticizing porn goes against the norm of nonjudgmentalism for people who like to consider themselves forward-thinking, thoughtful and open-minded.\u2026 But a lack of judgment sometimes comes at the expense of discernment. As a society, we are allowing our desires to continue to be molded in experimental ways, for profit, by an industry that does not have our best interests at&nbsp;heart.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/papers\/w33776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Divorce, Family Arrangements, and Children\u2019s Adult Outcomes<\/a> (Andrew C. Johnston,&nbsp; Maggie R. Jones&nbsp; &amp; Nolan G. Pope, NBER): \u201cWe find that parental divorce reduces children\u2019s adult earnings and college residence while increasing incarceration, mortality, and teen births.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This paper will have significant influence \u2014 expect to see its findings quoted in op-eds and public debates. The authors are at UT Austin, the Census Bureau, and U of Maryland. Excerpt is from the abstract. It\u2019s a 30 page paper with about 30 more pages of graphs and charts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Two perspectives on&nbsp;AI:&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefp.com\/p\/ai-everyones-cheating-thats-good-news\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Everyone\u2019s Using AI To Cheat at School. That\u2019s a Good Thing.<\/a> (Tyler Cowen, The Free Press): \u201cUnlike many people who believe this spells the end of quality American education, I think this crisis is ultimately good news. And not just because I believe American education was already in a profound crisis\u2014the result of ideological capture, political monoculture, and extreme conformism\u2014long before the LLMs. These models are such great cheating aids because they are also such great teachers. Often they are better than the human teachers we put before our kids, and they are far cheaper at that. They will not unionize or attend pro-Hamas protests.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/16\/technology\/what-is-agi.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why We\u2019re Unlikely to Get Artificial General Intelligence Anytime Soon<\/a> (Cade Metz, New York Times): \u201cIt is indisputable that today\u2019s machines have already eclipsed the human brain in some ways, but that has been true for a long time. A calculator can do basic math faster than a human. Chatbots like ChatGPT can write faster, and as they write, they can instantly draw on more texts than any human brain could ever read or remember. These systems are exceeding human performance on some tests involving high-level math and coding. But people cannot be reduced to these benchmarks.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wordonfire.org\/articles\/remembering-alasdair-macintyre-1929-2025\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Remembering Alasdair MacIntyre (1929\u20132025)<\/a> (Christopher Kaczor, Word on Fire): \u201cMacIntyre was proud never to have earned a PhD: \u2018I won\u2019t go so far as to say that you have a deformed mind if you have a PhD, but you will have to work extra hard to remain educated.\u2019 However, his prolific research won him ten honorary doctorates and appointments as Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He held academic positions at Oxford, Yale, Manchester, Leeds, Essex, University of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Brandeis, Boston University, Wellesley College, Vanderbilt, London Metropolitan University, Duke, and three appointments at Princeton. But he found a lasting home at the University of Notre&nbsp;Dame.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Full of delightful anecdotes about an amazing Catholic philosopher.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/default.blog\/p\/an-efilist-just-bombed-a-fertility\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">An Efilist Just Bombed a Fertility Clinic. Was This Bound To Happen?<\/a> (Katherine Dee, Substack): \u201cIn 2006 the South African philosopher David Benatar published <em>Better Never to Have Been<\/em>, arguing that existence itself is harm, because, according to him, the absence of pain is always good while the absence of pleasure matters only to someone forced to miss it. His book supplied the term <em>antinatalism<\/em> and the asymmetrical equation that sustains it: any new birth inevitably adds suffering to the ledger.\u2026 To make a long story short\u2014too short, in fact, there\u2019s a documentary worth of story in this\u2014Gary Mosher, an irascible vlogger and erstwhile amateur physicist best known as Inmendham, ended up coining <em>efilism<\/em>\u2014\u2018life\u2019 spelled backwards\u2014during this period to insist that every sentient organism is a factory for pain and ought to be snuffed out.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Actually wild. I often criticize utilitarianism and its offshoots, this story illustrates the things I warn about in a tragic way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/22\/opinion\/souter-biden-resignation-age.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Man Who Knew When to Step Down<\/a> (David French, New York Times): \u201cWe live in a country that is positively obsessed with career success and thus defines people through their work more than through their family \u2014 or even their individual virtue. In many of America\u2019s elite circles, you are your career, and when your career is over, how much of you remains? Again, this isn\u2019t simply a problem for judges and politicians. The problem isn\u2019t solely how the powerful define themselves; it\u2019s how we define them. It\u2019s how we choose whom to respect and honor. It takes a person of real fortitude and self-respect simply to walk&nbsp;away.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.siliconcontinent.com\/p\/the-myth-of-the-single-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The myth of the single market<\/a> (Luis Garicano, Substack): \u201cThe IMF puts the hidden cost of trading goods inside the EU at the equivalent of a 45% tariff. For services the figure climbs to 110%, higher than Trump\u2019s \u2018Liberation day\u2019 tariffs on Chinese imports\u2014measures many saw as a near-embargo.\u2026 As a result, actual trade between EU countries is less than half that between US states.\u201d&nbsp;<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The author is a professor of public policy at the London School of Economics and a former EU member of parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list simple-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mashed.com\/1836188\/only-all-you-can-eat-chick-fil-a-america-oklahoma\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hidden In Oklahoma Is The Only All-You-Can Eat Chick-Fil\u2011A In America<\/a> (Natalie Avila, Mashed): \u201cSince 2005, the University of Oklahoma has offered its students all-you-can-eat Chick-fil\u2011A, serving chicken sandwiches, nuggets, waffle fries, and sauces. It\u2019s located inside the Couch Restaurants Diner, a food hall attached to a freshman dorm that always offers unlimited bites. The dining hall welcomes current university students, employees, and guests of&nbsp;both.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gocomics.com\/looseparts\/2025\/05\/21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Move Toward The Light<\/a> (Loose Parts)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.smbc-comics.com\/comic\/gently\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gently<\/a> (SMBC)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email?<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the time of King David, the tribe of Issachar produced shrewd warriors \u201cwho understood the times and knew what Israel should do\u201d (1 Chron 12:32). In a similar way, we need to become wise people whose faith interacts with the world. I pray this email gives you greater insight, so that you may continue the tradition of Issachar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><b>Disclaimer<\/b><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Chi Alpha is not a partisan organization. To paraphrase another minister: we are not about the donkey\u2019s agenda and we are not about the elephant\u2019s agenda \u2014 we are about the Lamb\u2019s agenda. Having said that, I read widely (in part because I believe we should aspire to pass <a href=\"http:\/\/econlog.econlib.org\/archives\/2011\/06\/the_ideological.html\">the ideological Turing test<\/a> and in part because I do not believe I can fairly say \u201cI agree\u201d or \u201cI disagree\u201d until I can say \u201cI understand\u201d) and may at times share articles that have a strong partisan bias simply because I find the article stimulating. The upshot: you should not assume I agree with everything an author says in an article I mention, much less things the author has said in other articles (although if I strongly disagree with something in the article I\u2019ll usually mention it). And to the extent you can discern my opinions, please understand that they are my own and not necessarily those of Chi Alpha or any other organization I may be perceived to represent.\n\nAlso, remember that I\u2019m not reporting news \u2014 I\u2019m giving you a selection of things I found interesting. There\u2019s a lot happening in the world that\u2019s not making an appearance here because I haven\u2019t found stimulating articles written about it.\n\nIf this was forwarded to you and you want to receive future emails, sign up <a href=\"https:\/\/theglendavis.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>. You can also <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/category\/links\">view the archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Fridays I share articles\/resources about broad cultural, societal and theological issues. Be sure to see the explanation and disclaimers at the bottom. I welcome your suggestions. If you read something fascinating please pass it my&nbsp;way. Things Glen Found Interesting Less Serious Things Which Also Interested\/Amused Glen Why Do You Send This&nbsp;Email? In the time \u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2025\/05\/23\/things-glen-found-interesting-volume-505-porn-divorce-and-a-delightful-philosopher\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> \u201cThings Glen Found Interesting, Volume 505: porn, divorce, and a delightful philosopher\u201d<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[16],"tags":[219,270,226,189,120,136],"class_list":["post-7682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-links","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-divorce","tag-europe","tag-family","tag-famous-christians","tag-pornography"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Ded-1ZU","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7682"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7684,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682\/revisions\/7684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glenandpaula.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}