"It was humbling to realize that we lived in a small corner of the universe, and electrifying to know that there was so much more to learn about it."
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Joel J Miller
@joeljmiller
Chief product officer: FullFocus.co. Weekly newsletter: MillersBookReview.substack.com. Podcast: BadBooksoftheBible.com.
Joel J Miller’s Tweets
What people can do that Artificial Intelligence can’t … for now.
Including "the French" is funny, but it's also a pretty good demonstration of why "the" labels are not in fact innately dehumanizing. Those convoluted "people with X" locutions aren't just awkward; for the most part, they're pointless.
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We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing “the” labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college-educated. Instead, use wording such as people with mental illnesses. And use these descriptions only when clearly relevant.
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It might take a while for people to get really tuned in to this trend, but essentially follows a 'work from anywhere' plan.
Remote work is the best thing to happen to families in decades, by
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Revising one's work involves a strange faith: that the person who created the problems can solve them.
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Thanks to for the reflections on the NT. Anyone wanting to find out more, you can do so here: gorgiaspress.com/new-testament- #Bible #NewTestament #Peshitta
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Replying to @cjs_lancaster and @dandarling
Big plug for @gorgiaspress’s Peshitta New Testament in English. It’s a fluid translation with an elegant typeset page. Very readable.
And the Manual of Eastern Orthodox Prayers is one I’ve been using over over a decade now. It’s a mid-20th c project of Anglican and O’dox clergy.
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Do you feel the need to finish every book you start?
Basic economics says should probably rethink that.
The has released its Human Freedom Index, which reports on 2020 (latest year for data) and notes a decline from 2019. Overview below. By et al. HT Read at cato.org/human-freedom-
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“Times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book.” - Cicero.
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I love ChatGTP, but it doesn’t have a sense of humor. And it’s a wee bit tsk-tsky.
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Composing room of the New York Times newspaper, 1942. 📸 Marjory Collins.
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I don't always finish books I start. is exactly right: it's okay to not finish every book you start.
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A third of U.S. adults reports “always” finishing a book once they start. Honestly, that’s a bad idea. Here’s why 
millersbookreview.substack.com/p/tbr-lol-dnf
millersbookreview.substack.com/p/tbr-lol-dnf
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A third of U.S. adults reports “always” finishing a book once they start. Honestly, that’s a bad idea. Here’s why ➡️ millersbookreview.substack.com/p/tbr-lol-dnf
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I have superpowers!
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"The ability to forget is even more remarkable than the ability to remember." - Al-Jahiz (d. 869)
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"The ability to forget is even more remarkable than the ability to remember." - Al-Jahiz (d. 869)
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Smug-and-middle-class-book-cult lyfe:
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Apparently, I buy avocados mostly to throw them away. Rock hard one day, terrible the next. They’re only good for about a 30 minute window.
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A friend posted a picture outside of his prayerbook with an unlit cigar off to the side.
Great combo. I haven’t smoked in years, but I used to get up at 4am and sit on my front porch with my prayerbook and cigar every morning. Can we call it incense?
It was divine, literally.
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Quitting a bad or uninteresting book isn’t lazy; it’s prudent. It’s almost as profitable as minting time.
When Your TBR Is LOL, Try DNF ➡️ millersbookreview.substack.com/p/tbr-lol-dnf
Trump, Biden, now Pence all with classified docs at home.
Time for a little business-coach advice: “Guys, why don’t you try leaving work at the office? Your spouse will thank you. So will the FBI.”
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Question: Do you feel compelled to finish a book once you start? Here’s my take. I’d love to hear yours.
Political argument #10: I’ll just say whatever the heck I want and say your objections mean you’re weak, stupid, out of touch, whatever.
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Political argument #8: I’ll denounce your claims by calling you elitist, even though I’m just another brand of elitist.
Political argument #9: I’ll promise things I can’t deliver and ding you for not delivering what you did (or didn’t) promise.
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Political argument #6: I’ll avoid real answers by saying your argument is “problematic,” “discredited,” etc.
Political argument #7: I’ll have my people shout louder than your people.
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Political argument #4: I’ll find minor fault with your claim or sources and use it to denounce your entire project.
Political argument #5: I won’t bother to read any of your sources. I’ll just say what others say about them.
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Political argument #2: I’ll let you make your claim, grievance, whatever, then answer with a clever putdown.
Political argument #3: I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you said and bring up another subject.
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10 different political arguments. They’re lame, but you'll probably hear one this morning. In fact, treat it like bingo. See if you can get all 10 before noon.
Political argument #1: I’ll take down the worst version of your argument, while claiming you ignore the best of mine.
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And then Job hits back with this zinger: “No doubt you’re the people, and wisdom will die with you.”
Probably not the first time—and definitely not the last—when sarcasm failed to settle something. There are 30 more chapters.
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Twitter fights before Twitter.
In Job, our hero serves Bildad some fire, when Zophar, waiting for his chance, jumps in:
“Should a multitude of words go unanswered...Should your babble put others to silence, and when you mock, shall no one shame you?”
He rattles on for a bit…
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Make no mistake: *is* a fraud who did make up a "fictitional" character when he won a congressional seat. But the lies Santos (and , , and ) tell on the campaign trail are dwarfed by the lies they tell about the laws they pass.
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Worse Than Jerks: Why Some People Have Rotten Character
And Why Socrates Couldn’t Fix It: Reviewing ‘The Quest for Character’ by Massimo Pigliucci. With insights from and
Link ➡️ millersbookreview.substack.com/p/quest-for-ch
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Initial 'A'(pocalypsis) formed of a peacock at the beginning of the book
BL Add MS 11852; Pauline Epistles, Epistle to the Laodiceans, Acts, Catholic Epistles, Revelation (the 'Codex Ulmensis'); 3rd quarter of the 9th century; St Gall, Switzerland; f.193r
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“Someday everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody/When I paint my masterpiece”
—Bob Dylan
Barista calling out my name from the beyond, “Joel, cappuccino! Joel, cappuccino!”
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Remarkable in its retention of color, this Roman-era Egyptian mummy shroud depicts a young woman wearing a pink garment with black clavi (stripes), standing beneath a jeweled arch. She's holding a cup and a floral garland, surrounded by funerary deities (AD 190-220). #Egypt
read image description
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Always amazed how analytic philosophers devote hundreds of articles to some topics...while in the past 50 years writing almost nothing on kindness, on honesty, on generosity, on patience, and on graciousness.
Stunning, really.
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Our youngest has strep. We stayed home today to take care of her—lots of couch time.
I just realized I still have my pajamas on … from last night.
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