Kickoff For March 14, 2022
Welcome to this week’s edition of the Monday Kickoff, a collection of what I’ve found interesting, informative, and insightful on the web over the last seven days.
Let’s get this Monday started with these links:
Ideas
Was Plato a mythmaker or the mythbuster of Western thought?, wherein Tae-Yeoun Keum explores whether the Greek thinker was to blame for steering philosophy away from myth, or bringing it closer to myth.
Marxist Astronomy: The Milky Way According to Anton Pannekoek, wherein we’re introduced to the Dutch astronomer and his idea that what we see in the night sky changes its shape depending on the lived experiences of the viewer.
A history of disruption, from fringe ideas to social change, wherein David Potter explains the core characteristics of the kind of disruption that imposes shifts so radical that a society could not go back to the way it had been.
Crime
The ultra-violent cult that became a global mafia, wherein we learn about Black Axe, a frightening criminal group in Africa that has not only infiltrated politics but also has gained a world-wide reach.
What lies beneath: the secrets of France’s top serial killer expert, wherein we learn about Stéphane Bourgoin, and the online group that’s been working to out him as a plagiarist and a fraud.
The Traveler and His Baggage, wherein we learn about Marcel Petiot, who may have been a prolific mass murderer (in the guise of helping people escape the country) during the German occupation of France in World War Two.
Odds and Ends
Concealment and Compassion, wherein Shannon Mattern takes us though the history of how dementia has been treated, filtered through her mother’s battle with the affliction.
The Mystical, Magical, Terrifying Supernatural Cats of Japan, wherein Zack Davisson explores the folklore behind the country’s love-fear relationship with felines.
Whiffing, Fast and Slow, wherein William Harris ponders whether America’s pastime is actually boring, and explores why someone might believe that.
And that’s it for this Monday. Come back in seven days for another set of links to start off your week.