Critic Cal

When The Snowden Revelations first broke in late May 2013, I couldn't help but notice his date of birth: June 21, 1983. A mere 20 days away from my own. Which means that we were both of us in the messy process of turning 30 when it happened. My experience of said process inclines me to conjecture that it may not have been altogether without bearing on his decision to go public. A costly act of selfless bravery, or a desperate bid for significance ahead of a conspicuous personal landmark? Or, if my own (far less internationally consequential) attempts at 'meaningful' adult life are anything to go by, a complex blend of both ...                 A CRITICAL AGE                 And it came to pass in his thirtieth year                 He found t...

Been absorbing myself in the poetry and theodicy of  Job  lately (with the friendly companionship of John Goldingay's Job for Everyone  study guide). I'm struck by how much, and yet how little, human experience has changed since Job's day [1]. Inspired by chapter 28 (and, in part, Isaiah 40-45 ), as well as everybody's favourite application of blockchain technology... (N.B This is highly unlikely to be without technical error. So, if you don't know about Bitcoin or chip production, please assume I am wrong somewhere; if you do, please forgive me, and tell me where...) The Bible (particularly in Isaiah and the other books of the prophets) has a lot to say about the foolishness of trusting things which we invent or construct ourselves. Such 'idols' will not satisfy, nor rescue and protect. Wisdom as a treasure to be searched for diligently is a recurring motif, especially (unsurprisingly) in the  'wisdom' literature  books of the Old Test...

No, not the Dining Cryptographers Problem (that sounds rather too much like the sort of thing I should be writing about, now that I'm officially 'writing up'). Rather, I refer to a recent outing with the wonderful research group that is nurturing me through my PhD, the experience of which struck me profoundly enough to depart slightly from my 'usual' themes and turn temporary restaurant critic. And so I give you: the 'all-you-can-eat' buffet. All the flavours of the world on one plate...and when you reach shiny ceramic - in that pause before you go up for more - a mirror to your soul. What a worthy service - forcing us to hold our appetites up against our actions, throwing into sharp relief a fundamental characteristic of the human condition: the stark contrast between what we want to do and what we do. Of course, we all have our different battles, and perhaps it is just me after all…but every time I set out with the intention to ignore the invited...