A classical education became idealised during the rise of the middle class. Naomi Kanakia notes that as the middle class grew and fought with each other for positions of authority, they began buying into the notion that a classical education, like the elites had, was necessary to rise above their station. They attended lectures and bought significant book collections, but, in reality, their knowledge was “shallow, ill-informed, and incomplete”. And yet, for some reason, we reflect on that period as a “golden age of cultural literacy.” Read full article here
Science
An Eerie Poisonous Fog
If you’re visiting a farm, keep an eye out for an ominous-looking bronze fog. Nitrogen tetroxide, a red-orange gas, is made by certain bacteria during fermentation when oxygen is lacking in the crop. The lack of oxygen causes the bacteria to use the nitrate within the crops, which then produces nitrogen tetroxide. Inhalation of the gas is known to cause permanent lung damage or kill people and livestock. To prevent this, farmers have started performing nitrate tests after four weeks of fermentation. Read full article here
Merv
November 30, 2022
