Gena Gorlin

Obama the Intellectual?
February 22, 2009
Some say we finally have a President who is a thinker. Do we?
Study Ayn Rand's Ideas
April 3, 2008
Sidebar: Testimonial of an OAC Graduate As more and more young people become interested in Ayn Rand's ideas and methodology, there is an increasing need and demand for an institution that systematically teaches her philosophy. In fact, such an institution exists.
Testimonial of an OAC Graduate
April 3, 2008
The primary purpose of the OAC is to teach students about Objectivism. However, in my case the program also provided a major secondary benefit: the positive effect it had on the rest of my academic life.
How Not to Lie with Statistics: The Good, the Bad, and the Average
October 18, 2007
The formula is painfully familiar— “According to a recent survey by X from the University of Y,” followed by a statement about married couples’ tendency to get bored with their sex lives (ABC News), or thin women’s tendency to think themselves fat (Psychology Today), or older people’s tendency to become increasingly religious (Harris Poll, 2006)—or any number of statistically proven and so presumably unquestionable claims about human nature.
Matter Over Mindlessness: Neo-Buddhism No Cure for Harvard's Depression
February 2, 2007
In its usual capacity as scholastic trend-setter, Harvard University unleashed a strange phenomenon on academia last year: amid the marble halls and ivy thickets, visiting professor Tal Ben-Shahar attracted a record population of Harvard students to a class about "squeezing lemons into lemonade." In the spring 2006 semester, the course-called "Positive Psychology"-weighed in at 855 students, becoming Harvard's most popular class.
Joining Heart and Head: A Cure for the House, MD Blues
September 1, 2006
It is a common view that the quest for truth breeds misery-as echoed lately in viewer responses to House, MD.
Don't Be Evil, Google
April 1, 2006
In launching Google.cn on January 25th, the beloved search engine caved in to the Chinese government's demand that it block politically "sensitive" content from searches. Now, if a Chinese web surfer wants to learn, for instance, about the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square, he will find 13,600 pages of government-sanctioned myths--with 1,566,400 pages, those containing the politically dangerous truth, omitted.
Chronicles of Narnia: Christian Sheep in Lion's Clothing
February 20, 2006
The buzz about Christian propaganda couched in Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe seems to have subsided. With the film's premiere, the suspense about ideology has largely been replaced by universal commendations of its "enchanting animations" and portrayal of "family values."
Harry Potter and the Half-Stumped Critics
September 7, 2005
By now few of our readers have eluded the fairy dust that has settled all over the world since Harry Potter first cast its spell. This summer Rowling seemed to have yet again bewitched entire populations, as young and old, rich and poor, college professors and elementary school kids all stormed the bookstores at midnight on July 16th to get their hands on the sixth installment of the series.
A Tale of Two Symbols: Ground Zero and the Battle for America's Soul
July 20, 2005
A peculiar and noteworthy feature of mankind can be observed in the importance we lend to certain pieces of matter. Consider the perilous quests on which men have launched, both mythical and historical, in pursuit of certain objects--like a wooden cup (the "Holy Grail") and a sheep's skin ("Golden Fleece") and tree branches (consecrating our honor through laurel wreathes, our love through red roses) and rectangles of colored cloth (ranging from a victorious blue ribbon to a nation's billowing flag).