Poor Brains

Tomorrow I'll be sitting through 21 PPE interviews - playing a role in deciding who gets admitted to Oxford and who doesn't. It's a tough process, but one that I think is far better than making the decisions based only on paper applications or by lottery from all applicants (though I think there may be a marginal role for lotteries).

One thing you can be almost certain of is intense media scrutiny. Just as, every year, record A-level results are greeted with accusations of dumbing down, so it seems that whatever happens Oxford (and Cambridge) will be accused of not letting in enough state school applicants.

In fact, I've long held the view that the problem lies earlier in the admissions process - with many state schools obviously failing gifted pupils (either in not allowing them to achieve their academic potential at the school or not encouraging aspirational university applications). Now research from the US suggests that there's a difference in brain activity between children from rich and poor backgrounds as young as age nine. Obviously, damage happens long before these children reach the stage of applying for university, and social imbalance in Oxbridge may be no more than a symptom of a broken system...

Blackburn 1-3 Liverpool

For a long time we struggled to break down Blackburn's defence, and I feared that this could become another frustrating 0-0 draw (but then, Man Utd needed an injury time strike to breach the Sunderland rearguard).

I think that recent stalemates against Fulham and West Ham may have affected our confidence because, still without Torres, we looked short of ideas in the final third - despite the introduction of Babel and Benayoun. Once the goal did come - Alonso slotting in from the edge of the area after a Kuyt knock-down - we looked to have more confidence and began to play better. Benayoun's individual effort looked to make things safe, although Santa Cruz's consolation ensured that the last 5 minutes would be nervy. I was worried when I heard there'd been another goal on Final Score, afraid that we'd thrown two points away, but it turned out Gerrard was able to put a gloss on the scoreline as Rovers pushed for an equalizer.

Overall, it was far from a fluent performance, but another three points (keeping us top of the table) and an end to our scoring duck. Insua got a full 90 minutes, and looks like he can challenge Dossena for the left-back slot, while El Zhar provided another lively cameo (indeed, he played a role in the third: forcing Robinson to slide out of his area but only to clear as far as Riera). Also, despite Torres' absence, we were able to 'rest' £20m worth of striker in Robbie Keane...

Metafizzix

Thanks to Rob for pointing me to PhiLOLsophers - in particular, this one suggests I may have made the wrong career choice in choosing moral/political philosophy...

Liverpool 0-0 West Ham

Another frustrating failure to break down the other team's proverbial parked bus but, as much as the BBC called it an unconvincing performance, they also admitted that we controlled the game - with Green not only having to pull off several impressive saves, but also twice being saved by off the line clearances (though I only saw the second half). Ok, it's disappointing but I never would have expected Liverpool moving to the top of the table in December to be greeted with a chorus of boos in Anfield...

Oh, two others point of note: I didn't think much of Keane's response to being substituted. Yes, he's been taken off a lot - only playing three full games apparently - but at least he's starting and until he starts justifying that summer price tag he can't have much complaint. On the other hand, Dossena apparently had his best game since arriving.

Scolari on Arsenal

28/11/08: "Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari is refusing to rule Arsenal out of the title race - even if his side beat them at Stamford Bridge on Sunday."

Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal

30/11/08: "We lost because one goal was not a goal, and it was a goal which changed the result. If we won, Arsenal would have been 13 points behind us and their championship would have been finished."

Liverpool 1-0 Marseille

Last season a poor performance saw us lose at home to Marseille (even though we went on to beat them comfortably in the away tie). This was, apparently, another poor performance, but the difference is that the scoreline was reversed: a 1-0 win, thanks to Gerrard's first half header. (Five goals in five Champions League matches for him now).

It's enough to guarantee our progression, though it remains to be seen whether Benitez will go all out against PSV to top the group (which will require us to overhaul Atletico Madrid's goal difference) or whether he'll rotate to keep our stars fresh.

Vegetarianism and the Job Market

I've never been on the US Job Market, but if this comment on Leiter is to be believed maybe I should give it a go. Apparently there's a 'vegetarian mafia' out there excluding carnivores from jobs... (Maybe we should let these chaps know)

Then again, others are more sceptical (here and here).

Morison to Princeton

I learned this morning, from this comment on Leiter, that my former tutor Ben Morison is leaving Oxford for Princeton. I see that Leiter thinks the news is worthy of its own post.

I didn't know Princeton was the place for ancient philosophy, although I know several Oxford ancient philosophers trained there - including my colleague Ursula Coope (albeit only as a visiting student). I'd have thought that Oxford would rank fairly highly, with Terry Irwin, C. C. W. Taylor, Richard Sorabji, David Charles, Chris Shields, etc and its new M.St in Ancient Philosophy.

Public Reason Podcast Symposium

My new job hasn't allowed me much time to follow the Public Reason Podcast Symposium, but I provided a response for the latest contribution: Paul Gowder on democratic leadership.

London Forum (CFP)

Last year, this only seemed to reach as far as philosophers and not political theorists, so I hope that posting it here helps contribute to a wider audience.

CALL FOR PAPERS

3rd LONDON FORUM IN MORAL AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

27th March 2008

STEWART HOUSE, LONDON

Supported by the Institute of Philosophy and UCL Philosophy Department

Following the success of the previous two years of the London Forum in Moral and Political Philosophy, graduate students working in any field within moral and political philosophy are invited to submit papers for the 2009 meeting. This will be held on 27th March at Stewart House, Bloomsbury, London.

The Forum aims to provide a friendly and supportive atmosphere in which graduate students can present their work and receive constructive feedback from their peers.

Submissions should be in the form of abstracts of 300-400 words, and should be sent to LFIMPP@gmail.com. The deadline for submissions is 15th February 2009.

Paper selection will be by the Organisation Committee and Prof. Veronique Munoz-Darde.

This years keynote speaker is Dr. Thomas Pink (Kings College London)

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

As it was with Stoke, much good work this season is undone by our failure to beat teams that we should be able to beat comfortably. We're starting on a run of supposedly easier games that I hoped would allow us to rack up lots of wins (and three points). Sadly, we failed to capitalize on the failure of Chelsea and Man Utd to win. Perhaps the only good point is that Fulham are, based on this season's table and recent form, a better team than Newcastle so Chelsea dropped points from an easier fixture.

Lecturer at Lampeter

Anyone currently close to finishing a PhD, preferably in Philosophy of Mind or Modern European History, and looking to finish a job asap should check out this post: starting this month!

Fixed Term Lecturer in Philosophy

Salary: £30,594 pro rata

Job Ref: PHIL/04 - Closing Date: 12 noon Friday 28th November 2008.

The Department seeks to appoint to a fixed term lectureship from November 2008 (or as soon as possible thereafter) - September 2009.

The person appointed will contribute to Philosophy teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate levels and will be prepared to be research active in this field. Candidates able to offer expertise in any area of Philosophy will be considered, but we are particularly interested in applicants working in the area of Philosophy of Mind or/and Modern European Philosophy (broadly construed). The position will incorporate some thesis supervision, and usual non-teaching duties.

An application form, job description and person specification may be obtained by contacting the Personnel Office, University of Wales, Lampeter, SA48 7ED, telephone 01570 424700; fax 01570 424988; e-mail applications@lamp.ac.uk or www.lamp.ac.uk/vacancies.

We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community whilst affirming that appointment will be strictly on merit.

World Philosophy Day

Apparently, it's World Philosophy Day - the BBC has a simple introduction for anyone wondering what it's all about.

I'm giving a talk to the Balliol PPE Society this evening, so I guess I'm doing my bit!

Lottery Voting on CT

In a recent post on education, over at Crooked Timber, Harry writes about budget cuts by committee: "each member brought in his or her own list of exactly what to cut, then they traded till the cuts worked out. It struck me at the time that nobody could seriously believe that the upshot was going to be superior in any way to a budget that the Superintendent would have recommended, and that the discussion was simply a waste of time; none of the board members is a fool, and I imagine that none of them thought their list was much better than anyone else’s, and that most of their lists were probably better than any compromise that they would forge; wouldn’t it have been better to pick a list out of the hat than to engage in endless detailed discussion?"

Death on Queen Street

As I was cycling down Queen Street last night (after the 10am-6pm no cycling restriction), I was forced to dismount as an area around BHS was cordoned off by police. Now I know why. Details are vague, but it seems an old woman was knocked over by two others having an argument (right?), and later died in hospital. Sad for all concerned.

Bolton 0-2 Liverpool

We've still yet to comfortably thump anyone, in the way that we could have done today had not easy chances been missed (by Keane, Gerrard, Torres and Lucas), but it's pleasing to see that we can make away wins look relatively routine. I missed Match of the Day, so haven't seen the goals, but Kuyt's header was apparently very good, and then Torres - on as a sub - squared for Gerrard to just about wrap up the points. While 2-0 doesn't necessarily kill a game, Bolton rarely threatened - though Gardner spurned a couple of chances himself.

A Good Way to Settle Debts

Funniest thing I've read in a while, here, via my friend Steve.

Wonder if it will work for my battels?

Tips on Writing Philosophy

Courtesy of Richard Price, here.

Tottenham 4-2 Liverpool (League Cup)

What's disappointing is not so much our second string crashing out of the Cup, especially against the Redknapp-revived defending champions, but that - despite the recent successes of our reserves - we don't have the Arsenal-style team of talented youngsters who can play this competition (even though it was largely youngsters who took us as far as the semi-final in 2005 and Benitez has invested heavily in youth since).

Still, at least it's better to focus on the league - from which point of view, it's a shame that Chelsea also went out.

In other news, I was playing football myself at the University Club: making the regular philosophy game for only the second time this term...

Lacuna Coil

Tonight I finally saw Lacuna Coil live in Oxford - having missed the chance to see them a few years back on what I didn't realize was their first UK tour (they played in October and had sold out by the time that I returned to Oxford). It was good to right that 'wrong', and I certainly enjoyed the gig, though I have to say I was somewhat disappointed that the setlist predictably focused on newer material and had only one song I think from In a Reverie (which remains my favourite album by far). That and the fact that they finished well before the 11 o'clock curfew - indeed I was home, via Tesco, by about five past...