Artistic expression: freedom or curse?

Menstruation: curse or blessing?

Cleansing or curse? Menstruation in our lifetime has been commonly called ‘The Curse’. Our sisters in the 16th century, however, welcomed this cleansing as a fertility sign from God, through the moon that determined the tides of all that flowed on the earth. These tides included the four humorous fluids that made up each of us and determined, by balance, the health of an individual. Ancient med...

Artistic Expression as Interpretation

According to R. G. Collingwood in The Principles of Art, art is the expression of emotion--a much-criticized view. I attempt to provide some groundwork for a defensible modern version of such a theory via some novel further criticisms of Collingwood, including the exposure of multiple ambiguities in his main concept of expression of emotion, and a demonstration that, surprisingly enough, his vi...

Development in US States, Economic Freedom, and the "Resource Curse"

The transparency curse: Private information and political freedom ¬リニ

I offer a model of the sustainability of authoritarian rule in which the transparency of productive economic activity enables the ruler to distinguish productive economic activity from preparations for rebellion. The less transparent the productive technology the greater the economic side effects of maintaining authoritarian rule, and the stronger the incentives to liberalize the regime. Using ...

Angiogenesis: a curse or cure?

Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels is essential during fetal development, female reproductive cycle, and tissue repair. In contrast, uncontrolled angiogenesis promotes the neoplastic disease and retinopathies, while inadequate angiogenesis can lead to coronary artery disease. A balance between pro-angiogenic and antiangiogenic growth factors and cytokines tightly controls angiogenesi...