More on Gareth Cliff, Mngxitama (and now Magaxa)

My column on Andile Mngxitama’s response to Gareth Cliff has led to Khaya Magaxa “arguing” that people like me should be run out of universities.

Mngxitama on Gareth Cliff

Gareth Cliff is perhaps smug, and he might even be a racist. But no evidence that I am aware of shows this to be the case. By contrast, we do now have clear evidence of the racist views held by Andile Mngxitama.

Currents and undertoads

Nothing makes much sense, and it’s not your fault. Everyone is confused, so be good to them. Nice is optional.

Bread from air: the outcomes of visionary thinking

Fritz Haber invented a process which made famine a distant threat, but also helped invent Zyklon A.

Goree Island

The 2017 gathering of the AfricaBlogging group, hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, brought a group of Franco- and Anglophone bloggers to Goree Island.

Noakes: eat pandas, not plants

Prof. Noakes believes that fully vegetarian or vegan societies can’t survive.

Anecdotes versus data in public discourse

On anecdotes versus objective data, and the relative value of each, but more importantly the fact that they serve different purposes in different contexts.

On the Democratic Alliance and Zille’s settlement agreement

On the political settlement reached between the DA and Helen Zille regarding her colonialism tweets.

No, that doesn’t actually beg the question

The phrase “begs the question” is increasingly used to mean “raises the question”, and even though it’s true that language evolves, that doesn’t always mean we should let it do so without a fight.

6 snappy comebacks to “6 snappy comebacks for sugar sceptics”

Sugar is still not addictive, at least if you’re one of those people who would still like the word “addictive” to mean something other than “we like to consume it”.