Comments on: Zing!

By: Noah Yetter

Noah Yetter — Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:28:00 +0000

Correct link:
http://www.binarybits.org/archives/2004/11/free_minds_and.html

(link in the article has an extra _ before the .html)

By: Greg Brooks

Greg Brooks — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 23:48:00 +0000

I worked at Reason (the foundation, not just the magazine) in the early ’90s and gotta say: I miss Virginia’s editing polish and her greater emphasis on policy and economics.

It was, at the time, a magazine of sharper writing than TNR, of more real-world ideas than National Review and of less muttering-in-our-privatized-coffee essays than what you’d find in Liberty.

Virginia once said Reason was the only think magazine who’s editors openly admitted to watching prime-time TV. In some ways, Nick’s evolution of the magazine is that meme carried to extreme.

By: Robert Prather

Robert Prather — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 19:41:00 +0000

What do you think about Reason’s “cultural turn.”

Can’t stand it. I had been a reader since 1989 and by 2002 I was completely burned out on the cultural turn. I had grown to appreciate policy through Virginia’s turn. I no longer subscribe with Nick leading.

By: Tim

Tim — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 15:51:00 +0000

Sorry about the broken link. I’m switching away from typepad, and so until the DNS propogates completely the site is going to be flakey.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 15:49:00 +0000

Having read the cached article, I agree with Tim. He hit the nail on the head about that article and about the magazine generally. It’s half-assed cultural analysis by people who aren’t terribly good writers or cultural critics. They need to hire a few more Will Wilkinsons and Julian Sanchezes.

By: ab

ab — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 15:43:00 +0000

Looks like it's cached at google: http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:dbO-ZoVRXzQJ:www.binarybits.org/bitbucket/+reason+tim+lee&hl;=en&start;=1

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 14:15:00 +0000

Tim’s site seems to be down.

By: Max

Max — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 13:27:00 +0000

Link still dead from my end… I’ll try to hit refresh a couple of times.

By: ABC

ABC — Sun, 21 Nov 2004 00:09:00 +0000

I used to read Reason, and early issues of Nick’s Reason. Frankly, I don’t like the cultural turn much. The best articles have been those written by Sullum and Bailey – on biotech, moral policy, etc. I really do like Nick personally. But I think his writing is too cute by half. And the choice vs. control bit is shallow.

I think there are a lot of people who subscribe to Reason, but don’t read it. I’d much rather read Wieseltier in TNR or the book reviews in the Atlantic Monthly, than those in Reason, for instance.

By: Will Wilkinson

Will Wilkinson — Sat, 20 Nov 2004 22:38:00 +0000

Thanks. Fixed.