I have a feeling the editors at Harper’s included “Gendered Like Beckham” (“from a June 3 Der Spiegel interview with philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Germany”) in the September issue in order to ridicule his ideas that the human attraction to sports and shopping is a modern remnant of hunting and gathering. I would venture to say that because of this brief interview, those two baffling activities make sense for the first time in my life. Sadly, the text is not available online so you’ll have to scrounge it at your next visit to the dentist.
About Me
- Name: Dean Olsher
- Location: Queens, NY
Author of FROM SQUARE ONE: A MEDITATION, WITH DIGRESSIONS, ON CROSSWORDS - hardcover from Scribner and spoken-word adaptation (with rich sound design and original music) from Random House Audio.
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I thought the philosopher guy was interesting too. He seemed like a likeable guy.
Then again, I also thought the Sokal physics hoax paper was a good read and made a lot of sense.
I don't think the editors at Harpers were trying to ridicule the guy. I thought the piece was great, and I suspect the editors thought so too.