Just as a mirror reflects how we see ourselves, so what we wear signals to others how we want them to think about us. Every time we decide on how to dress and what to wear, we choose to either hide behind the superficiality of dress or complement our inner selves by our outward adornments….

PG | 1h 49min | Drama, Comedy, Romance | 15 July 2022 (USA) Although there have been close to 90 non-stage adaptations of Jane Austen’s seven novels, only 11 of them are feature films. After watching rookie director Carrie Cracknel’s “Persuasion,” it’s easy to see why filmmakers have largely shied away from tackling the works of one of the most respected and…

A book can’t be judged by its cover, true, but it should be revealed by its title. Jane Austen’s “Persuasion” is a perfect example, for the title is an expertly-set diamond, reflecting the plot of the novel, its theme, and its meaning. Persuading is THE action of the novel, and it is an action that…

I was recently chatting with a group of people when the dialogue drifted to the question of what could be done about the problems in our society. One woman observed that solutions can’t come through force, but rather by “changing how people think.” I believe she’s right. After all, political and cultural wars are won…

Commentary More and more people in the United States will be wising up to their government’s use of behavioural science—or ‘nudging’—as a means of increasing compliance with Covid-19 restrictions. These psychological techniques exploit the fact that human beings are almost always on ‘automatic pilot,’ habitually making moment-by-moment decisions without rational thought or conscious reflection. The…