Peter Biles

Peter Biles is a novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist. He is the author of three books, most recently the novel Through the Eye of Old Man Kyle. His essays, stories, blogs, and op-eds have been published in places like The American Spectator, Plough, and RealClearBooks & Culture, among many others.

Archives

Are Colleges Beyond Saving?

_{They need to rediscover the purpose of higher education}_{Peter Biles
April 1, 2025}

The impact of AI and tech addiction is obvious everywhere. But is every college student falling prey to the trends?

Are We Experiencing a Universal Cognitive Decline?

_{People are increasingly having trouble reading, focusing, and solving complex problems.}_{Peter Biles
March 21, 2025}

A new study shows that people are struggling more than ever to read, concentrate, and solve problems. The research comes just a few months after Oxford’s indicative decision to make “Brain Rot” its 2024 “Word of the Year.” Common experience itself lends itself to the conclusion that we are struggling to focus, that our attention is fragmented, and that simply thinking about one issue for more than a few seconds is difficult. The Financial Times reported that intelligence and reasoning capacities have declined since the early 2010s. While the COVID-19 pandemic is commonly blamed for the plummet and is indeed responsible for much of the cognitive decline, the downward trend preceded the crisis according to the study. John Burn-Murdoch reports: Given …

No End in Sight for AI’s Invasion into Higher Education

_{Teaching students to write is to teach them to think}_{Peter Biles
March 13, 2025}

Perhaps the AI apocalypse will paradoxically encourage educators to adopt more traditional approaches to teaching and giving assignments.

A New McDonald’s PlayPlace Doesn’t Look Very Fun

_{A virtual playground doesn't offer kids genuine play}_{Peter Biles
March 6, 2025}

Hopefully the McDonald’s corporation will realize that the PlayPlace is a big part of what makes its restaurants so appealing.

Ross Douthat Makes the Case that Religious Belief Is Rational

_{His new book is written largely with the agnostic or full-on atheist in mind but believers would certainly also benefit, as I did}_{Peter Biles
February 26, 2025}

He notes, if our brains evolved merely to help us stay alive, then it’s strange that those same mental states could invent the telescope to explore the cosmos.

Pointing to Design, Ross Douthat Makes the Case that Religious Belief Is Rational

_{Peter Biles
February 25, 2025}

He kicks off the book by talking about the evident design in nature and the fine-tuning of the universe.

“60 Minutes” Segment Lauds Censorship

_{Free speech can indeed be "weaponized," but according to the founders of the United States, it was intended to be a weapon against government overreach.}_{Peter Biles
February 19, 2025}

People debate whether Huxley’s Brave New World or Orwell’s 1984 gives a clearer diagnosis of the Western malaise. Fahrenheit 451 should be in the conversation.

A Novelist Posts on the Paranormal

_{Accounting for experiences of the supernatural}_{Peter Biles
February 12, 2025}

Lin notes that scientists and online outlets like Wikipedia, entrenched in a materialistic perspective, tend to simply dismiss them.

Ross Douthat on the Universe’s Remarkable Intelligibility

_{Peter Biles
February 2, 2025}

Suppose that science itself suffers if we preemptively rule out certain conclusions.

Sports Gambling: The New Addiction Storming America

_{Making money off your favorite team just got wildly popular. But is it healthy?}_{Peter Biles
January 31, 2025}

Super Bowl 2025 is less than two weeks away, with the Philadelphia Eagles finding themselves in a rematch with reigning champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. Sports engagement has ballooned over the past few years through the medium of online sports betting. Formerly illegal, sports betting has taken the U.S. by storm, with major celebrities and sports stars going on air advocating the practice. Making money off your favorite team just got wildly popular. But is it healthy? A recent article titled “I Got Divorced Because of Sports Betting” shows the dark side of the gamble. Pitched as an easy way to make money online, no one talks about the mad fury that ensues after your bet fails to deliver, your team loses, and someone else gets to take your money. The article …

Douthat: Our Minds Are Tied to Reality

_{The New York Times columnist thinks everyone should be more religious}_{Peter Biles
January 31, 2025}

“The world is intelligible,” Ross Douthat said to Jonah Goldberg on “The Remnant” podcast. Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, has a new book coming out on religion and why “everyone should be more religious,” and he joined Goldberg to discuss the book along with our current political landscape. Douthat, a Catholic, referenced fine tuning and the profound evidence of intentional design in nature as one of the motivations for his own faith. He told Goldberg that it’s remarkable that we have minds that are able to accurately comprehend the world around us, let alone the chemical makeup of the universe. Our questioning natures, bent on discovering the truth of things, demonstrate that we live in something of an ordered …

The Tech Giants Looming in the Background

_{The presence of these tech giants at Trump's inauguration signals a major "vibe shift" in the culture.}_{Peter Biles
January 25, 2025}

The Constitution guards against government interference in the speech of American citizens.

TikTok is Back, Thanks to Trump. The Battle Against Tech Addiction Continues

_{TikTok has gone through a chaotic whirlwind over the last few days}_{Peter Biles
January 20, 2025}

Trump has garnered support from an unlikely cast of tech giants. What happens now?

TikTok is on the Verge of a Ban. Now Users Are Flocking to Another Chinese App.

_{National security and the mental health of a generation are at stake}_{Peter Biles
January 16, 2025}

A federal ban of the wildly popular social media app TikTok is set to take effect on Sunday, unless a last-minute intervention occurs, or an American-owned business buys the company. The FBI, as well as several state authorities around the country, have said the app represents a national security threat, as it allows a foreign adversary to access the data of the 170 million Americans who use it. Apart from the issue of national security, plenty of people, particularly sociologist Jonathan Haidt, have pointed out TikTok’s profound negative impact on kids and users in general. TikTok uses an advanced algorithm system to hook its users. Haidt and his research assistant, Zach Rausch, list out the multiple harms: Addictive, compulsive, and problematic use Depression, …