Three Point Thursdays Are Back
A classic folktale, English language dominance, and American Christians
Longtime readers will recognize the logo above—the first logo I ever made—and recall that the original name of this blog was Three Point Thursdays.
I recently started playing basketball again, so it’s only right to bring back this type of newsletter, which are complemented by videos of me shooting actual three-pointers.
These newsletters are a different format from my essays and Knowledge Journeys. Each one will simply include three bullet points covering topics I’ve recently learned about or find interesting—including stories, ideas, quotes, studies, data, podcast clips, or book excerpts.
Thank you for reading, and go Celtics. ‘Cause there’s no other reason why.
Children can be the most direct truth-tellers.
One of my favorite folktales is The Emperor’s New Clothes, in which a vain emperor gets tricked by two con-men who claim they can make invisible clothes that only fools would be unable to see. During a parade, everyone, including the naked emperor, pretends to see the clothes, to avoid appearing stupid. But a bold child blurts out that the emperor is wearing nothing, exposing the truth, and the foolishness of the emperor’s pride.
Long live English.
Worldwide, approximately 1.5 billion people speak English, making it the most widely spoken tongue. It is also the most studied language in the world, an official language in 59 countries, and makes up around 58% of internet content. (source).
America’s Christian roots run deep.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center of 35,000 U.S. adults across all 50 states in 2023-24, 62% of Americans identify as Christian, of which 39% are Protestant and 19% are Catholic. Meanwhile, 29% of Americans are religiously unaffiliated, with 5% being atheist, 6% being agnostic, and 19% saying “nothing in particular.” (source).
Thank You For Reading
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With gratitude,
Jeff
Elite
Mama… that man is back..