3 Topics Over Dinner: Japanese Food

Bill Chapman

- Scaninavia's Risky Playgrounds
- We're Very Rich, Why Aren't We Happier?
- Political Opinions Are Not About Truth

Akura Sushi

(You need to click "read more" to see the full description and required reading)<a href="http://tinyurl.com/3TopicsOverDinner" title="http://tinyurl.com/3TopicsOverDinner" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">3 Topics Over Dinner website</a> (you can sign up there for the mailing list for future events)Restaurant: Akura Japanese Restaurant 39 East 31st St (between Park &amp; Madison, Murray Hill) <a href="https://www.akurasushi.com/no3fmta8/akura-sushi-manhattan-10016/order-online?menu=All+Day+Menu&amp;category=SOUP#menu-section" title="https://www.akurasushi.com/no3fmta8/akura-sushi-manhattan-10016/order-online?menu=All+Day+Menu&amp;category=SOUP#menu-section" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Menu </a>(Note -- this is the take out menu. Prices may differ from eat-in.) 3 Topics Over Dinner is a dinner discussion group that meets on weekends. Links to articles or videos on the internet about 3 Topics, usually unrelated to one another, are posted on the event listing. Attendees read the articles (and other sources if they so wish) or watch the videos to be discussed over dinner. The idea is to be similar to a book club, only with far less reading. The idea is that this required reading / video viewing will be less than two hours.We go to a different nationality restaurant every month, and always restaurants that will do separate checks for a large group, so everyone can pay with their own credit card and we don't have to figure out how to split the check. The restaurants are chosen to be quiet and nice, but not extremely exorbitant. A link to the menu of the restaurant, with prices listed, will always be provided on the announcement.The restaurants chosen will always be in Manhattan, 77th St or further south.RSVP's will be limited to have about 8 people at dinner, small enough that everyone can hear one another and we can conduct a single conversation.The group has been going roughly once a month since 2008. It was formed on meetup.com and has shifted to Eventbrite.A $5.00 deposit is required to RSVP. This deposit is refunded in cash ten minutes after the event starts. No-shows and latecomers forfeit their deposit.We desperately need to get away from our screens and talk with each other in person."When people actually meet and get to know each other ... what Lincoln called those ‘better angels’ come out. People start recognizing themselves in each other and they start trusting each other, and that’s not just the basis for democracy, but that’s the basis for our long-term salvation." -- Barack Obama<h3>Topic 1: In Praise of a Risky Childhood</h3>

At some playgrounds in Scandinavia, children are given sharp instruments to play with and encouraged to build fires. This is radically different from the American philosophy.<a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/07/16/in-praise-of-scandinavias-risky-and-dirty-playgrounds?giftId=ZDc5N2ZjNDEtNzBmNi00YTg2LTgxYzktNDNlY2ViNjkzNTE3&amp;utm_campaign=gifted_article" title="https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/07/16/in-praise-of-scandinavias-risky-and-dirty-playgrounds?giftId=ZDc5N2ZjNDEtNzBmNi00YTg2LTgxYzktNDNlY2ViNjkzNTE3&amp;utm_campaign=gifted_article" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">The Economist: In praise of Scandinavia's risky and dirty playgrounds</a> -- paywalled, a pirate version is <a href="https://bluejacket7.com/pirate/ScandinaviasRiskyPlaygrounds.html" title="" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>.Topic 2: We've Achieved Enormous Wealth, Why Aren't We Happier?

Compared to our ancestors several centuries or millennia ago, most of us are extremely rich and comfortable. For most of the population, we have achieved everything the classical liberal agenda wanted. So why aren't we happier? <a href="https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/contra-pritchard-on-liberal-happiness" title="https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/contra-pritchard-on-liberal-happiness" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Contra Pritchard on Liberal Happiness</a>Topic 3: Political Beliefs Are Not About Truth

Ever notice that yard signs and bumper stickers posting political opinions rarely state moderate, reasonable, cautious, qualified opinions? Rather, they usually state quite strident opinions, as if the goal is to deliberately offend a substantial share of the public.<a href="https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/political-beliefs-are-not-about-truth" title="https://www.aporiamagazine.com/p/political-beliefs-are-not-about-truth" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">An essay written by Bo Wineguard of Aporia Magazine</a>

3 Topics Over Dinner: Japanese Food

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