Tightrope walking satirical or acidic contexts. Nicholas Taleb uses the phrase in his book "The Black Swan". "You get respect for doing funambulism or spectator sports". Taleb is criticising scientists who prefer popularism to vigorous research and those who walk a fixed and narrow path rather than explore a large field of empirical study. Tightrope walking Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope walking and slacklining. Acrobats maintain their
A Letter to Lord Ellenborough of the New Testament was "an exceedingly virtuous, good man, but nothing supernatural or divine." Despite the paucity of evidence, on 15 May 1812, the Ellenborough-led jury found Eaton guilty. His sentence was severe, including eighteen months in Newgate Prison and a monthly pillorying for the entire term of his sentence. The letter was republished as "Shelley on Blasphemy: Being His Letter to Lord Ellenborough, Occasioned by the Sentence which He Passed on Mr. D. I. Eaton" in 1883 in London by the Progressive Publishing Company. The letter was republished in "A letter to Lord Ellenborough: Occasioned by the Sentence