What does Kant’s 3rd Critique, the Algerian War of Independence, innovations in contemporary journalism, and Scandinavian religions have to do with each other? About as much as they have to do with mint making.

But none the less that’s what Jeremy, Henry, Eric, and Jon studied just a few years ago at, respectively, Princeton, Harvard, Rutgers, and Princeton. Looking back and reminiscing upon our overnight stays at the library, we thought maybe we’d see some connections to what we’re up to now in the mint world at large.

What do you think?

Jon’s computer science thesis at Princeton was “Extra!Extra!”, a program that automatically scrapes the internet for related news stories, displaying different countries’ coverage of the same news events side by side, thereby circumventing the perceived American news media bias. It was a lot like Google News, about a year before Google News was created. At Princeton, Jon also founded Troubadour Magazine, a publication that uses personal travel narratives to discuss world cultures, with themed issues bearing titles like “Empire, Evildoers, Resurrection, and Pirates!

Eric double majored in English and Religion and for his Honors Thesis in Comparative Religion decided to delve into the religious landscape present when the European continent was converted to Christianity. Scandinavia offered the best resources since it was one of the last areas in Europe to convert, leaving historians one of the only coherent mythological systems besides the Greco-Roman model of paganism. Research led Eric to interesting areas of study including Norse mythology and ritual practices, and the Christian conversion, which involved a relatively swift political conversion of kings and earls followed by a gradual, competitive, and often bloody acceptance of Christianity by the lay people.

Henry’s thesis demonstrated connections in the development of people’s aesthetic and ethical relation to the world. It argues that will-bypassing experience, such as laughter, love, or an experience of the beautiful introduces the idea of otherness and verifiable authenticity, thereby making way for moral judgment. He concluded by claiming that Kant’s 3rd Critique makes the same argument, only more radically and much more subtly, giving foundation to his claim of universal necessity in the form of his famous “categorical imperative.”

Jeremy wrote two theses: one on the relationship between third world intellectuals, French intellectuals and the French press during the Algerian War in an effort to uncover the changes in perception of self that emerged out of this conflict. The other thesis was on German reparation negotiations after world war II.

Any questions? What us to send you some copies for some light reading? Let us know at mints@oralfix.com