Debatable Material

Charles Dickens was addressing a small fictional child when he wrote, “It is a trite observation, and one which, young as you are, I have no doubt you have often heard repeated, that we have fallen upon strange times, and live in days of constant shiftings and changes.” Surely all of us — no matter our age — can relate to that sense of strangeness as we turn the last calendar page over once again.

On its own, the line seems somewhat serious, but it comes at the end of a collection of farcical stories known as The Mudfog Papers. Originally published in 1837 and 1838, when Dickens was editing Bentley’s Miscellany, the stories follow the proceedings of the Mudfog Association for the Advancement of Everything (which I imagine is how Elon Musk thinks of his clutch of companies today). Through such characters as Professors Snore, Doze, and Wheezy, as well as Mr. Woodensconce...