Is it a sign of the times that this long book review, appearing in the “Science and Society” section of the prestigious journal Science, actually approves of a book questioning the ubiquity of gender surgeries? I haven’t read the book, but you can be that Nature wouldn’t give a positive review such prominence. Here’s the…
It’s become a nearly standard claim that economics inequality makes people feel worse-off, or perhaps even leads to mental illness. However, Nicolas Sommet, Adrien A. Fillon, Ocyna Rudmann, Alfredo Rossi Saldanha Cunha and Annahita Ehsan did what is called a “meta-analysis” of the available studies–that is, they went back and looked at the underlying data, methods, and findings…
In light of the absence of news as well as my recurring insomnia, which has made me unable to brain, I’m posting a list of what I consider the three best cuisines in the world. What I mean by this is that if I were constrained to eat only one nation’s cuisine for the rest…
In the past week, the government of Israel became the first to formally recognize Somaliland as a state. This is a good development, and I hope there will be more such declarations forthcoming. Somaliland has existed as a de facto independent entity, very much state-like, since 1991. It even has held regular multiparty elections for […]
Javier Vinós provides the list in his yearend Clintel post Six Impossible Things to Believe. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. Like Alice’s White Queen, European and Spanish authorities want us to believe six impossible things about climate change and the energy transition. In Alice Through the Looking-Glass, a character by Lewis […]
Alaa Abdel Fattah has been a prisoner in Egypt on dubious charges, and may have been tortured there. It is right and proper for the UK Government to advocate (as he gained British citizenship) for his human rights to be respected. But Starmer did a huge own goal by going beyond that and declaring that…
This is not a “Star Wars vs Star Trek” post. I’m non-partisan. I enjoy both Star Wars and Star Trek about equally. And it turns out that I am not alone. Last December, John Hawkins (University of Canberra) wrote in The Conversation about what Star Wars can teach us about economics. This year, Hawkins (with Tesfaye…
Anti-oil and gas advocates across the country have pursued litigation in recent years attempting to force the fossil fuel industry to pay for decades of financial damages the advocates claim were caused by climate change.
Radio NZ reports: Auckland Councillors have voted not to proceed with a six-month trial of fortnightly kerbside rubbish collections in parts of the city, after considering public feedback. The proposed trial would’ve halved the number of kerbside collections in Te Atatū, Panmure, Tāmaki, Clendon Park and Weymouth, with the intention of reducing waste to landfill.…
Why Evolution is True is a blog written by Jerry Coyne, centered on evolution and biology but also dealing with diverse topics like politics, culture, and cats.
“We do not believe any group of men adequate enough or wise enough to operate without scrutiny or without criticism. We know that the only way to avoid error is to detect it, that the only way to detect it is to be free to inquire. We know that in secrecy error undetected will flourish and subvert”. - J Robert Oppenheimer.
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