Here we have a 55-minute (remote) conversation between Richard Dawkins and Kathleen Stock conducted during the “Dissident Dialogues” conference in NYC last May. Here’s a précis of Stock’s background from Wikipedia: Kathleen Mary Linn Stock OBE is a British philosopher and writer. She was a professor of philosophy at the University of Sussex until 2021. She has published academic […]
Dawkins talks to Kathleen Stock
Dawkins talks to Kathleen Stock
24 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, health economics, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, gender gap, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
#climateemergency
18 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: climate alarmism, conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Good list
16 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Universities and the Treaty
15 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of education, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
Grant Duncan writes: University management should take note of that, as there have been unrealistic efforts to force poorly defined “Treaty obligations” into teaching and research. For example, one university is now telling its academic staff that all curricula should, as a high priority, be “designed, developed and delivered in authentic partnerships with Māori [and] […]
Universities and the Treaty
In Science, fifteen New Zealand researchers criticize the initiative to teach indigenous “ways of knowing” as science
13 Jul 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left

Two letters have just been published in Science signed by a total of 15 scientists, all criticizing the first article below (published in Science last February), a piece arguing for teaching indigenous knowledge (including N.Z.’s version, Mātauranga Māori) alongside science in the science classroom. (Click to read.) Now the authors, after being criticized, denied that […]
In Science, fifteen New Zealand researchers criticize the initiative to teach indigenous “ways of knowing” as science
Good list
29 Jun 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
*Who’s Afraid of Gender?*
26 Mar 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, economics of education, gender, law and economics, property rights Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
That is the title of the new Judith Butler book, focusing mostly on trans issues. To be clear, on most practical issues concerning trans, I side with the social conservatives. For instance, I don’t think trans women have a right to compete in women’s weightlifting contests. And I have not been happy with how many […]
*Who’s Afraid of Gender?*
Weaponizing ‘The Science’
14 Feb 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of information, economics of media and culture, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left
Pielke Jr. argues like this: “The notion of consensus-as-truth has been operationalized in various forms: journalistic “fact checkers,” academic “misinformation” researchers, and content moderation on social media platforms. The practical effect is the creation of self-appointed arbiters of truth — journalists, academics, social media platforms, and even governments — who render judgments on acceptable and unacceptable speech according to conformance with an acceptable view.”
Weaponizing ‘The Science’
More from New Zealand, a nation whose science is circling the drain
28 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left

I’ve written a lot about New Zealand lately, in particular the schools’ and government’s attempt to force the teaching of “indigenous ways of knowing” (mātauranga Māori) into the science classroom as a system coequal in value with modern science. That means not only equal classroom time, but equal respect, treating indigenous ways of knowing as […]
More from New Zealand, a nation whose science is circling the drain
Canadian university advertises for scientists expert in Indigenous “ways of knowing”
23 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left

The combination of Canadian wokeness and the migration across the Pacific of New Zealand’s “indigenous ways of knowing” trope has led to this ad by The University of Victoria. The U of V wants to hire three candidates in any branch of science with expertise “in either (a) working with Indigenous ways of knowing, or…
Canadian university advertises for scientists expert in Indigenous “ways of knowing”
The periodical Science touts Indigenous science
20 Jan 2024 1 Comment
in economics of education, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - Australia, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, regressive left

That this editorial appears in the premier journal Science, and is one of a growing number of pieces urging us to respect “indigenous ways of knowing”, suggests that the woke movement has sprouted a new branch. It’s one I’ve discussed many times with respect to Māori “ways of knowing” (Mātauranga Māori, or MM) in New […]
The periodical Science touts Indigenous science
John Stuart Mill on empirical economics and causal inference
01 Jan 2024 Leave a comment
in econometerics, history of economic thought Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
Written by me, here is a passage from GOAT: Who is the Greatest Economist of All Time, and Why Should We Care? A System of Logic covers many different topics, but for our purposes the most important discussion is Mill’s treatment “Of the Four Methods of Experimental Inquiry,” sometimes called “Mill’s Methods” and indeed receiving […]
John Stuart Mill on empirical economics and causal inference
Censorship in science: a compilation of references
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of education Tags: Anti-Science left, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left

If you’re interested in STEM subjects, it’s salubrious to follow the Heterodox STEM Substack site, where you’ll see takes on science that are sufficiently heterodox that they’d be hard to publish in regular journals. Also, there are useful summaries of the literature, including as this one on scientific censorship published today by Anna Krylov and […]
Censorship in science: a compilation of references
Invincible ignorance
25 Dec 2023 Leave a comment
in economics of information Tags: cognitive psychology, conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
“Invincible ignorance” refers to a state of ignorance that cannot be overcome because the individual has no way of accessing or understanding the necessary information. This concept is often discussed in moral and ethical contexts, particularly in philosophy and theology. In these contexts, invincible ignorance is the lack of knowledge that is literally impossible for […]
Invincible ignorance




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