Category: General Discussion

As I sit here, trying to write a paper, I found this article entitled “How to write consistently boring scientific literature” very interesting. (via The Annals of Improbably Research” I’m afraid it’s behind a paywall, so I’ll summarize their findings.

Next week’s New Yorker makes a point that I hadn’t considered, perhaps because there is so much religiosity in America. In a review of recently-published books on atheism, Anthony Gottlieb writes: …one can venture conservative estimates of the number of unbelievers in the world today. Reviewing a large number of studies among some fifty countries,…

This is good. I’ll get some writing (non-blog) done. However I’d like to pose the rare political question based on the coverage of last night’s debate. Everyone from CNN to the National Review is all atwitter over Giuliani’s brash response to the question about whether the first Gulf War might have had something to do…

Here’s an interesting article in BBC which suggests that more hysterical messages on climate change might fall on deaf ears. Professor Mike Hulme, of the UK’s Tyndall Centre, has been conducting research on people’s attitudes to media portrayals of a catastrophic future. He says strong messages designed to prompt people to change behaviour only seem…

At Infophilia. In particular I like Conspiracy factory’s anecdote about anecdotes.

I’m a real fan of the Wall Street Journal. I read it on the BART every morning, to the displeasure of my knee-jerk co-passengers. Why is the Journal awesome? Because days like today, you find reporting showing how branding is often an illusion, how cheaper printer cartridges are actually more expensive, and how formaldehyde is…

Visit the Bronze Blog for a very thorough list of woo justifications, or Doggerel as Bronze Dog puts it, and help him think of more examples. My favorite so far they once thought the Earth was flat.

Okay, I’m going to open a can of worms, and I’ll need the commentors to help me with this one. Last week, Professor Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago School of Law published an oped in the Wall Street Journal. Epstein’s a charming fellow, and I like him, but I wouldn’t want to live…

I’m going to be less active for a few days. Going to Montreal (for the first time) for the 17th Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy. I’ll be moderating a panel on the new landscape of online advertising, featuring Microsoft’s Kim Howell, the Center for Digital Democracy’s Jeff Chester, and Mike Zaneis of the Interactive…