Monthly Archives: March 2024

That Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation? Never Mind.

That Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation I posted about four days ago does not seem to have played out (but that’s how science works); A nice summary of the top five astronomical discoveries of all time (so far); And a dicier … Continue reading

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 11

Earlier posts: Post 1; Post 2; Post 3; Post 4; Post 5; Post 6; Post 7; Post 8; Post 9; Post 10. Chapter 12, To What End? Wilson’s final chapter ponders options for humanity’s future, and comes down on the … Continue reading

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The Economy, the Deep State, and Conservative Denial of Reality

How conservatives have won their war against social media in order to keep spreading disinformation; A reality check on what the “Deep State” actually consists of; Two more takes on why so many people don’t realize how good the American … Continue reading

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Ancient and Modern Morality, Examples

David French and Stephen Breyer on originalism; Short items about how Trump is out of his mind (from Robert Reich), his “blood bath” comments, and his threat to shut down the media; Jamelle Bouie on how the election isn’t about … Continue reading

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 10

Chapter 11, Ethics and Religion The chapter in the book that would most challenge conservatives, or anyone who thinks morality and religion are handed down from on high. Key points in this chapter: On ethics: Author summarizes arguments on both … Continue reading

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Motivated Reasoning, Supreme Court Edition

Just one short, but provocative, item today. This is the opening piece in the “Talk of the Town” section in the March 18th issue of The New Yorker. It cuts to the core of Supreme Court, and conservative, thinking. The … Continue reading

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A Potential Revolutionary Scientific Reinterpretation

No one thinks that all of physics, or cosmology, is solved; the reigning problems in cosmology include contradictory conclusions about the age of the universe, and the nature of “dark matter” and “dark energy,” both terms being placeholders for unknown … Continue reading

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 9

Chapter 10, The Arts and Their Interpretation Here we have perhaps the area most resistant to the idea of biological or psychological interpretation. Because it doesn’t occur, especially to the artists themselves, why people tell certain kinds of stories and … Continue reading

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OnlySky, Religions, Cults, and the Crazies

The end of OnlySky; What the difference between religions and cults is; Items about the crazies: Hillary’s acid, executions, God’s law, and how vaxxed people are inhuman. * Alas, the end of OnlySky, which might have been called a safe … Continue reading

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EO Wilson, CONSILIENCE, 8

Chapter 9, The Social Sciences Now Wilson begins takes his conclusions about human nature and searches for ways to bring insight, if not explanation, to various aspects of human culture, in particular studies in the humanities that are supposedly resistant to … Continue reading

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