Archive for June, 2008
Your Brain Lies To You
That’s the title of an excellent op-ed in last Friday’s NY Times by Sam Wang, an associate professor of molecular biology and neuroscience. Wang briefly lays out some of the ways our brains select and mold the information we take in to accommodate our mental models, emotional attachments and beliefs. I’d like to think that [...]
Ignorance is nonpartisan
Phil over at the Bad Astronomy Blog notes an interesting Gallup poll that asked participants whether they believed:
that God created humans exactly as they are now sometime in the last ten centuries,
or that humans developed over millions of years but with guidance from God,
or that humans developed over millions of years and God had no [...]
Belated carnival announcements
Better late than never I suppose, but here’s a sampling of some recent science-y blog carnivals we quite like. Encephalon #48. Tangled Bank #108. 89th Skeptics’ Circle. Finally, a new blog carnival is getting started focusing on classic science papers: The Giant’s Shoulder’s.
Redonkulous Redundancy
It’s high time I mentioned Redonkulous Redundancy, the new blog of former Neural Gourmet blogger Varkam. Varkam describes himself as, “a 24 year old law student, atheist, skeptic, semi-professional contrarian, and a liberal to boot - the sum of which essentially means I am the scum of the earth.” I would also say that varkam [...]
George Carlin has left the building
Having reached middle age I find those people who’ve influenced me most are dying off. It’s all too common to open the newspaper in the morning to read of the passing of somebody else who was a part of my childhood or intellectual development. It just seems to be the way middle age is. Along [...]
What’s the harm?
One of the common refrains heard when someone is challenged on their paranormal or supernatural beliefs is, “What’s the harm?” After all, if someone believes their grandfather’s ghost gave them solace during a crisis or that the tarot-reading neighbor is able to offer them some slight advantage in navigating life’s choices, who is harmed? At [...]
Situation Awareness has Carnival of the Liberals #67
Situation Awareness posted the latest edition of Carnival of the Liberals yesterday. There’s enough great liberal blogging to keep you occupied until the next Carnival of the Liberals on July 2nd at Globally Rational. Head on over and show your support.
Freethought Fort Wayne meets June 11th
It’s hard to believe that another month has gone by! The fine folks at Freethought Fort Wayne, a CFI Indiana affiliated discussion group, will be holding their monthly meeting this coming Wednesday, June 11th at the main branch of the Allen County Public Library. The meeting is in the Business and Technology Meeting Room on [...]
Your weekly education carnivals
The latest installments of the carnivals of Education and Homeschooling are ready to educate you at The Education Wonks and Tami’s Blog, respectively.
Carnival of the Liberals #66
The latest, greatest edition of Carnival of the Liberals is now at The Otherwhirled. Hop on over for your biweekly best of the liberal blogosphere. Edition #67 will be in 13 days on June 18th at Globally Rational Situation Awareness.
Updated: I misread the schedule. Situation Awareness will actually be hosting next time.
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