Deep Thoughts

Archive for Deep Thoughts

BMS ep 106: Why Intelligent Design (ID) Will Be the Public Choice of the Natural Sciences

Oh boy, this one ruffled some feathers. I mention Gene Callahan and Steve Landsburg in the second half.

Two Approaches to Sustainability

The earth is crawling w/ ~8 billion powerhouses of potential, who are greatly constrained by their bondage–including political, social, & emotional. Serious thinkers want to reduce the population so that the planet can sustain us. Or we could free everyone. That would work too. — Robert P. Murphy (@BobMurphyEcon) October 25, 2019

The Dyson Sphere: I’m Not Saying It’s Aliens, But…

On Twitter I came across the actual paper (it’s one page) in which Freeman Dyson spelled out his idea of a sphere that harnesses the total energy output of a star. I never knew the context, though: He suggested that aliens had already built them, and explained the signature we should look for.

Deep Thoughts on Hoax Publications

Please do not misinterpret this blog post. I totally get THAT the revelations about a round of hoax publications are hilarious and serve to discredit the journals/disciplines involved. But I want to think more about WHY they have this effect. The quickest way to get my perspective across is to use a thought experiment. Consider […]

Our Culture’s Touching Faith in Science

I am not saying that sarcastically. I mean every bit of that title literally. First, our culture has (non-scientific, which is not the same as unscientific) faith in science. And second, I find it touching. My recent Twitter commentary on (physicist) Brian Greene motivated this post: I’m guessing many of you read Greene’s post and want to […]

Two Oopsies in Scott Adams’ Posts

I still enjoy checking in on Scott Adams (the Dilbert creator) to see his rival narrative concerning Trump. (Here’s a good example.) However, I often find Adams carelessly pontificating on things when I suspect he isn’t nearly committed to the principle as his writing suggests. The best recent example is his post, “How to Evaluate […]

Gene Callahan on Non-Human Actors

In a post criticizing methodological individualism, Gene writes (and then quotes): A plain fact that methodological individualism will block us from seeing or accepting: “The facts authorize us — no, they oblige us! — to say that Islam as such, Islam understood as a meaningful whole, is in motion, that it strives and struggles, in a […]

Nobody Actually Wants “Equality” Between the Sexes

Tyler Cowen links to a paper in which the authors write: The Nordic countries are the most gender equal nations in the world, but at the same time, they also have a disproportionately high rate of intimate partner violence against women. This is perplexing because logically violence against women would be expected to drop as […]