January 2011
116 posts
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The Decline Effect and the Scientific Method →
alexainslie:
” … But now all sorts of well-established, multiply confirmed findings have started to look increasingly uncertain. It’s as if our facts were losing their truth: claims that have been enshrined in textbooks are suddenly unprovable. This phenomenon doesn’t yet have an official name, but it’s occurring across a wide range of fields, from psychology to ecology. In the field of...
December 2010
86 posts
I'm Comic Sans, Asshole →
“You think I’m pedestrian and tacky? Guess the fuck what, Picasso. We don’t all have seventy-three weights of stick-up-my-ass Helvetica sitting on our seventeen-inch MacBook Pros. Sorry the entire world can’t all be done in stark Eurotrash Swiss type. Sorry some people like to have fun. Sorry I’m standing in the way of your minimalist Bauhaus-esque fascist snoozefest....
“An infinite number of mathematicians walks into a bar. The first goes up to the...”
– (via fuckyeahmath)
Age of Reason: How to Meditate →
ageofreason:
I would strongly advise everyone to start with a serious course in meditation in a centre or group under the guidance of an experienced teacher, preferably at least with a few days in silence. This should give you a genuine feeling of the effect that meditation can have on the mind. Many people…
Wired's Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2010 →
Includes LCROSS, which my best friend helped work on!
US science funding boost faces uncertain future →
Of course funding science and technology in this country is wasteful, but granting huge tax breaks that by all reasonable estimates increase the deficit by preposterous amounts with no apparent social payback is a-OK…
American Psychosis: What happens to a society that... →
cognitivedissonance:
American Psychosis: What happens to a society that cannot distinguish between reality and illusion?
by Chris Hedges
The United States, locked in the kind of twilight disconnect that grips dying empires, is a country entranced by illusions. It spends its emotional and intellectual energy on the trivial and the absurd. It is captivated by the hollow stagecraft of celebrity...
Life is like a parabola, it has its ups and downs...
Philosophy Bro →
Philosophy if it were written by bros. Quite possibly the most awesome philosophy blog EVER.
Japan and the limits of Keynesianism →
US education is much better than you think →
I wonder… if the problem is the diversity of the US population, specifically due to language barriers, could we improve US test scores by opening institutions which teach in spanish, and allowing parents to decide which one to send their children to? How much would this slow down assimilation? Someone should do a study also to check whether immigrants from countries whose native language is...
What Tarot Card are You?
Because I was really bored…
You are Death
Change, Transformation, Alteration.
People fear this card, but if you want to change your life, this is one of the best indicators for it. Whatever happens, life will be different. Yes, the Death card can signal a death in the right circumstances (a question about a very sick or old relative, for example), but unlike its dramatic presentation in...
Conspiracy as Governance →
This is an amazingly interesting manifesto by Julian Assange, the founder and operator of Wikileaks.
"When $250,000 Equals $315,000" →
Obama's War on inequality - how he's losing it →
Age and happiness: The pattern isn't as clear as... →
Note to self:
Buy a copy of Kuhn’s “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.” It keeps coming up in everything that I read, but I haven’t read it yet!
“It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons...”
– Friedrich Nietzsche (via ageofreason)
Placebos work even when patients know they are... →
What the fuck human biology. Start making some sense.
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply...”
– Lao Tzu (via ageofreason)
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If manufacturing is in decline, how are we leading... →
Upon What Meat Hath Our Financial Sector Fed to... →
Bender: Dying sucks butt. How do you living beings cope with mortality?
Leela: Violent outbursts.
Amy: General slutiness.
Fry: Thanks to denial, I'm immortal.
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Does equality increase status spending? →
This is interesting. What if income inequality erodes consumer spending, resulting in lower aggregate demand and less overall economic activity?
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Finally, a semi-optimistic article about CA's... →
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Is Japan the next major world economy to tank? →
I hope not. Who would make anime then?
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David Foster Wallace and Wittgenstein →
I need to read both Tractatus and Infinite Jest at some point.
Cat vs. Internet →
A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I'm An... →
Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief. They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my...
Cognitive Dissonance: I'm not racist, but... →
“Now, I don’t care to discuss the alleged complaints American Indians have against this country. I believe, with good reason, the most unsympathetic Hollywood portrayal of Indians and what they did to the white man. They had no right to a country merely because they were born here and then acted…
Ayn Rand is SUCH a tool for saying this.
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The Tory President →
States Sue Bank of America: Bank Employees Dish,... →
States Sue Bank of America: Bank Employees Dish,... →
