Nov 10, 2019
Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/06/building-intuitions-on-non-empirical-arguments-in-science/
Aeon: Post-Empirical Science Is An Oxymoron And It is Dangerous:
There is no agreed criterion to distinguish science from pseudoscience, or just plain ordinary bullshit, opening the door to all manner of metaphysics...
Nov 6, 2019
Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/11/04/samsara/
I.
The man standing outside my front door was carrying a clipboard and wearing a golden robe. “Not interested,” I said, preparing to slam the door in his face.
“Please,” said the acolyte. Before I could say no he’d jammed a wad of $100 bills into my hand....
Nov 2, 2019
Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2013/09/12/the-life-cycle-of-medical-ideas/
I.
About five years ago, an Italian surgeon with the unlikely name of Dr. Zamboni posited the theory that multiple sclerosis was caused by blockages in venous return from the brain causing various complicated downstream effects which...
Nov 1, 2019
Link: https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/30/new-atheism-the-godlessness-that-failed/
Thucydides predicted that future generations would underestimate the power of Sparta. It built no great temples, left no magnificent ruins. Absent any tangible signs of the sway it once held, memories of its past importance would...
Nov 1, 2019
NYT: Economic Incentives Don’t Always Do What We Want Them To (h/t MR). For the first time in history, the title actually understates the article, which argues that incentives can be...