The University of Sussex says good-bye and provides many links.… Read the rest
All entries by this author
Another Decision in Kennewick Man Case
Apr 22nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bones to remain above ground for study, Appeals Court rules.… Read the rest
Carl Zimmer on John Maynard Smith
Apr 22nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
He had the brilliant idea of applying game theory to evolution.… Read the rest
Not Waving But Drowning
Apr 21st, 2004 7:58 pm | By Ophelia BensonWe’ve wandered into an interesting discussion here (here as in here below, Bound Together) about hand waving and value judgments, about whether moral and aesthetic judgments can be grounded, or rather (since I’m not sure anyone here claims they can be grounded in the same way that physics or mathematics can, or the way empirical inquiry can) what follows from the fact (if it is a fact, and do correct me if I’m wrong about what anyone claims) that they can’t. My colleague, if I understand him correctly, thinks that since in the case of a conflict between a well-grounded argument that would support, say, genocide, and ungrounded moral commitment, we would (most of us, one hopes) choose the moral … Read the rest
Saudi Woman Beaten for Answering Phone
Apr 21st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
But her husband took her to hospital after beating her, so that was kind.… Read the rest
Upside-Down Analogies
Apr 21st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Darwinism is like Stalinism, Intelligent Design is like brave freedom fighters. Yeah right.… Read the rest
Getting Around
Apr 21st, 2004 1:16 am | By Ophelia BensonI thought this was an amusing item at Normblog yesterday. It’s an algorithm for generating correct political positions. I shouldn’t laugh – I’m sure I’ve been known to generate my share of correct political positions now and then. And what else was I supposed to do, after all [voice rising to a scream], generate incorrect ones?! But, but, but, alas, it’s true, some of those positions did start to sound amazingly point-missing or even downright black-is-white, a couple of years ago. Hence, no doubt, the need for algorithm. (Do I sound as if I know what an algorithm is? I don’t. Not a clue.)
Norm was mentioned in an article in the Jerusalem Post about the Jooglebomb a few days … Read the rest
Ashwin Mahesh Asks: Nationality or Religion?
Apr 20th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What if your ‘religion denigrates the very existence of millions of our people in the name of tradition’?… Read the rest
In an Election Year, It’s Hip to be Hard-line
Apr 20th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Is the Shivaji issue about religion politics, caste, nationalism?… Read the rest
Ben Pimlott
Apr 20th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘critical and independent in a world of academia that tends to travel in tides.’… Read the rest
Are Science and Religion Compatible?
Apr 20th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Susan Haack distinguishes between plausible naturalism and implausible scientism.… Read the rest
Michael Lind on Peter Singer on George Bush
Apr 20th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘the bad habits of the blogosphere are corrupting the world of print discourse.’… Read the rest
‘Scientists in America’ Have a New Wheeze
Apr 19th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Deliberately annoying people is a symptom of ODD.… Read the rest
I’ll Give You a Good Placebo For That
Apr 19th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Expensive long-winded alternative therapists can maximise their placebo effect with ceremony.… Read the rest
Psychological Counselling at School?
Apr 19th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Would it free teachers, help students, or promote therapy culture?… Read the rest
Saving the Seed or Saving Romantic Assumptions
Apr 19th, 2004 | By Thomas R. DeGregoriModern agriculture is increasingly being used as an all encompassing category of evil by critics of globalization and transgenic (genetically modified) food crops, and by street protestors and their mentors and organizers. Implicit in the protest rhetoric is a dichotomy between modern agronomy (assumed to be large corporate enterprises either farming or selling to farmers) and small self-sufficient farmers, who replant their own seeds from year-to-year and have little or no reliance on the market for inputs.
The difference between the two presumed types of agriculture could not be more stark in the minds of the believers. The enemy is the monopolistic seed corporations and industrial farms that are mechanized, use purchased inputs including synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides, and … Read the rest
Bound Together
Apr 18th, 2004 8:47 pm | By Ophelia BensonThere was a slightly bizarre article about ‘elitism’ and popular culture in the New York Times a couple of days ago. At least I thought it was bizarre, but I don’t know, maybe it’s not, maybe I’m the one who’s bizarre. Or elitist. Or both.
… Read the restElitist pop-culture critics must, in the end, be mindful of what large numbers of people actually see and read and listen to. Because the underlying mythology of pop culture is still the idea that the approval of large numbers of people validates that culture and the society that produces it. If something is truly loved by millions of people, it has touched those people, has tapped into some stream of universality that indicates a life
Secular Group Wins Tax-Exempt Status
Apr 18th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In Canada, where the House of Commons starts every day with a prayer.… Read the rest