All entries by this author

Audible gasp *

Oct 15th, 2002 | Filed by

Even on the left, even the secular left, criticism of religion is not allowed.… Read the rest



Faked research and how it is caught *

Oct 15th, 2002 | Filed by

Though the process worked and the fraud was exposed, scientists wish the process had worked a bit faster.… Read the rest



Good idea but over-optimistic *

Oct 13th, 2002 | Filed by

Jeremy Rifkin’s ideas about hydrogen fuel cells may depend too much on starry-eyed hopes for ‘new consciousness’.… Read the rest



He was admired, his ideas were rejected *

Oct 12th, 2002 | Filed by

John Tooby examines the paradox of Darwin’s celebrity despite widespread skepticism about natural selection.… Read the rest



A Darwinian Left *

Oct 11th, 2002 | Filed by

Study of the psychological effects of inequality attracts thinkers to evolutionary theory, thus beginning to heal the breach between sociobiology and the Left.… Read the rest



Senator Clinton queries theology-based research *

Oct 10th, 2002 | Filed by

Anti-abortion doctor who writes books on “healing power of Jesus” appointed by Bush administration to drug-review panel.… Read the rest



Nobel economists go against the grain *

Oct 9th, 2002 | Filed by

Economists add cognitive psychology, laboratory experiment to the old ‘rational choice’ view.… Read the rest



Hobbes was right, Rousseau was wrong *

Oct 8th, 2002 | Filed by

Steven Pinker interview explores why sociobiology is so upsetting to both left and right.… Read the rest



Venus and Mars revisited *

Oct 8th, 2002 | Filed by

Studies on jealousy agree on evolutionary origin but differ on how it plays out.… Read the rest



It depends on how you frame the question *

Oct 7th, 2002 | Filed by

Another skirmish in the long-running debate over how evolution shapes sexual differences.… Read the rest



Just another theory, yet again *

Oct 6th, 2002 | Filed by

A Georgia school board, in Postmodern vein, says diversity of opinion is the way to go–at least when it comes to evolution.… Read the rest



Euphemistic evasion or sententious aphorism *

Oct 5th, 2002 | Filed by

Didactic impulses or nationalist piety can shape the work of even the most detached biographer.… Read the rest



Ghastly, shameful, inadvertently hilarious *

Oct 4th, 2002 | Filed by

Marina Warner on the spiral of duplicity between thoughtful men and women and bogus mediums.… Read the rest



Pauline Kael against sleep-inducing lies *

Oct 2nd, 2002 | Filed by

Vulgar Kaelism gets it wrong: she did not think popular movies were automatically art, and she was not a moral relativist.… Read the rest



Self-esteem not a miracle cure after all? *

Oct 1st, 2002 | Filed by

When scholars actually look at evidence, they find rapists and failing students as pleased with themselves as the next person.… Read the rest



When commitments hit home *

Sep 27th, 2002 | Filed by

Croatian President Stipe Mesic tells his fellow Croatians they must honour all their commitments, not only the painless ones.… Read the rest



Duking it out on the air *

Sep 26th, 2002 | Filed by

Shouting match over genes versus parents ruffles calm of Radio 3.… Read the rest



It’s not the parents *

Sep 25th, 2002 | Filed by

Steven Pinker says parents have less influence than they think, while peers have more.… Read the rest



It’s the parents *

Sep 25th, 2002 | Filed by

Oliver James says emphasis on genes to explain human nature is a way to escape guilt.… Read the rest



Truth-skeptics make truth-claims *

Sep 24th, 2002 | Filed by

Bernard Williams points out that Nietzsche did not settle for ironic chat or a smug nod at deconstruction-work, and nor should we.… Read the rest