Intertextuality is an idea that should be subjected to Dutton’s Razor.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
The Year’s Top Ten Unfounded Health Scares 
Dec 18th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Wonky risk assessment…… Read the rest
Sould Intelligent Design be Taught in Schools?
Dec 18th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Steve Jones, UCL, and Stephen Meyer, ‘Discovery Institute.’ … Read the rest
Allan Hollinghurst on Richard Wollheim’s Memoir
Dec 18th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The philosopher’s childhood experience described with Proustian subtlety and thoroughness.… Read the rest
Knowledge Wars Rage Over Israel v Palestine
Dec 17th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Part clash of genuine entrenched positions, part dishonesty.… Read the rest
Scientific Breakthrough of the Year Awards
Dec 17th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Discovery that water once flowed on Mars is the winna.… Read the rest
Interview with Asne Seierstad
Dec 17th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
From the bookseller of Kabul to the Iraq war.… Read the rest
Worries Over ‘Legalised Euthanasia’
Dec 17th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
MPs reject living will amendment.… Read the rest
Book Jeremiads Have Been Around for Centuries
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
So they must be fun to read.… Read the rest
Eagleton Reviews Furedi on Intellectuals
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Snap definition of an intellectual: more or less the opposite of an academic.… Read the rest
Shark Cartilage Cancer ‘Cure’
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A triumph of marketing and pseudoscience over reason.… Read the rest
Gödel, Einstein, Heisenberg
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Three fundamental scientific results established profound and disturbing limitation.… Read the rest
Full Many a Plagiarist is Born to Blush Unseen
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
It’s not only the famous scholars who lift other people’s work.… Read the rest
Little Bitty Steps to Change Science Standards
Dec 16th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The Kansas Board of Education is considering ‘intelligent design’.… Read the rest
Nick Griffin Arrested
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
BNP leader being questioned by police investigating racism in the organisation.… Read the rest
BNP Leader Held by Police Over Racist Remarks
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Griffin claimed the government was trying to demonise the BNP.… Read the rest
Children Taught Falsehoods in Sex Education
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Federally funded abstinence-only programs get some facts wrong.… Read the rest
Review of Dictionary
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Chris Williams on bad writing as an art form.… Read the rest
An Iconoclastic History of Scientific Endeavour
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Review of John Waller’s Leaps in the Dark: The Making of Scientific Reputations.… Read the rest
Polly Toynbee on Bad Company
Dec 15th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The natural allies of the rationalists have decamped. … Read the rest
