Scientists fall out over fusion – again.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Anti-GM Hysteria Begins 
Mar 10th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, all the usual suspects, foam at the mouth.… Read the rest
Leave Those Guinea Pigs Alone!
Mar 10th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
“Animal rights” activists appeal to the neighbours.… Read the rest
The Difference Between Sense and Nonsense
Mar 10th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Freeman Dyson reviews a book on pseudoscience.… Read the rest
The Yuk-factor and Neuroscience
Mar 10th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Carl Zimmer on Bush’s Bioethics Council and how emotions work.… Read the rest
Susan Moller Okin
Mar 10th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Not one we could afford to lose.… Read the rest
Just Making It Up Can Be Risky
Mar 9th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Clinical psychology ought to be based on research.… Read the rest
Stanley Milgram Admired ‘Candid Camera’
Mar 9th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Allen Funt believed he could reveal how people respond to societal pressures.… Read the rest
Thomas Frank on the Elitism Myth
Mar 9th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
In which up is down, out is in, no is yes.… Read the rest
Back From Syracuse, Dr. Heidegger?
Mar 8th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What is it with intellectuals and dictators? Mark Lilla has a look.… Read the rest
Using the Word ‘Genocide’
Mar 8th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Turkish scholars challenge government version of 1915 Armenian genocide.… Read the rest
Norm Geras Encounters Some Nonsense
Mar 8th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
And wonders if there’s a way to decide whether it’s right or wrong.… Read the rest
67% Chance That God Exists
Mar 8th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Scientist’ starts from absurd premise and arrives at ridiculous conclusion.… Read the rest
What’s the Aramaic for ‘Popcorn’?
Mar 8th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
A handy lexicon for moviegoers.… Read the rest
Hemingway at his Most Eloquent
Mar 7th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Bulls are great – they don’t write, they’re not queer, they’re not old women, and you can kill them.… Read the rest
Like Gibbon and Frazer Only in Bulk
Mar 7th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
William Vollmann’s seven volume work is swept away on a flood of logorrhea.… Read the rest
That’s an Accomplishment?
Mar 6th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘one of literary theory’s accomplishments…has been its bid to protect “the privacy of its language.”‘… Read the rest
Postpositivist Realism
Mar 6th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Identity is fluid, until we have to deal with other people.… Read the rest
Chris Mooney on ‘Sound Science’
Mar 5th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
The phrases ‘sound science’ and ‘peer review’ may not mean what you think.… Read the rest
