Monthly Archives: December 2013

This article, like most of Le Nguyen Hoang’s work, brings together a wonderful mix of ideas and resources and is mostly great. But I am a bit worried that it might leave some readers with the idea that kin selection … Continue reading →

To a late riser like me it seems that the days are already getting longer even though is is still almost a week before the actual winter solstice. But this is not an illusion as the sunsets really are starting … Continue reading →

Last week we got several reminders of the significant roles played by women in what is often perceived these days as a rather male-dominated and even somewhat macho field. On Dec 6 Maria Popover’s Brain Pickings site pointed to a tribute video  about … Continue reading →

I hadn’t really been planning to read ‘God in Proof’ but this excerpt has me sufficiently engaged that I might actually do so.

In a post called A Refutation of the Undergraduate Atheists, David V. Johnson’s use of the silly undergraduate-level technique of mockingly mislabeling the contrary position has distracted many of his commenters from what could have been the start of a fruitful … Continue reading →

Newt Gingrich deserves  applause for standing up to some of his co-ideologues in defense of the strategy and tactics of Nelson Mandela and the ANC, both now and in the past. He, along with Brian Mulroney and others, is among the … Continue reading →

The main problem with Philosophy as a distinct academic discipline is not that it is stupid, but that its advocates *are* often “stupid” in that they badly misidentify its value with claims like the following: Philosophy answers questions like… “Who … Continue reading →

Sad to have him gone but glad for the end of his final illness.  The man’s infectious smile radiated a sincerity that I don’t think anyone has ever denied, and I am thankful that that sincerity included an unwavering commitment … Continue reading →