Yesterday commenter “huxley” wrote: I just discovered there’s a new ultra-SJW-intersectional, black, female SF writer, N.K. Jemisin who has won three Hugos and a Nebula since 2016. That’s a very big deal. It puts her into grandmaster level with the … Continue reading →
Commenter Richard Saunders has written: I’m wondering where the stupid idea that people are inherently good got started. Until fairly (in historical terms) recently, everyone understood that the basic rule of human conduct was, as Thucydides put it, “The strong … Continue reading →
Commenter “Snow on Pine” makes the following excellent observation about the differences between left and right: The fork in the road occurs at the crossroad named Human Nature. Believe that humans are innately good and that it is just their … Continue reading →
It’s not possible yet, but they’re working on it: Progress toward making “artificial gametes” has been accelerating. In Japan, mice were born from eggs scientists had manufactured in a dish from a tail cell. Chinese scientists later claimed they had … Continue reading →
Last night I watched “Passengers,” a movie that was made in 2016 and can roughly be described as science fiction. It’s no masterpiece, but I liked it, which is more than I can say for most movies I see these … Continue reading →
There have actually been seven deaths on Mount Everest this week, but this article discusses the two most recent ones. Both were of climbers who were 55 years old, although I have no idea (and the article does not explain) … Continue reading →
The New Yorker has an interesting article about the changes in the economy and society (I almost wrote “culture” there, but realized that the word has a double meaning in this context) of Humboldt County, California as a result of … Continue reading →
The College Board, which has been devising and administering the test known as the SATs, has announced the latest tweak they’ve devised to try to even the playing field: The College Board, which oversees the SAT exam used by most … Continue reading →
By now you’re probably read about the the dismissal of Ronald Sullivan and his wife from their posts at Harvard College’s Winthrop House: The story begins last January when the African American Law School Professor Ronald Sullivan joined Harvey Weinstein’s … Continue reading →
BUMPED UP just for fun. [NOTE: I came across this old post of mine today, and thought it might be fun to repeat it.] I’ve always had an excellent recollection for early events in my life, with the peculiarity that … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Part I can be found here.] Later on in his interview, the philosopher and bioethicist Julian Savulescu has much to say about what humans can do on the biological level to help make the world better, in the general … Continue reading →
[NOTE: Part II here.] As soon as I saw the headline for this article, I thought it might be about Peter Singer. I’ve written at great length about Singer before (see this, this, and this), and the title of the … Continue reading →