Comedians poke fun at the absurd, unreasonable aspects of our thought, our behaviour and our societies so it is tempting to assume that they are rational themselves.
Sometimes people use it to mean pretend outrage, in which people cry “crocodile tears” over things that don’t really upset them.
Within the lens of Western culture, it is sex and not money that is the primary root of all evil.
Western leaders and policymakers who bemoan the referendum can, if they choose, flatter themselves as “realists.”
Science How Congress Ignored Science and Fueled Antibiotic Resistance Maryn McKenna Wired My IRB Nightmare SlateStarCodex The Neuroscience of Intelligence: Dr Richard Haier Jordan B Peterson, YouTube Nuclear the ‘only option’ to replace coal and gas: Michael Shellenberger Graham Lloyd, The Australian The Gender Gap in STEM is NOT What
These might be two separate and superficially different incidents, but they are qualitatively very similar and underline the same cultural tensions that lead to these scenarios.
There is good reason for the controversy. Early in the book, Reeves lays out the inconvenient truth:
This robustness does still exist, but only at a fairly low level, where raw packets of data are routed between numerical addresses.
Having falsely established that Charlie Hebdo were just picking on Muslims, he can lay the charge of hypocrisy upon anybody that has ever objected to any other speech.
Yet, modern art is still portrayed as being avant-garde, defying trends, and sticking it to the establishment.
Science Why people believe in conspiracy theories – and how to change their minds Mark Lorch, The Conversation Massive Genetic Study Shows Humans Are Evolving Bruno Martin, Nature The Greater Male Variability Hypothesis – An Addendum to Our Post on the Google Memo Sean Stevens and Jonathan Haidt, Heterodox Academy Culture / Education
One consequence of these genetic battles is the effect on reproductive compatibility within a species.
There is no room for nuance, no room for subtlety. Feelings supersede facts. The emotions of the most fragile must be soothed at any cost, even if the truth is a casualty.
Many warnings were offered up to us about how well-meaning scientists and policy makers could slip into using genetic information maleficently.