A collection of 320 posts
Do we have the right to supplant Martian life with our own? Yes—because a human life has more value than that of a bacterium.
There is also a wide range of literature regarding sex differences in interest, which is also complicated, and which may explain a larger portion of the sex discrepancy in STEM careers.
Government and policy would be better off if they were presided over and/or dictated by technical experts.
The theory that science is based on evidence derives from a philosophy known as empiricism.
Feminist research into sex differences has typically concluded that the number of sex differences is small, and therefore unimportant, thus making the logical error that a small number of differences means those differences are inconsequential.
Day by day, as genetic science advances, it becomes ever clearer that all psychological traits are genetically influenced.
The last lesson of Gelernter’s piece is that while we shouldn’t judge someone’s arguments by their credentials alone, neither should we give unwarranted credence to those who have impressive credentials, particularly when they pronounce on a field in which they lack expertise.
Shouting someone down for speaking a thought in public effectively ends the critical discussion. There can be no further exploration of why the idea at issue is wrong, or what kernel of truth there may be therein.
I was a child in the 1960s, and I embraced Apollo as the adventure of all time
The YouTube-rabbit-hole phenomenon will undoubtedly continue to radicalize certain individuals. But give it time, let the churn machine keep churning.
Essays attacking the left- or right-wing bias of this or that media outlet are, of course, old hat in my business.
Moreover, the conclusion that harassment drives women from physics contradicts publicly available data on the progression of women in physics careers.
Instead of empty analogies, the only way to survive change is to have a vigorous debate about the merits of our new ideas—precisely the kind of debate that techno-optimists want to foreclose by appealing to history.
Some might claim that electric power is far more of a necessity that social media access.
The more rapid and intense the brain reward they imparted, the likelier they were to foster pathological learning and craving, particularly among socially and genetically vulnerable consumers.