The Strange Truth About Alternative Facts Now if a single moral judgment depends on a unit of analysis, then surely a political philosophy that imagines some sort of societal structure that maximizes some moral values (whatever they may be), must also depend on a unit of analysis. Stuart Doyle 29 Mar 2018 · 5 min read
The Empathy Gap in Tech: Interview with a Software Engineer The tech industry more broadly is rarely discussed in terms of friendliness towards those with high functioning autism, such as Gideon. Claire Lehmann 5 Jan 2018 · 15 min read
Where Did We Come From? An Astonishing Hypothesis The possibility that non-life became life over a million or so years, rather than hundreds of millions of years, is astonishing. Geoffrey Lehmann 3 Jan 2018 · 19 min read
The Neuroscience of Intelligence: An Interview with Richard Haier Is it possible to see if someone is high in g by their brain activity on a PET scan or fMRI scan – and if so, what does it look like? Claire Lehmann 24 Dec 2017 · 8 min read
Should We Be Worried About GMOs? GMOs interact with wider global systems that they could potentially undermine, with terrible consequence. Simon Beard and Rachel Polfer 28 Nov 2017 · 6 min read
Beaked Up Birds: A Review of Big Chicken Agriculture brought with it enormous benefits, including a larger trading network, a greater division of labor, and even some genetic changes that we’re better off with than without. Jonathan Anomaly 16 Nov 2017 · 6 min read
Against the Demonization of Drugs Drugs are able to save lives and ruin them; enhance your mind and numb it; heal your body and destroy it. Sana Al-Badri and Marco Vega 7 Nov 2017 · 12 min read
What is Mindfulness? Nobody Really Knows, and That's a Problem Researchers should systematically assess potential side effects when studying mindfulness treatments. Nicholas T Van Dam and Nick Haslam 24 Oct 2017 · 5 min read
Is There a Biological Case for Criminal Justice Reform? “We’ve successfully banished the notion of punishment in that realm,” Sapolsky writes. “It may take centuries, but we can do the same in all our current arenas of punishment.” Hal Conick 20 Oct 2017 · 6 min read
Is It Ever Better Not to Know? It seems that gaining more knowledge, even on topics where that knowledge could be damaging in the short term, is the preferable approach. Brian Boutwell / Bo Winegard / Jonathan Anomaly 2 May 2017 · 7 min read
Not Everything Is An Interaction Despite strong genetic influences on IQ (and there are strong genetic influences on IQ), we can’t calculate the proportion of credit for Einstein’s intellect that is owed solely to his genes. Brian Boutwell 31 Mar 2017 · 4 min read
Why Social Scientists Should Not Participate in the March for Science Why? For one, there is very little political and ideological diversity in the social sciences. Clay Routledge 3 Mar 2017 · 6 min read
Galapagos Giant Tortoises Make a Comeback, Thanks to Innovative Conservation Strategies With critical support from nonprofits like the Galapagos Conservancy and advice from an international team of conservation scientists. James P Gibbs 18 Feb 2017 · 6 min read
Is Crime Genetic? Scientists Don’t Know Because They’re Afraid to Ask What if much of what we know about the causes of crime is either deeply flawed or flat out wrong? Brian Boutwell / Conor Barnes 18 Feb 2017 · 7 min read