Book Review: Great American Hypocrites

Summary: An eviscerating critique of how the Republican party has won elections by obscuring actual issues with phony controversies, aided and abetted by a shallow and insipid media. At times Greenwald's denunciations are repetitive, but he provides more than enough infuriating examples to amply justify his evident anger. Glenn Greenwald's…

Continue ReadingBook Review: Great American Hypocrites

Is nuclear power the solution?

An enthusiastic conservation effort, coupled with a wide variety of alternative sources of energy, will soften the blow of peak oil, but it might be too little too late.   And it's incredibly difficult to get people to actually do something serious about conserving energy (see Janisse Ray's "Altar Call for…

Continue ReadingIs nuclear power the solution?

Inequity aversion in monkeys.

Frans de Waal was recently interviewed by Stephen J. Dubner in the Freakonomics blog of the NYT. Dubner co-authored Freakonomics with Steven D. Levitt. De Waal and Dubner discussed the ramifications of an experiment where capuchin monkeys received either a grape or a piece of cucumber in return for a…

Continue ReadingInequity aversion in monkeys.

To deal with “arrogant” scientists we need to move beyond reductionism and break the “Galilean Spell.”

I don't want no god on my lawn Just a flower I can help along 'Cause the soul of no body knows how a flower grows... Oh how a flower grows . . .

“Longer Boats,” by Cat Stevens (now known as Yusuf Islam).

Why are so many religious people uncomfortable with so many scientists? I can think of several reasons. According to many Believers, scientists are arrogant know-it-alls. Believers see scientists as emotionally sterile lab-dwellers who flaunt their white coats and their fancy lab equipment. Scientists exacerbate the situation by speaking and writing using esoteric language that makes science-phobes feel ignorant. By using such difficult concepts and language, scientists have raised the bar, which excludes many folks from joining scientific discussions. It’s not like the “good old days,” where people were generally informed enough to join many conversations regarding science (or social science). Things are different now.

Continue ReadingTo deal with “arrogant” scientists we need to move beyond reductionism and break the “Galilean Spell.”

How to keep customers coming back for things they don’t need.

How do you keep customers coming back? Keep them constantly dissatisfied. That is the topic of this article in Orion Magazine.  The author is Jeffrey Kaplan.  Here's are a few excerpts from this well written article.   [Note:  you might be blocked from going straight into the article.  If so, go…

Continue ReadingHow to keep customers coming back for things they don’t need.