Posted inCulture Philosophy
Government To Issue Baby Licenses
Regular readers will recall that I am a (self-appointed) bioethicist, a post I take on not because I need the work, but because the professionals are making such a hash…
Posted inStatistics
Ask A Scientific Ethicist: Baby Making, Auto Mishap, ISIS Attacks
This was supposed to run this morning. No idea why it didn't. This week, three letters from concerned readers. Too many babies Dear Scientific Ethicist, Hopefully this subject matter isn't…
Posted inStatistics
Decline Of Participation In Religious Rituals With Improved Sanitation
Answer me this. Earl at the end of the bar, on his sixth or seventh, tells listeners just what's wrong with America's science policy. His words receive knowing nods from…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
Another Academic Calls For Shorter People To Battle Global Warming
Academic philosopher S Matthew Liao (NYU) and pals are coming to get you. They want to monkey with your genes, kill your unwanted, inject growth-stunting hormones into your womb, poison…
Posted inPhilosophy Statistics
Evolution Under Fixed Constraints; Or, Why Random Changes Don’t Cut It
See if this analogy makes sense. A ramp onto which you loose a ball, which can roll down and fall into one of three slots. The configuration is such that…
Posted inStatistics
Can A Disgusting Smell Turn You Conservative And Against Gay “Marriage”?
Can sniffing a sticky stained organic tote bag that has seen one too many trips to Whole Foods turn you into the kind of activist that haunts street corners and…
Posted inCulture Philosophy
The Moral Case Against Designer Babies
"Should prospective parents seek information about gene variants that increase the risk their children will develop diseases as adults? Should physicians provide that information?" So asks Ronald Bailey, only just…
Posted inBook review Philosophy
True Reason: Confronting the Irrationality of the New Atheism Reviewed
Answer me honestly. How rational is it to believe any of the following: Science can explain everything, even itself; The reason anything exists is because of the laws of gravity,…