Of the books I've read lately, Clay Shirkey's Here Comes Everybody had some interesting notes on how the internet and easy connectivity has changed how society reacts to, well, everything ( Read more... )

( The lyrics sung hereunder this cut are SOOOOOOO not safe for work. )

Jonathon Haidt gives the best explanation I've heard yet for the differences between us.

I hereby announce that Mr. Deity is one of the funniest web shows currently gracing our bandwidth, and that all and sundry should immediately partake thereof.

Start with Episode 1, of course. Enjoy.

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He nails the whole discussion right at the end: "I would much rather be a rising ape than a falling angel."

From this rant:

It's not that I'm cavalier about safety. I'm just a sucker -- so to speak -- for the facts. And the fact is: No child has been poisoned by a stranger's goodies on Halloween, ever, as far as we can determine. Joel Best, a sociology professor at the University of Delaware, studied November newspapers from 1958 to the present, ( Read more... )

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To the rabid optimists: Put down the pom-poms. Step away from the pink megaphone. You aren't helping.

Please read this. Without knowing it, without being able to articulated it as well, this has been my philosophy for decades.

Skeptic magazine editor Michael Shermer (The guy from the Baloney Detection Kit video) lays down the skeptical, scientific approach in this Scientific American article:

The principle of positive evidence applies to all claims. Skeptics are from Missouri, the Show-Me state. Show me a Sasquatch body. Show me the archaeological artifacts from ( Read more... )

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Michael Shermer gives the 12-point rundown on questions everyone should be asking all the time. BTW, his books Why People Believe Weird Things and Why Darwin Matters should be required high school reading.