Monthly Archives: December 2008

Weekend Open Thread

Posted on December 12, 2008 by Nietzsche
Posted in Uncategorized | 15 Comments

2008 Presidential election, votes by income & education

Posted on December 12, 2008 by David Hume

How the Rich Are Different From You and Me: Places that went for Obama are richer and smarter than places that went for McCain. The subhead is critical here: And it isn’t just about politics. The division is also between … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, data, politics | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Priorities

Posted on December 12, 2008 by Andrew Stuttaford

Here’s an interesting piece from the Guardian by Salman Hameed. He’s arguing that the Islamic world will be the next front in the battle over evolution, and discusses how scientists should respond to the “rising challenge of creationism” among Muslims: … Continue reading →

Posted in Science & Faith | 24 Comments

Knowledge & the Second Bank of the United States

Posted on December 12, 2008 by David Hume

Reading about the controversy surrounding the Second Bank of the United States, I get the sense that we know more about how economics operates today than we did 180 years ago. But how much more? Enough to matter? I assume … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, economics, history | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Catholics lead interesting lives?

Posted on December 12, 2008 by David Hume

Ross Douthat responds to a post by Bradlaugh on various beliefs in the supernatural: But even extraordinary happenings aren’t, well, all that extraordinary. Religious belief exists and persists in part because religious experiences exist and persist – even if they’re … Continue reading →

Posted in data | Tagged , , | 20 Comments

Presidential medal for Charles Colson

Posted on December 11, 2008 by Walter Olson

President Bush just bestowed Presidential citizenship medals on 24 recipients, including key Religious Right figures Charles Colson (Prison Fellowship) and Robert George (Princeton). Colson, of course, is the Watergate felon who had a repentance and religious conversion; “after serving his … Continue reading →

Posted in law | Tagged , | 14 Comments

The many faces of human nature

Posted on December 11, 2008 by David Hume

Ivan Kenneally and Larry Arnhart continue their dialogue over Darwinian Conservatism. Ivan says: …In the spirit of a “comprehensive science” as described by Leo Strauss, Arnhart recommends a more monistic approach that captures not only our natural inclinations but those … Continue reading →

Posted in science | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

Your genes on cuisine

Posted on December 11, 2008 by David Hume

A year ago there was a paper on the effect of diet on enzyme production, Diet and the evolution of human amylase gene copy number variation. That human evolution skeptic, P. Z. Myers, has just noticed the paper, and says: This … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, science | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The tasty drug

Posted on December 11, 2008 by David Hume

Sugar Can Be Addictive: Animal Studies Show Sugar Dependence: A Princeton University scientist will present new evidence today demonstrating that sugar can be an addictive substance, wielding its power over the brains of lab animals in a manner similar to … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, science | Tagged | 5 Comments

Bradlaugh (in comments) on unbelief and totalitarianism

Posted on December 11, 2008 by Walter Olson

Bradlaugh, in comments, responding to “Panopaea”, who’d invoked the old chestnut assigning collective blame to religious unbelievers for the Twentieth Century rise of totalitarianism: * * * Das, was der Mensch von dem Tier voraushat, der veilleicht wunderbarste Beweis für … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 40 Comments