Monthly Archives: December 2013

The Spirit Of The First Amendment

Popehat comments on some of the same issues I brought up yesterday from the opposite point of view. They bring up an interesting idea they call the “Doctrine Of The Preferred First Speaker”: The phrase “the spirit of the First … Continue reading

A Comment I Posted On “What Would JT Do?”

Last week JT posted An Open Letter To The Defenders Of Phil Robertson, which bothered me enough that I posted the following: So I’m the person you are insisting doesn’t exist – a completely pro-gay atheist who voted against Proposition … Continue reading

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Meetup: Southeast Michigan

There will be a Less Wrong meetup at my place next Saturday. Out-of-town guests Alicorn, Mike Blume, and Ozymandias will be attending. You can find more information here.

[REPOST] A Christmas Poem

Every Jew down in Jewville liked Christmas a lot But King Herod, who ruled over Jewville, did not. The King had a thousand and one reasons why He hated the stars that appeared in the sky! He hated the wise … Continue reading

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We Are All MsScribe

AskReddit asked recently: If you could only give an alien one thing to help them understand the human race, what would you give them? At the time I had no good answer. Now I do. I would give them Charlotte … Continue reading

Public Awareness Campaigns

A little while back I discussed how, contrary to the conventional wisdom that they’ve been “proven to work”, anti-rape campaigns aimed at men have zero evidence of effectiveness. I added that this was no surprise, since similar public awareness campaigns … Continue reading

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Less Wrong, More Rite (II)

Every year people mock the Rationalist Solstice Ritual. And every year I read the discussions, nod, and then go to New York and have a great time and meet amazing people and have fascinating discussions and get the songs stuck … Continue reading

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Statistical Literacy Among Doctors Now Lower Than Chance

Good news! 42% of doctors can correctly answer a true-false question on p-values! That’s only 8% worse than a coin flip! And this paragraph is your friendly reminder that six months after this study was published, the FDA decided it … Continue reading

More Links For December

A old-timey schoolmaster is unnecessarily cruel to his students, caning them for the slightest offense real or imagined. His students get so angry that they revolt, tie up the schoolmaster, and leave him bound in the classroom, where he remains … Continue reading

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Papal PR

Congratulations are due to the Pope for being Time’s Person of the Year. I would have voted for Snowden, but the Pope is a perfectly respectable choice. At least he’s an individual human being and not a vague demographic or … Continue reading