Monthly Archives: January 2015

The Parable Of The Talents

[Content note: scrupulosity and self-esteem triggers, IQ, brief discussion of weight and dieting. Not good for growth mindset.] I. I sometimes blog about research into IQ and human intelligence. I think most readers of this blog already know IQ is … Continue reading

OT13: Thread, The Blood Of Angry Men

Blog, the dark of ages past! This is the semimonthly open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. Also: 1. I will be in the Bay Area from about 2/21 to maybe 3/7. I’ll see all of … Continue reading

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A Philosopher Walks Into A Coffee Shop

I have been really enjoying literarystarbucks.tumblr.com, which publishes complicated jokes about what famous authors and fictional characters order at Starbucks. I like it so much I wish I knew more great literature, so I could get more of the jokes. … Continue reading

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Perceptions Of Required Ability Act As A Proxy For Actual Required Ability In Explaining The Gender Gap

I. I briefly snarked about Leslie et al (2015) last week, but I should probably snark at it more rigorously and at greater length. This is the paper that concludes that “women are underrepresented in fields whose practitioners believe that … Continue reading

These Are A Few (More) Of My (Least) Favorite Things

One year ago, I wrote Ten Things I Want To Stop Seeing On The Internet In 2014. And now it’s 2015, and I think things are getting better. Take doge. I swear to God that the last time I saw … Continue reading

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Links 1/2014: Link, For You Know Not Whence You Came Nor Why

This blog sometimes discusses how ideas which weren’t originally religious can evolve into a semi-religious form. But even I was flabbergasted to see Chinese peasants offering bowls of pig blood to statues of Mao on his birthday (h/t Spandrell). Speaking … Continue reading

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Depression Is Not A Proxy For Social Dysfunction

I. Here is a terrible article from the New York Post: Sorry, Liberals, Scandinavian Countries Aren’t Utopias. Its thesis is interesting and worth exploring, but instead of a principled investigation, the article just publishes a bunch of cherry-picked smears about … Continue reading

The Influenza Of Evil

I. A recent Cracked piece: Five Everyday Groups Society Says It’s Okay To Mock. It begins: There’s a rule in comedy that says you shouldn’t punch down. It’s okay to make fun of someone rich and famous, because they’re too … Continue reading

The Physics Diet?

There are at least four possible positions on the thermodynamics of weight gain: 1. Weight gain does not depend on calories in versus calories out, even in the loosest sense. 2. Weight gain is entirely a function of calories in … Continue reading

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The Phatic And The Anti-Inductive

I. Ozy recently taught me the word “phatic”. It means talking for the sake of talking. The classic example is small talk. “Hey.” “Hey.” “How are you?” Fine, and you?” “Fine.” No information has been exchanged. Even if the person … Continue reading

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