Monthly Archives: June 2013

The Lottery of Fascinations

I. Suppose I were to come out tomorrow as gay. I have amazing and wonderful friends, and I certainly wouldn’t expect them to hate me forever or tell me to burn in Hell or anything like that. But even more … Continue reading

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Nature Is Not A Slate. It’s A Series Of Levers.

Last week I criticized pop social psychology while maintaining that social psychology itself was a pretty interesting window into human thought processes. I was then handed a link to someone who apparently likes social psychology a lot less than I … Continue reading

The Hospital Orientation

The nun who gives us a big welcome to Our Lady Of An Undisclosed Location Hospital. The intermittent reminders that The Hospital Was Founded By Nuns, You Know. The lingering fear from my days in Ireland, when all of my … Continue reading

Social Psychology Is A Flamethrower

Mark Twain: There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact. If this is true of all science, it is doubly true of social psychology. At its best, … Continue reading

A New Chapter In The Codex

For the past year, I have been living off of some very occasional part-time work for MetaMed, some odd jobs, and savings from various sources. It hasn’t been the most lucrative thing in the world, but it’s left me lots … Continue reading

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The What-You’d-Implicitly-Heard-Before Telling Thing

G. K. Chesterton, whom I praised yesterday, is also famous for the argument of the “truth-telling thing”: “This, therefore, is, in conclusion, my reason for accepting the religion and not merely the scattered and secular truths out of the religion. … Continue reading

Can Atheists Appreciate Chesterton?

Empirically, yes. Friday was the anniversary of Chesterton’s death, the religious blogosphere is eulogizing him, and I thought I’d join in. I enjoyed and recommend Chesterton’s novels, especially The Man Who Was Thursday and Napoleon of Notting Hill, his works … Continue reading

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The Virtue of Silence

Leah Libresco writes a couple of essays (1, 2) on an ethical dilemma reported in the New York Times. In the course of a confidential medical history, a doctor hears her patient is suffering from stress-related complaints after having sent … Continue reading

Arguments From My Opponent Believes Something

1. Argument From My Opponent Believes Something, Which Is Kinda Like Believing It On Faith, Which Is Kinda Like Them Being A Religion: “The high priests of the economic orthodoxy take it on faith that anyone who doubts the market … Continue reading

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Biodjinnetics

“In exchange for freeing me from this lamp, you may ask me one question,” said the genie. “Not three?” I protested. “Just one,” said the genie. “What is the cure for cancer?” I asked. “A compound called oxymercuriphine, found in … Continue reading

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