archive

The jargon and minutiae

A new issue of Common Voices is out. From Less Wrong, Eliezer Yudkowsky on the useful idea of truth, the first post of a new sequence on Highly Advanced Epistemology 101 for Beginners. They retort, you decide: Robert on the dark art of presidential debate prep. There oughta be a law, Clausen’s Law: the proclaimed importance of an election is directly proportional to the desperation of the speaker. The introduction to Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Taie by Peter Haskel. How capitalism can save art: Camille Paglia on why a new generation has chosen iPhones and other glittering gadgets as its canvas. Jon Hubbard, Republican Arkansas legislator, says slavery may “have been a blessing” in new book. Jonathan Derbyshire on the Enlightenment values of Eric Hobsbawm. Reclaiming Politics: Michael Gecan on solving problems Washington won’t. From The Caravan, Jonathan Shainin on a guide to the jargon and minutiae of a US presidential election. Shale gas, speaker fees, sophism: David V. Johnson on Fareed Zakaria and the failure of thought leadership. Shinhya Yamaka and John B. Gurdon have jointly won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine; this is not only a giant leap for science, it is a giant leap for mankind — Yamanaka and Gurdon have shown how science can be done ethically.