Month: June 2014

Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality

A few years ago, Sam Harris published a book, 'The Moral Landscape', which argued that science could determine moral values.  To say that it received substantial criticism, from scientists, philosophers, and others, would be an understatement. Late last year, Harris issued a challenge for people to submit 1000 word essays challenging the thesis of his book.  He … Continue reading Sam Harris, the fact-value distinction, and the problem with a science of morality →

I Was Promised Flying Cars – NYTimes.com

AS an astronomy-obsessed kid in the 1970s, I subsisted on a steady diet of science fiction. It promised a future filled with technological wonders: talking computers, bionic limbs, flying cars. Forty years later, though much of that future has arrived, it’s still missing what I consider its most important ingredient. Sure, we’ve got the iPhone’s … Continue reading I Was Promised Flying Cars – NYTimes.com →

The ethics of allowing uncontacted natives to remain uncontacted

This video has also been around a while, but I just saw it this weekend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLErPqqCC54 Watching this, I had three conflicting sets of emotions.  The first is amazement that there are still tribes in the wild that have not yet been contacted by the outside world.  I find that remarkable. The second is a feeling of … Continue reading The ethics of allowing uncontacted natives to remain uncontacted →

NASA – The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation

This NASA document has been around for a while, but it remains relevant.  If you're going to engage in space travel, you have some unyielding scientific and engineering realities to contend with.  This article is a bit dry, but it's a pretty good introduction into the realities of spaceflight. Tyranny is a human trait that … Continue reading NASA – The Tyranny of the Rocket Equation →

Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge

Following Neil deGrasse Tyson's wholesale dismissal of philosophy, there has been a lot of discussion on the value of philosophy.  As I've said repeatedly, I think philosophy has a great deal of value, but some of its defenders are tending to overstate what it can do. I've already written a post on what I see as the … Continue reading Why philosophical conclusions are not reliable knowledge →

Daily chart: March of the middle class | The Economist

Meant to share this last week, since it tied into my post about the state of our civilization, and the difficulty of keeping the broad sweeps of history in sight, but it fell between the cracks until now.  The world is becoming a better place...slowly. TWO decades ago the extremely poor accounted for more than a … Continue reading Daily chart: March of the middle class | The Economist →

Pseudophysics: The New High Priesthood

Wow.  Somewhat in balance to yesterday's reblog of part one of Coel Hellier's post defending multiverse theories as scientific, here's Amir Aczel skewering many of the proponents of multiverses and other untestable cosmological theories.  He takes aim at Brian Greene, Max Tegmark, Lawrence Krauss, and others, for presenting metaphysical assertions as science. The universe is a marvelous … Continue reading Pseudophysics: The New High Priesthood →