Ponderings of science, philosophy, history, society, and many other topics
I voted. I did early voting, although I would have preferred to have voted by mail. However, my state's Republican dominated legislature did everything they could to prevent that. The state only offered mail-in voting after they lost a lawsuit, and then only for relatively narrow cases. To do it, I would have had to … Continue reading Voting in the general election, 2020 edition
Aeon this weekend highlighted a 2017 article by Joel Mokyr looking at how Europe became the richest part of the world (or at least one of the richest). Historically, there have been many theories, ranging from racist rationals, cultural ones, to it merely being Europe and the overall west's turn to be on top. That … Continue reading The rise of the west and the changing sociopolitical landscape
At least, according to a report by Standard Charter Bank as reported by Big Think: The Standard Chartered Bank, a British multinational banking and financial services company, recently issued a report to clients outlining projections about the world economy up until 2030. The report predicts Asian economies will grow significantly in the next decade, taking … Continue reading China will have the world’s largest economy in 2020
Today early voting started in my state, and because voting on November 8 would be a hassle, I made use of it.  It probably won't surprise any of my regular online friends that my vote went to Hillary Clinton. To be upfront, the Republican candidate would not have gotten my vote, even if they had been … Continue reading Voting in the general election, 2016 edition
John Scalzi, as he periodically does, is responding to reader questions, and one was on his attitude toward Republicans.  If you're familiar with Scalzi, then you can probably guess that his attitude toward Republican politicians isn't generally positive.  I found a lot to agree with in his post, notably on his social positions such as being pro-choice … Continue reading A Democrat in a two party system
A few weeks ago, I linked to an article on the problems with concussions in American football, pointing out that it wasn't just the acute concussions you had to worry about, but the gradual damage from head blows that added up silently over the years.  My advice was, if you are a parent, to carefully consider whether … Continue reading Magnets in helmets might make American football safer
This Tuesday, November 4, is election day here in the United States.  If you are a US citizen, and you didn't do early voting, then you need to go vote.  Getting people, particularly young people, to vote in the midterms is always tough.  I know when I was young, I was barely aware that the midterms … Continue reading Why I voted Democrat across the board
This morning, I came across an essay by Howard Zinn, the famous historian and activist (now deceased), on the real historical Christopher Columbus.  I suspect Zinn's portrayal of events was a bit one sided (I doubt the Native Americans were quite the lambs that he portrayed), but he probably overcompensated to some extent for the version we … Continue reading The conquest of the Americas
As is quickly becoming usual, Tina at Diotima's Ladder asks excellent questions: Roosevelt and Obama: Did we avoid a Great Depression? | Diotima's Ladder. For the past week I’ve been rushing home every night to catch The Roosevelts: An Intimate History by Ken Burns. I’m not really a big Ken Burns fan. And yes, it’s the fiddle music. … Continue reading The Great Recession was less severe than the Great Depression because we do learn from history.
Stan Hummel called my attention to this article: The War Photo No One Would Publish - The Atlantic.  I didn't embed the specific image here.  If you want to see it, you can follow the link.  Warning: it may not be something many people want to see. The Iraqi soldier died attempting to pull himself up over … Continue reading The War Photo No One Would Publish – The Atlantic
SelfAwarePatterns 