I have been critical of NECSS for how it handled the Richard Dawkins situation. But I am also supportive of NECSS for eventually doing the right thing and issuing an apology to Richard Dawkins. Yesterday, the NECSS executive committee released the…
Recently, I wrote about how Prof. Richard Dawkins was suddenly uninvited from speaking at this year’s Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS). As I said at the time, I thought the move was a mistake on the part of NECSS,…
A good friend of mine recently posted a link to this old clip of the economist Milton Friedman lecturing Phil Donahue on the (lack of) merits of socialism vs. those of capitalism. The problem with Friedman’s explanation is the problem…
I just read Dr. Stephen Novella‘s clear and thoughtful blog post on how Professor Richard Dawkins was invited to be a featured speaker at this year’s Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism (NECSS). And shortly thereafter, uninvited. It’s an interesting–even if disappointing–look into the…
I just read The Economist’s book review of Dominic Johnson‘s God is Watching You: How the Fear of God Makes Us Human. The review suggests “Belief in divine punishment may be inherent and a useful evolutionary adaptation, helping humans overcome selfishness.” But correctly assessing causation…
I realize I’ve been on a bit of a tear regarding Gov. Rick Snyder‘s role in the Flint water crisis. Over the past couple of days, I blogged about Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders each criticizing the governor during the recent…
Now that the Flint water crisis genie is out of the bottle, political damage control is in full swing. And the elephant in the room is this: Is Gov. Rick Snyder culpable? The Snyder-appointed Flint Water Task Force sent a letter to…
The Flint water crisis genie is out of the bottle. And all of King Snyder’s horses and all of his men, cannot put the genie in the bottle again. At the end of Sunday night’s Democratic Debate, the moderators asked…
By now, you may have heard about the bad lottery advice dished out by “lottery expert”, Richard Lustig, this Monday morning on the FOX “News” channel. “Buy as many tickets as you can afford.” Business Insider calls this “literally the worst lottery…
Gov. Rick Snyder frequently claims how his administration is “transparent”, “open” and “honest”. But every time he does, I’m reminded of that wonderful quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.…