Philosophy & Ethics

A Violation Of The One Dimensional Median Voter Theory

There is a theory in economics known as the median voter theorem, attributed to Duncan Black in 1948. The theory has been used to justify the two party, winner take all system, mathematically by political economists, as the best possible system.   Its con ...

Article - Ed Chen - Jan 9 2011 - 8:58am

Music In A Rational Universe

Who interviewed who?  There's Scopes Monkey Choir-- the podcast interviewing me.  And there's 365 Days of Astronomy-- the podcast where I interview them.  Welcome to an irrational approach to "music in a rational universe". ...

Article - Project Calliope - Jan 11 2011 - 2:28pm

The Duality/Nonduality Duality

Obsession with duality     In the west we like to think in terms of dualities. Well known examples from diverse fields ranging from philosophy to physics included the physical/metaphysical duality in philosophy, the mind/brain duality in psychology, the g ...

Blog Post - Steve Donaldson - Jan 24 2011 - 10:29am

Coaches Help Teach Athletes Ethics Also

There are exceptions, of course- some athletes will never be ethical no matter how much coaching they receive and not all coaches are ethical, but overall coaching helps athletes become more than better athletes.    New survey data from Concordia Universit ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 3 2011 - 3:34pm

Making Capital out of Ignorance

A section of the people.... made capital out of their own ignorance. When I read this I immediately thought of a certain British commentator who denies the anthropogenic contribution to climate change and has attracted a large following. ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Feb 5 2011 - 7:19am

Left Versus Right- Which Side Is Really Meaner, Liberals Or Conservatives?

When the shootings in Arizona occurred, various pundits in the media jumped on 'right ring radio' and 'culture of hate' (meaning conservative news programs) despite the fact that the shooter was not political and did not even watch show ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 11 2011 - 11:27am

Martin Robbins Tackles Liberal Bias, Science Writing's Elephant In The Room

Is a lack of diversity in science writing a bad thing?   Yes and no.   Obviously if science writing relied on conservatives and the free market where people will only work for what capitalism will bear, Science 2.0 could not exist.   Academics, progressive ...

Blog Post - Hank Campbell - Feb 14 2011 - 9:00pm

Souls With The Lure Of The Overseas

The lure of the far-off land, the thrill of crossing the seven seas, the dream of studying in a foreign university is still the most sought after by many Indian students and scientists. Indian students who pursue their academic dreams overseas need to be m ...

Article - Payal Joshi - Feb 15 2011 - 1:19pm

Evolution As Natural Theology?

Science and religion have always been in something of a conflict.   Science seeks to explain the world according to natural laws while religion leaves larger questions as articles of faith.    There is some overlap- 40% of AAAS member scientists in their r ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 19 2011 - 10:02pm

It's the pain, stupid

Being human sucks. I mean, being a kid is quite alright. You play, you eat, your mama tucks you in at night. That is, unless you're unlucky enough to have abusive parents. Or a serious illness. Or you live in some country were you're likely to st ...

Blog Post - David Yerle - Feb 18 2011 - 12:03pm