Stories and Truth – a Rivalry?

I recently engaged in the following conversation about the nature of stories and truth. Others' comments in quotes, mine unquoted. All have been edited for readability and style. "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story" I strongly dislike this idea. Reality is enchanting and amazing. Things happen in history and … Continue reading Stories and Truth – a Rivalry? →

The Heterozygote Advantage and the Crisis of Western Authority

I. There is a concept in biology known as Heterozygote Advantage. If you're already familiar with this concept, feel free to skip to section II. As one may know, sexually reproducing organisms inherit two copies of each gene: one from the mother, one from the father. Sometimes having two identical copies doesn't mean much. Sometimes … Continue reading The Heterozygote Advantage and the Crisis of Western Authority →

To Explain is not to Excuse

Scott Alexander recently posted his thoughts on the merits of social shaming of explainable sociopsychological phenomena. Beginning his discourse with the new hyperprogressive idea that "lazy-shaming" should be ended, Alexander counters that I imagine [an anti-Lazy shamer] believing he has a fundamental value difference with people who use the term “lazy”. They think that some … Continue reading To Explain is not to Excuse →

Not Postmodern

What is the West? Not Postmodern. Now, a lot of people like to use these terms like "modern", "postmodern" and even "anti-postmodern" without knowing exactly what they mean. So for the sake of having some common vocabulary for once, let's define our terms. Modernism - the philosophical outlook that defined the West through the late … Continue reading Not Postmodern →

To Explain is Not to Excuse

Scott Alexander recently posted his thoughts on the merits of social shaming of explainable sociopsychological phenomena. Beginning his discourse with the new hyperprogressive idea that “lazy-shaming” should be ended, Alexander counters that I imagine [an anti-Lazy shamer] believing he has a fundamental value difference with people who use the term “lazy”. They think that some … Continue reading To Explain is Not to Excuse →