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Gmail is the new AOL
My HP 110 Mini netbook’s battery pack suddenly failed (0% available, charging… forever). Finding an official HP brand replacement battery turned out to be nearly impossible, not to mention it would cost at least as much as the crappy netbook was worth. So, I got a replacement from one of the second string, ebay store,…
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You make and break your own religion
Note: I addressed the following essay to the general population of the No Agenda Forums, a community that I cherish despite frequent frustration. It is peopled by many conspiracy theorists and champions of various “alternative” things, such as alternative explanations, alternative medicine, etc. In short, people I cannot really reach on a level of reason. …
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Prejudice isn’t a discussion
I received an email forward today from an extended family member, and it upset me more than if it had been spam or malware. It was a mal-meme: This is not sent for discussion. If you agree, forward it. If you don’t, delete it. I don’t want to know one way or the other. By…
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Argument > Debate
Debating Like most sports, I’m not much good at debate. I say it’s a sport because it’s a competition with a winner and loser where the participants’ skills have the largest bearing on the outcome. I think that most people casually lump debate and argument into the same mental bin; if not as exact synonyms,…
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Dishonesty in science: we still win
As Orac states: Science as it is practiced today relies on a fair measure of trust. Part of the reason is that the culture of science values openness, hypothesis testing, and vigorous debate. The general assumption is that most scientists are honest and, although we all generally try to present our data in the most…
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The emotions of energy
Hybrid fusion-fission energy generation a possibility via Futurismic. Isn’t it interesting how this story swept through the internet? Everyone, of course, wants to get rid of nuclear waste right? Awful, evil stuff. Bury it in the earth if you have to. Making it disappear in a magic theoretical reactor is even better, what great news! …
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Dangerous faith-based mechanics
There are many confirmation biases and magical thinking tendencies that fuel testimonial and anecdotal evidence for the efficacy of woo, from acupuncture and chiropractic all the way up to the giant woo umbrella of “complementary and alternative” medicine (CAM) or “integrative” medicine. But that’s not why these things are a threat to actual real scientific…
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Risk assessment bias
Another quick redirect; I love this writeup of how we are stupid at risk assessment . I wish a few of the people close to me would learn up on this a bit. The precautionary principle can so easily be abused to the point that it becomes a zero risk bias .
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Why we believe strange things
This is a TED video from 2006, but I just now watched it. Michael Shermer talks about cognitive bias, pareidolia, and other interesting ways we fool ourselves. Michael Shermer at TED.com: Why people believe strange things It’s a delightful 12 minute refutation of stupidity.
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Hearts and minds
As we learn more about how brains work, traditional views can be called into question. Recent research indicates that (at least some) decision-making processes are “prepared” by the brain unconsciously several seconds before there is an awareness of having come to a decision. “In the study, participants could freely decide if they wanted to press…