Category: ideas

“Why do so many intellectuals now pay obeisance to the historically absurd idea of separate domains for science and religion?”

“Augustine’s conception of God [was that He] had created time when He created the universe. To ask what God was doing before that great act is simply meaningless. … Einstein presented what is referred to as the ‘block universe’ – the notion that all times exist equally. … ‘The distinction between past, present and future is only an illusion, however persistent,’ the genius of relativity mused.”

“A team of scholars … in Austria reports thoughts of terrorism seem to inspire authoritarian parenting practices. … [E]xamples of authoritarian parenting include ‘corporal and psychological punishment, taking exaggerated control of children, asserting power, or reducing warmth and nurturance’ in an attempt to influence the child’s behavior.”

“Contrary to expectations, a McGill University researcher has discovered that seeing meat makes people significantly less aggressive.”

“It turned out that the reaction speed and reasoning skills programs helped reduce accidents by 50 per cent, but the memory training made no difference.”

“The history of philosophy abounds in thinkers who, having concluded that the truth is ineffable, have gone on to write page upon page about it.”

“Virtual law is interesting because these environments are in one sense fictional, in another very real. People invest real money and time and create real relationships. So, the question is: to what extent should the things that are happening in these environments be treated as if they were happening in physical space or in conventional online forums, email or blogs?”

“We may at times convince ourselves, as Dr. Laura may have, that there are inoffensive ways to use slurs. But a closer look at the matter shows us that those ways are very rare. … [But how] How do words become prohibited? What’s the relationship between prohibition and a word’s power to offend? And why is it sometimes appropriate to flout such prohibitions?”

The pathology of inventing illnesses in order to gain attention and sympathy – named for the 18th-century nobleman once said to be the world’s most notorious liar – has found a new outlet: Internet support groups for the terminally ill, which are occasionally infiltrated by hoaxsters.

Why? “Here’s one idea: Net neutrality foes point out that none of the nearly one hundred Democratic candidates who signed a pledge to support the policy won their race.”