Culture – Page 203 – William M. Briggs

Were Medications Responsible For The Connecticut Lanza Murders?

Some are speculating that the evil, and thank God dead, Adam Lanza was on SSRIs, which are medications designed to mess with your mind (in the pleasantest of ways), and…

Culture Statistics

What Can We Learn From A Crude Model Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases?

It's Statistical Modeling Day, so let's look at one dealing with sexually transmitted diseases. Why this subject? Well, according to New York's CBS 2, "Study Shows Soaring STD Rates In…

Culture Fun

The Superpower I’d Most Like To Have

This is written in earnest; my desire is sincere. And not uncommon: I mean, the longing for a superpower and the announcing of same are not rare. No less than…

Culture Philosophy

National Catholic Reporter Calls For Ordination Of Women

The NCR, the Catholic equivalent of the New York Times, ended their teasing yesterday and came right out and said it. "Catholic women who have discerned a call to the…

Culture Statistics

We Will Soon All Be Mentally Ill: DSM V & Testing All Children For Mental Disease

"The history of psychiatry is littered with fad diagnoses that in retrospect did far more harm than good," says doctor Allen Frances, the chairman of the DSM-IV Task Force and…

Culture

It’s Time For A New (Old) Kind Of University: Update

Consider these news items: "At Western Michigan University, it is considered harassment to hold a 'condescending sex-based attitude.'...Tufts University in Boston proscribes the holding of 'sexist attitudes,'... At Northeastern University,…

Culture

Germany To Ban Sex With Animals

I lifted today's title from an article in Sydney's The Telegraph. I don't know about you, but my jaw flung open as if on a spring after comprehending the tense…

Culture

Job Hunting Guanxi Style—Guest Post by William J. Briggs

The very employable W.J. Briggs, number one son of Yours Truly, lives and blogs in Brooklyn. Looking for work is a bit daunting these days. Job websites abound, but every…

Brian (bulaoren) on Academics Call For The Killing Of Babies In “After-Birth” AbortionsSeptember 30, 2026
My old friend Nat Plotkin, had a joke about the Jewish position on abortion; "The fetus becomes a human being…
Philip Rogan on Irrational Rationalists: Effective Altruists & The Planet of the AntsSeptember 29, 2026
Effective Altruism is something else I've never hard of but apparently has been infecting academic circles for decades. I took…
John M on Irrational Rationalists: Effective Altruists & The Planet of the AntsSeptember 29, 2026
Thanks for reminding me of that classic Klingon joke!
Rob Potter on Irrational Rationalists: Effective Altruists & The Planet of the AntsSeptember 29, 2026
Asimov's robot stories are the best example that an artificial intelligence is not intelligence. They were a fabulous way for…
John Pate on Irrational Rationalists: Effective Altruists & The Planet of the AntsSeptember 28, 2026
We should all re-read our Ted Kaczynski materials. A man ahead of his time.