I recently saw new interview clips of Dick Cheney and he once again tried to justify torture with the “ticking time bomb” scenario: when ...

Flawed though the test may be, the takeaway is valid. I have previously blogged about crowd shootings and even touched on the topic ...

The nuclear family is a very recent development and a comparatively isolated model of child rearing. The rise in single parent househol...

I have always thought that the notion of making programming languages more like natural ones is absurd. Without a truly formidable amoun...

I was curious as to how poorly the electoral college could reflect the popular vote, so I whipped up a program to compute it (assuming only...

There are many bemoaning political gridlock in America, questioning how we will overcome the current dysfunction in order to deal with pr...

This picture illustrates well the classic human difficulty properly framing dramatic, but rare, events. For example, public perception is t...

The belief that a layperson can examine the scientific evidence and decide for himself is very common and completely wrongheaded. A lay...

I sometimes come across references to independents that treat them as though they're merely centrists: I think a more accurate view is o...

Rick Santorum's comparison between gay marriage and polygamy has me wondering exactly what the rationale is for it being banned. As lon...

We know now that the information necessary to prevent the attacks of 9/11 was floating around our various intelligence agencies and it was p...

I think that sanitized violence is much worse than accurate violence. It trivializes a horrible event and for less sophisticated viewers giv...

If only there were a well known maxim about this.. . Originally posted on my private blog on January 25th, 2009. Politicians have an unfortu...

Originally posted on my private blog May 20th, 2008. This photo reeks of objectivity. Not. People often talk about the beneficial power of h...

Arguably, not the most apropos picture, but I thought it was cool. Originally posted on my private blog March 31st, 2009. I was thinking abo...

GDP loves a toxic waste dump. This post is an edited version of one on my private blog February 7th, 2008. Gross Domestic Product is used a...

For a long time the standard for computer applications and operating systems has been "good enough", but mobile device users deman...

I find all spectator sports this interesting. Originally posted on my private blog April 18th, 2008. As anyone who knows me is aware of, I a...

Yeah, right...whatever. Just say "no". I have many times seen references in fantasy stories to an illusionist being able to cr...

Originally posted on my private blog June 21st, 2008. The various efforts to ban gay marriage have me thinking about the issue and I believe...