Nothing as It Seems

  Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out. Thomas Moynihan, “ Solve suffering by blowing up the universe? The dubious philosophy of human extinction . ”  17  Nov,  The Conversation .  "At a time when humans are threatening the extinction of so many other species, it might not seem so surprising that some people think that the extinction of our own species would be a good thing. Take, for example, the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, whose founder believes that our extinction would put an end to the damage we inflict on each other and ecosystems more generally." Alberto Giubilini and Vageesh Jain, “ Should COVID-19 vaccines be mandatory? Two experts discuss . ”  25  Nov,  The Conversation .  "Only through widespread vaccination will we reach herd immunity -- where enough people are immune to stop the disease from spreading freely. To achieve this, some have suggested vaccines should be made compulsory, th

Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out. John McWhorter, “ The Black People Who Voted for Trump Know He’s Racist . ”  16  Nov,  The Atlantic .  Why did so many racial minorities vote for Donald Trump in the US presidential election? John McWhorter offers some reasons. "Black or Latino Trump voters may know quite well that racism exists, or that Trump is racist, yet not prioritize it to the degree that the woke consensus assumes any sensible person would."   Tavneet Suri, “ Universal basic income helped Kenyans weather COVID-19 - but it’s not a silver bullet . ”  15  Nov,  The Conversation .  Results of a universal basic income experiment in Kenya: (1) most people who received some money experienced less hunger, sickness and depression; (2) cash supplements encouraged people to make business investments. Corinne Purtill, “ How Close Is Humanity to the Edge? ” 21 Nov,  New Yorker .  Profile of Toby Ord, a philosoph

  Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out. Kwame Anthony Appiah, “ Why are politicians suddenly talking about their 'lived experience'? ” 14  Nov,  The Guardian .  "We go wrong when we treat personal history as revelation, to be elevated above facts and reflection. Talk of lived experience should be used not to end conversation but to begin them." Kenan Malik,  “ Fanatics have no right to censor critics. But neither does Emmanuel Macron .”  8 Nov,  The Observer.   " For these policies, like much of the French response to Islam and terror, are shot through with hypocrisy and illiberalism." Marcello Fiocco, “ Why questions (good and bad) matter .” 2 Nov,  The Conversation .  "Asking questions is not just for kids or students or philosophers. Everybody needs to inquire critically and to be tolerant of the apparent ignorance of others. So when you hear a question that strikes you as ridiculous,

  Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out. Zeynep Tufekci, “ America’s Next Authoritarian Will Be Much More Competent . ” 6  Nov,  The Atlantic .  "Make no mistake: The attempt to harness Trumpism -- without Trump, but with calculated, refined, and smarter political talent -- is coming. And it won’t be easy to make the next Trumpist a one-term president. He will not be so clumsy or vulnerable. He will get into office less by luck than by skill." Mark Lilla, “ When will my fellow liberals learn? ”  4 Nov,  UnHerd.   Political scientist Mark Lilla asks why the Democrats can't inspire people from all walks of life. Frank Brun, “ We Still Don’t Really Understand Trump – or America .”  7 Nov,  New York Times .  "Those of us surprised by Trump’s and the Republican Party’s showing in this election keep being blinded by our arrogance. We keep extrapolating from our own perceptions." Saloni Dattani and Matth

  Here are some interesting articles I've read over the past week that I think are worth checking out. Stuart Buck, “ Escaping science’s paradox . ” 19  Oct,  Works in Progress .  "Science has two stark problems: replication and innovation. Many scientific findings aren’t reproducible. That is to say, you can’t be sure that another study or experiment on the same question would get similar results. At the same time, the pace of scientific innovation could be slowing down." Tom Chivers, “ The real reason flu cases are falling . ”  30 Oct,  UnHerd.   "[T]he two diseases are spread by similar means, so the measures we take to slow the spread of Covid-19 (masks, lockdowns, travel restrictions, etc) will also slow the spread of flu." Niall Ferguson, “ No more handshakes .”  30 Oct,  The Times Literary Supplement .  Historian Niall Ferguson reviews Nicholas Christakis' new book, Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live