Blog
Why we’re so bad at solving long-term problems
‘The Optimist’s Telescope’ by Bina Venkataraman. It’s hard to ditch our loyalties and biases. It’s hard to stop focusing on past and present and to ponder what legacy we’re leaving for the distant future.
Life on Earth: What has been, what will be
Climate change forces us to find life beyond our assumptions. We can’t stop all the major tipping points that are coming. We may be able to adapt to some. We have to try. We won’t be what we thought we were.
I’m trans, and I did not consent for this to be done to my body
Why is it happening? How can we make it stop? Pirates ate most of the Galapagos tortoises, and some of those species went extinct, and of one called “Fantastic,” there’s only one tortoise left.
10 ways trans people are told we shouldn’t exist
Here’s why transphobia sounds like an eradication campaign. If someone were denying your gender, would you understand them as literally telling you to stop having your gender? Comply, and everything will be OK?
Do we shine a light into the dark ages…
…or does it illuminate what we know of ourselves? Gabriele and Perry’s ‘Bright Ages’. We might see a time that isn’t “isolated, savage, primitive,” but “messy and human.” Studying medieval Europe can teach us more about ourselves.
What do we talk about when we talk about vaccines?
The 2014 book ‘On Immunity’ by Eula Biss. ‘On Immunity’ reflects on the human immune system and on vaccination. There are broad philosophical implications: balance, safety, interdependence.
3 things I learned from ‘The Disordered Cosmos’
Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein’s 2021 book on physics and identity. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shares meta-insights about how science and society can prevent us from asking questions and obtaining insights. Who’s included?
Does Moll Flanders know whether her mother is cheerful?
The Gettier problem in Daniel Defoe’s novel. Moll’s justified true belief (“My mother was a mighty cheerful, good-humoured old woman”) wasn’t knowledge. The novelist put an irony there.
Toward a better epistemology: Why do we care about what we know?
A reaction to the ‘Gettier problem’. Maybe there isn’t just one definition of knowledge. Maybe every type of knowledge is related in a “family resemblance.” Some are propositions. Some aren’t.