The meaning of science
I used to be a science communicator. When I did a PhD, my research drew mainly on the philosophy of science and science studies. My postdoctoral research was getting more
Category: Blog
Nuclear policy is evil not irrational
Hey we’re all gonna die one day but did you know the US government has a plan for how we can all die together? Literally everyone should read Daniel Ellsberg’s
Human exceptionalism with a human face
This is me on human exceptionalism for Areo, a rather good up and coming digital magazine. I point out the irony of using super-advanced scientific tools to do studies on crows to
# 66 On scientific customs
Dear Jamie, As agreed on the phone this letter will be the last for a while because we’ve agreed to start a new letter series on a friend’s new platform.
#65 On the orthodoxy
Dear Mat, I think skyhook is a good name for a particular kind of bad explanation. Namely, one that doesn’t attempt to ground the phenomena it describes in things that we already think
#64 On the degrees of skyhookery
Dear Jamie, Your letter reminded me of one of the most mind-boggling experiences I had. I watched Derren Brown’s show Miracle. In Miracle, before the segment started, he told the
#63 On magic tricks
Dear Mat, First off, we’re accusing one another of “essentialism” and “foundationalism”. I think we’re both against those things and think that science should be done accordingly. Truce? More importantly, I feel
#62 On Foundations
Dear Jamie, Congratulations for drafting the final chapter of your thesis! You’ve already managed the whole thing with much more grace than I did. I’m writing this bit before I