Will Religion ever vanish?

OK, let’s cut to the chase and give you the answer up front … probably not in our immediate future, because humans are by nature naturally selected with many cognitive biases that make us like this. There is a really good article over at BBC Future by Rachel Nuwer that covers this question, and so I’m … Read more

Fake Diplomas

While sitting the the cafeteria of a well-known oil company chatting to a few offshore colleagues, one newly arrived chap was explaining that he had just completed training and was now a fully certified Siebel consultant. That sounded impressive, and as we were chatting he expanded upon this and explained that he had done the 3 day course … Read more

Evidence for Christian Beliefs

People believe what they believe for cultural and emotional reasons and never for evidential reasons. They might indeed claim “evidence” and assert “evidence”, but examine it and … well no, none. What tends to happen is that we rationalise and stick on reasons later to explain the adherence to a specific position, sort of akin … Read more

Impostor syndrome vs Dunning–Kruger, how does that work?

OK, just a bit of mild fun today. Ever felt that you are caught between a rock and a hard place? OK, so how about this. There is what is known as Impostor syndrome. This is where an individual is unable to come to terms with their abilities and skills, even when faced with clear decisive … Read more

The labels we embrace often do not truly tell anybody anything at all.

I’ve come across a posting that Aaminah Khan put up last year in which she explains that she is gay, a feminist, and also a Muslim. Yes really … There are three aspects of my identity that really can’t be untangled from each other: I am a queer woman. I am a feminist. And I believe that … Read more

Over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA”

Now here is an article I quite enjoyed, the Washington Post reports … A recent survey by the Oklahoma State University Department of Agricultural Economics finds that over 80 percent of Americans support “mandatory labels on foods containing DNA,” about the same number as support mandatory labeling of GMO foods “produced with genetic engineering.” Oklahoma State economist Jayson … Read more