(I will be away on travel this week so will be reposting an old series, edited and updated, that discusses the nature of science and the difference between science and religion. New posts start again on Monday, April 21, 2008.) At its heart, intelligent design creationism (IDC) advocates adopt as their main strategy that of …
Monthly Archive: April 2008
Apr 15 2008
Why intelligent design creationism is not science
(I will be away on travel this week so will be reposting an old series, edited and updated, that discusses the nature of science and the difference between science and religion. New posts start again on Monday, April 21, 2008.) In a previous posting, I pointed out that if one looks studies the history of …
Apr 14 2008
What is science?
(I will be away on travel this week so will be reposting an old series, edited and updated, that discusses the nature of science and the difference between science and religion. New posts start again on Monday, April 21, 2008.) Because of my science training and my interest in its history and philosophy I am …
Apr 11 2008
The propaganda machine-12: Thinks tanks and the media
(For previous posts in this series, see here.) The main goal of the think tanks and the third tier pundits has always been to control the public discussion on major issues to make sure that the pro-war/pro-business view dominates to the virtual exclusion of other views, while at the same time hiding its ideological basis. …
Apr 10 2008
Food and energy
I am not a picky eater. There are things that I like and things that I don’t like to eat, if given the choice and the opportunity to choose, but ultimately I don’t really care. And of course I have no religious taboos about food. I am also somewhat casual about health factors. I tend …
Apr 09 2008
The propaganda machine-11: Becoming a think tank ‘expert’
(For previous posts in this series, see here.) Part of the role of think tanks is to take people with a specific ideological viewpoint and transform them into ‘experts’ (at least in the eyes of the media and the public) on the cheap, without having them go through the hard work of studying a subject …
Apr 08 2008
Strolling into geezerhood
I have noticed that slowly and surely I am becoming a geezer. Ok, I have not reached the stage where I go out in my bathrobe and shake a newspaper and yell at the neighborhood children to get off my lawn. In fact, the situation is the opposite. Children living on my block spend a …
Apr 07 2008
The propaganda machine-10: How some think tanks operate
(For previous posts in this series, see here.) While some of the people at some of the think tanks do actual research following the same protocols used in academia, many others are simply hired guns, pursuing an ideological agenda under the guise of scholarship. The latter kind of people do things like arrange for books …
Apr 04 2008
The propaganda machine-9: How think tanks advance ideological agendas
(For previous posts in this series, see here.) One of the oldest right-wing think tanks is the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), started in 1943. It started out promoting more mainstream conservative views but in recent years it has become effectively the headquarters of the neoconservative movement, relentlessly pushing that particular agenda. If you look at …
Apr 03 2008
Hotels
I hate staying in hotels. The worst experiences for me are work-related travel. In addition to this involving the discomfort of flying, one also usually has to stay in hotels. I have to do this to attend conferences and give talks but I hate it and try to minimize the number of occasions. After just …
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