20 MAR 2018 by ideonexus
Human Females Menstruate to Eliminate Unviable Fetuses
From a female perspective, pregnancy is always a huge investment. Even more so if her species has a hemochorial placenta. Once that placenta is in place, she not only loses full control of her own hormones, she also risks hemorrhage when it comes out. So it makes sense that females want to screen embryos very, very carefully. Going through pregnancy with a weak, inviable or even sub-par fetus isn't worth it.
That's where the endometrium comes in. You've probably read about how the endometriu...Folksonomies: human evolution pregnancy
Folksonomies: human evolution pregnancy
1 14 OCT 2013 by ideonexus
Evangelism is Hard of Introverts
“The evangelical culture ties together faithfulness with extroversion,” McHugh explained. “The emphasis is on community, on participating in more and more programs and events, on meeting more and more people. It’s a constant tension for many introverts that they’re not living that out. And in a religious world, there’s more at stake when you feel that tension. It doesn’t feel like ‘I’m not doing as well as I’d like.’ It feels like ‘God isn’t pleased with me.’ ”
...Folksonomies: evangelism introversion
Folksonomies: evangelism introversion
1 
notes
notesBecause there is so much at stake in the need for religious members to evangelize (the salvation of others), introverts feel they are failing their religious duties.
13 AUG 2013 by ideonexus
The World Needs Heretics
As a scientist I do not have much faith in predictions. Science is organized unpredictability. The best scientists like to arrange things in an experiment to be as unpredictable as possible, and then they do the experiment to see what will happen. You might say that if something is predictable then it is not science. When I make predictions, I am not speaking as a scientist. I am speaking as a story-teller, and my predictions are science-fiction rather than science. The predictions of science... 1 notes
notesScientists who challenge the dominant paradigms.
29 MAR 2013 by ideonexus
Overconfidence Breeds Error
In one classic demonstration,
clinical psychologists were asked to give
confidence judgments on a personality
profile. They were given a case report in
four parts, based on an actual clinical
case, and asked after each part to answer
a series of questions about the patient’s
personality, such as his behavioral
patterns, interests, and typical reactions to
life events. They were also asked to rate
their confidence in their responses. With
each section, background information
about the case i... 1 notes
notesThe more a person knows about a subject, the more likely they are to make mistakes in judgement.
22 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Supernova the Western World Didn't See
Almost 1000 years ago, Chinese astronomers observed a new star visible in the daytime sky, which they called a “guest star.” This supernova created what we now observe telescopically as the Crab Nebula. It is interesting that nowhere in Western Europe was this transient object recorded. Church dogma at the time declared the heavens to be eternal and unchanging, and it was much easier not to take notice than to be burned at the stake. Almost 500 years later, European astronomers had broken... 1 notes
notesBut was recorded in China. An explanation for why it wasn't seen in Europe is that observers would probably be burned at the stake.
21 SEP 2011 by ideonexus
Creationism Resistance to Evolution
Why does the public care so passionately about a theory of biology?
Because people sense intuitively that there’s much more at stake than a
scientific theory. They know that when naturalistic evolution is taught
in the science classroom, then a naturalistic view of ethics will be
taught down the hallway in the history classroom, the sociology classroom,
the family life classroom, and in all areas of the curriculum.Folksonomies: creationism
Folksonomies: creationism
1 notes
notesBecause they feel more is at stake than a scientific theory.
23 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Government by the Consent of the Governed
Some convenient tree will afford them a State-House, under the branches of which, the whole colony may assemble to deliberate on public matters. It is more than probable that their first laws will have the title only of REGULATIONS, and be enforced by no other penalty than public disesteem. In this first parliament every man, by natural right, will have a seat.
But as the colony increases, the public concerns will increase likewise, and the distance at which the members may be separated, wil... 1 notes
notesA revolutionary idea from Thomas Paine's famous pamphlet.
18 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
The Judges Become the Judged
36. When, under stress of pain, the witch has confessed, her
plight is indescribable. Not only cannot she escape herself,
but she is also compelled to accuse others whom she does
not know, whose names are frequently put into her mouth
by the investigators or suggested by the executioner, or of
whom she has heard as suspected or accused. These in turn
are forced to accuse others, and these still others, so it goes
on: who can help seeing that it must go on and on?
37. The judges must either s...Folksonomies: witch hunts paranoia
Folksonomies: witch hunts paranoia
1 notes
notesIn Witch Hunts, eventually you run out of people to prosecute, and you become the guilty.
08 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
William Tyndale Translates the New Testament into English
In the sixteenth century the scholar William Tyndale had the temerity to contemplate translating the New Testament into English. But if people could actually read the Bible in their own language instead of arcane Latin, they could form their own, independent religious views. They might conceive of their own private unintermediated line to God. This was a challenge to the job security of Roman Catholic priests. When Tyndale tried to publish his translation, he was hounded and pursued all over ...
1 ...and was met with stiff resistance by the church.
