Science communication and conservative values

Roger Scruton's recent article in Prospect Magazine provides an interesting illustration of what Dan Kahn and Chris Mooney have been discussing on their respective blogs. (Kahn blogs regularly now at the Cultural Cognition Project and Mooney writes at the Desmog Blog.) The topic of their discussion: Is it possible to take the polemics out of … Continue reading Science communication and conservative values →

Evidence-based riots

It's been hard to move recently for people leaping to conclusions. Everyone with an Internet connection has already posted an opinion about the supposedly obvious causes of the London riots. Medhi Hassan's heartfelt plea for pundits to to stop generalising certainly makes sense. The introduction reads: The debate about the riots is being hijacked by … Continue reading Evidence-based riots →

It’s OK if you don’t know everything

"We rarely know an explicit formula that tells us what to do in a complex situation. We have to work out what to do by thinking through the possibilities in ways that are simultaneously imaginative and realistic, and not less imaginative when more realistic. Knowledge, far from limiting imagination, enables it to serve its central … Continue reading It’s OK if you don’t know everything →