Daniel Dvorkin @medigoth@qoto.org

This goes in the same bin as #logical and #rational in my frequently used funny-sexy-cool test. Only other people can decide if you're #funny or #sexy or #cool. Not only do you not get to make that judgement about yourself, it's a terrible mistake to try—because the more you announce to people that you are that thing, the less likely they are to see you that way. Show, don't tell.

Many desirable characteristics, including #logic and #rationality and #empathy, work the same way. I *try* to be empathetic, and as far as I can tell from the reactions of the people around me, I succeed most of the time. And I trust many of them to tell me if I'm being a self-centered jerk. But being "an #empath" isn't an inborn characteristic. It's a *behavior*—and like all good behaviors, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

This was inevitable, I suppose.

NASA will have to wait until after the closing ceremonies.

This meme has crossed my feed in a number of places lately. I'm sharing it for debate, not for approval or agreement. If you share from my post, please leave my commentary intact. This has been a public service announcement.

#Scientism is very nearly a straw man. I'm willing to concede that there are *some* people who treat #science like a religion, but their numbers are tiny and they have zero influence on the conduct of research AFAICT. Anti-science #zealots who come up with memes like this, OTOH, are numerous and disturbingly influential.

It's also amusing how the meme assumes #epistemology is a gold standard against which other intellectual pursuits must be measured. The author assigns to #philosophy the same unquestionable authority he accuses others of assigning to science.

So I'll stake my claim: scientific #methodology—in the literal sense of the study of methods—has done more to illuminate "how we know what we know" in the last couple of centuries than formal epistemology has done in millennia. If this be scientism, make the most of it.

This should stop people whining about the #Olympics.

I can hear this gravestone, and I bet now you can too.

Presented without comment.

Eloquent and succinct.

"Come and take it, #SCHRÖDINGER."

Behold, a ... I got nothin'.

Nothing says "hey, hot stuff!" like a fibula fracture.

Perfect for serving your #Hanukkah #Ham!

From the comments on the Facebook post where I saw this: "And yet #Elsevier raises prices every year to #libraries and claims it is part of their extensive #peer #review process."

I continue to believe there is value in the traditional #journal system. Specialized #publishers, #editors, peer review, even #subscription fees and paper copies—although really the number of paper copies needed is minimal, and subscription costs should be too. The major journals have done a lot to encourage high-quality #research and spread #knowledge, and I hope they keep doing so for quite some time to come.

None of which means any *specific* journal or publisher should continue to exist, and this shows why. The system is way overdue for a serious mucking out.

"Damn, I told them no mushrooms!"

#Tarbosaurus: "You look so yummy I could just eat you up! Be my valentine?"

#Deinocheirus: "No."

(art by Tuomas Koivurinne)

One of my favorite concert memories is of being at an #Einstürzende #Neubauten show when some yob in the audience shouted "set shit on fire!" ... and #Blixa #Bargeld snapping back, "We do not need to set things on fire. We have #Rammstein to do that for us."