I just got Dennett’s Breaking the Spell from the library. From the introduction: Those who are religious and believe religion to be the best hope of humankind cannot reasonably expect those of us who are skeptical to refrain from expressing … Continue reading →

Just watched Newman (of Newman and Baddeil)’s History of Oil on YouTube. Incredible. Do they have people like him in America? If they did, they would probably keep them in Guantanamo. “An hour with Newman is, without doubt, the best … Continue reading →

We had that “but you can’t prove it” discussion at our beer bash at work the other day. The one where your co-debater suggests that, if you believe something without proof, you are making a leap of faith. Consider the … Continue reading →

When I was at grammar school, I used to rank the subjects according to how ‘like maths‘ they were. We were taught chemistry, physics and biology as separate subjects and, while I enjoyed all the sciences, I enjoyed physics the … Continue reading →

What would it be like to learn maths with other people who like maths? Continue reading →

Here’s a nice visualization of the federal budget:   Click on the picture for a fancy interactive version That great big circle on the left is defense.

I haven’t blogged for a while and was scanning some of my old half-started blog entries when I came across this quote: how amazing it is that the Mississippi River manages to meet every tributary, go under every bridge, past … Continue reading →

The New York Times just had a review of Natalie Angier’s The Canon. I expected the book to be good (despite the review) but I read a couple of chapters in Borders to see if it was worth buying and … Continue reading →