WNSTN: Archive

“And this is why the decline effect is so troubling. Not because it reveals the human fallibility of science, in which data are tweaked and beliefs shape perceptions. (Such shortcomings aren’t surprising, at least for scientists.) And not because it reveals that many of our most exciting theories are fleeting fads and will soon be rejected. (That idea has been around since Thomas Kuhn.) The decline effect is troubling because it reminds us how difficult it is to prove anything. We like to pretend that our experiments define the truth for us. But that’s often not the case. Just because an idea is true doesn’t mean it can be proved. And just because an idea can be proved doesn’t mean it’s true. When the experiments are done, we still have to choose what to believe.” —

Jonah Leher (whose name you might recognize from Radiolab) in The Truth Wears Off for The New Yorker.

Worth a read, re-read, and good long ponder.

(via joshtheoak)

// Just added this to Instapaper this morning, hope to read it soon. Sounds like an excellent read.

Dec 30, 20103 notes

Dec 30, 20101 note

#sketch #confederacy of dunces #literature #look i made an art!

Play

Dec 28, 20101 note

America

With the holiday shopping season officially under way, millions of consumers proceeded to their nearest commercial centers this week in hopes of acquiring the latest, and therefore most desirable, personal device.

“The new device is an improvement over the old device, making it more attractive for purchase by all Americans,” said Thomas Wakefield, a spokesperson for the large conglomerate that manufactures the new device. “The old device is no longer sufficient. Consumers should no longer have any use or longing for the old device.”

Added Wakefield, “The new device will retail for $395.”

-The Onion

Dec 27, 20101 note

Truth

But living an honest life -– for that you need the truth. That’s the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, in the end leads to liberation and dignity.

That’s from Ricky Gervais, in his interesting essay “Why I’m an Athiest.” Definitely worth a read. The thing I find confusing - no, I find it heartbreaking honestly - is that in his mind (and who knows how many other millions of people) this idea of how to live an honest life somehow seems to rule out Christianity. The idea of “faith” has been taught as “not asking questions” or “not allowing doubts” - which of course a scientist is supposed to do.

But asking questions, seeking truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, is what a Christian MUST do. To not do so is bad theology - and to discourage others from doing so is heretical. If we, as Christians, accept the most basic tenets of Christianity - that God exists and He created the world - then that means everything in the world comes from Him in some form or fashion. Anything then that is True - Capital T Truth as Francis Schaeffer called it is God’s. All truth is God’s truth.

It is the current widely held (in Christian circles and otherwise) belief that Science and Christianity are two sides in a battle, but at their core, they are not. They are each concerned with Truth, the full truth in all it’s brutal and horrific reality. Christianity is primarily concerned with the Why of the Truth, asking “why are things the way they are?” while Science is primarily concerned with the How of the Truth, asking “how do things work? Neither “side” excludes the other, and prior to the last century, Science and Christianity had long lived in relative peace together, because as any theologian can tell you, if God made the world and called it Good, then surely we are free to take it apart and rework it and explore all the processes contained within it.

I do not begrudge anyone who believes something else than I do. I’m happy to see that Ricky Gervais is thoughtful about his position, I think we could use more people of all beliefs who are thoughtful and humble as they seek to understand Truth. But I’m tired of this idea that belief in Christianity means hiding from the truth. That’s just wrong.

(For more about our theological freedom to ask questions, see David Dark’s book “The Sacredness of Questioning Everything.” Good read.)

Dec 20, 20101 note

“It is time to take baby Jesus out of the manger. Replace him with something that’s easier to swallow, how ‘bout a Honeybaked ham? Because if this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn’t help the poor, either we’ve got to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we’ve got to acknowledge that he commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don’t want to do it.” —Stephen Colbert (AMEN!)

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Dec 15, 2010108 notes

“Let’s face it: stars can be really hard to draw. I’m not talking about the singular balls of blazing gasses, though, I’m talking about the subtle and beautiful star fields that make a piece of celestial art what it is: a portrayal of space. One of the reasons space is so much fun to draw is because, despite the plethora of Hubble images inundating cyberspace and science magazines, most people don’t have a preconceived notion of what space should look like.” —Tutorial: Making a Realistic Star Field

Dec 14, 20102 notes

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Dec 6, 201046 notes

I’m probably at best halfway through the list on any of my areas of desire expertise, but still, this is a fantastic guide for how to achieve mastery:

bobulate:

Ben Casnocha extends a two-step process for “How to Draw an Owl” with a few more to proclaim how to achieve mastery:

1. Start
2. Keep going.
3. You think you’re starting to get the hang of it.
4. You see someone else’s work and feel undeniable misery.
5. Keep going.
6. Keep going.
7. You feel like maybe, possibly, you kinda got it now.
8. You don’t.
9. Keep going.
10. You ask for someone else’s opinion — their response is standoffish, though polite.
11. Depression.
12. Keep going.
13. Keep going.
14. You ask someone else’s opinion — their response is favorable.
15. They have no idea what they’re talking about.
16. Keep going.
17. You feel semi-kinda favorable and maybe even a little proud of what you can do now.
18. Self-loathing chastisement.
19. Depression
20. Keep going.
21. You ask someone else’s opinion — they respond quite favorably.
22. They’re still wrong.
23. Depression.
24. Keep going though you can’t possibly imagine why.
25. Become restless.
26. Receive some measure of praise from a trustworthy opinion.
27. They’re still fucking wrong (Right?)
28. Keep going just because there’s nothing else to do.
29. Mastery arrives, you mistake it for a gust of wind.
30. Keep. Fucking. Going.

Simple.

Dec 1, 2010185 notes

WNSTN

December 2010

12 posts