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  • The 10 Habits of Logical People

    The 10 Habits of Logical People0

    Becoming a logical person is not just a matter of memorizing and applying formulas, or learning how to tell the difference between a valid and an invalid syllogism. Rather, it involves cultivating intellectual habits and skills that, though they may seem simple and obvious, are only achieved after years of struggle and education. In his

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  • The (Slightly Disturbing) Way Humans Choose Sexual Partners

    The (Slightly Disturbing) Way Humans Choose Sexual Partners0

    The peacock’s dazzling tail feathers do not exist for them to carry out everyday activities such as eating or sleeping, but because their colourfulness is attractive to peahens: the more brilliant the feathers, the greater the chance the peacock has of finding a sexual partner. Tail feathers, to peahens, can be powerfully attractive. Scientists have

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  • The (Chilling) Reason Slaves Didn’t Revolt More Often

    The (Chilling) Reason Slaves Didn’t Revolt More Often0

    In grade school, I often naively wondered why slaves didn’t revolt more. The reasons seem fairly obvious now, of course.  Oftentimes slaves had nowhere to go, and if they did (say, to a free state in the North before the Fugitive Slave Law was passed) they had to travel a long, perilous road to get

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  • The “Newspeak” of Facebook Reactions

    The “Newspeak” of Facebook Reactions0

    By now you’ve probably heard, seen, or used Facebook’s “reactions” icons released early this morning. As the Atlantic describes it: “Someone can now respond to any post on Facebook with a heart for ‘love,’ a laughing face for ‘haha,’ an astonished gape for ‘wow,’ a tearful frown for ‘sad,’ a reddening face for ‘angry,’ or

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  • The “New Study Finds” Approach to Overregulation

    The “New Study Finds” Approach to Overregulation1

    “Now we’re cooking with gas!” This classic Americanism carries the sense of definite progress, things working according to plan, and being headed to success (perhaps after an uncertain start). It has the same rhetorical heft as “Full steam ahead.” It was popularized by radio stars Bob Hope and Jack Benny in the 1930s, and was

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  • The “Cultural Appropriation” Thing is Getting Out of Hand

    The “Cultural Appropriation” Thing is Getting Out of Hand0

    • February 9, 2016

    Lately we’ve been hearing a PC leitmotif attacking “cultural appropriation,” which according to James O. Young is “the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture.” Apparently it’s now considered racist or imperialist (or something) for one culture to borrow or elaborate on elements of another. And, according to

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