Jun
08
Your fact is not fun
Humanity has greater access to facts than ever before in our history. That's not necessarily a good thing.
For many
2 min read
Benjamin Keep
Jun
01
Why Don't Governments Listen to Scientists? 1700s Edition
James Lind is usually credited for conducting the first prospective clinical trial, in 1747.
He had 12 patients: all sailors
3 min read
May
25
The Cone of Stupidity
You have probably seen a version of this picture somewhere. Maybe it was a chart, or maybe it was a
2 min read
May
18
The 10,000 Step Shuffle
10,000 steps a day for better health. That could be the tagline for any number of pedometers, phone apps,
5 min read
May
11
The Important Health Advice that Wasn't
You’re supposed to drink 8 cups of water a day, right? Wrong. This idea, generally accepted and promoted throughout
3 min read
May
04
When Knowledge Becomes Action
In typical fashion, I’m starting this newsletter about five months after I planned to start it. Thanks for signing
4 min read
Dec
15
Does AI mimic humans? Or do we mimic AI?
Imagine that, in the not-too-distant future, machine learning algorithms spit out movies instead of text or fanciful paintings. What is
4 min read
Dec
15
Summarizing Yourself Into Stupidity
About two years ago, someone contacted me to help them build a platform for summarizing books. Instead of, say, spending
5 min read
Dec
15
AI doesn’t work like our brains. That’s the problem.
It’s odd to try to create artificial intelligence without taking inspiration from the only existing natural intelligences we have:
5 min read
Dec
15
What Flat Earthers Can Teach Us About How Science Works
If you didn’t know, there is a growing community of “flat earthers” who believe:
1) that we all live
7 min read