I listen to so much verbiage in a given weekday commuting to my worthless say job. I need to dump the pearls of wisdom.

1. For Good Reason: Massimo Pigliucci: How to Tell Science from Bunk

Massimo Pigliucci talks about whether people believe in science too much or believe in science too little. He describes to what extent areas on the frontiers of science, such as transhumanism and life-extension, merit open-mindedness. He explains why he is skeptical of artificial intelligence, and why the skeptics movement generally dismisses transhumanism and why he does not. He talks about the responsibilities of the skeptics movement regarding public education about global warming, and why so many high profile skeptics are skeptics or deniers of global warming, including Penn and Teller, Michael Shermer, James Randi. He explores how the libertarian skepticism of big government may fuel global warming denialism. He describes the perils of the pleasures of skepticism. He argues that to be a skeptic means two things: first, a commitment to furthering critical thinking among the general public, and second, a defense of science. And he reveals the criteria for distinguishing pseudoscience, fringe science, and consensus science, and why some pseudosciences, while theoretically unsound, may be have more empirical evidence for them than some widely-accepted theories of consensus science.

Put this Pigliucci interview and Hitchens video in a blender, quaff it quickly, and you’ll feel as high as I do right now.

2. Here’s comes the hangover – Glenn Beck’s war on reasoned discourse! What I like is, that Zaitchik avoids smugness. But, then he just gets depressing when he explains how impossible it is to engage Beck earnestly. I felt like this in the early naughts. I couldn’t talk with conservatives who were starting with irony punctuated with full-boiled outrage. I’m enraged, but it turns to moral pomposity, and ends with humility. Do we have to wait for this man to self-destruct? In the meantime, how can we get back to expressing ourselves – rage, mawkishness, errors, warts, and all!

3.   How to kick Bonaparte’s ass. I should report more on this excellent podcast, but my views on Bonaparte are complicated. This particular episode, though, reveals Bonaparte’s tactical prowess, ethical judgment, and diplomatic skill with verve.

4. Taleb on debt: don’t do it!

5. How I stopped fearing China, and learned to love watching some other state struggle with hegemony!

Filed under: Business/Economy, East Asia, Globalization, History, LF-Recommended, Podcasts, Science Tagged: china, glenn beck, massimo pigliocci, napoleon bonaparte, nassim nicolas taleb, prc