Endings

All things must come to an end, but it seems the frequency has been on an uptick this past week. Members of POTUS’s cabinet have seen the end of their service (Tillerson), or at least the beginning of the end (McMaster, DeVos).

Cakes, Guns, Discrimination, and Freedom of Association

Boycott (and “buycott”) reinforce “bad” (and “good”) behavior. I personally hope and expect that Dick’s and Walmart will pay a price for their decision to discriminate against would-be gun purchasers and against 18- to 21-year-olds, and that non-bigoted businesses will profit. And please, politicians: Stop grandstanding, get out of the way, and let the people sort these matters out for ourselves.

The Propagation of Knowledge

People don’t pass you information because it is true, they pass you information because it benefits them to do so. People don’t study information because it is true, people study what information benefits them. This isn’t a slight at scientists. Few people would suggest that scientists ought to spend time studying information that has no benefit. Many scientists study information based off of flawed premises built within the culture. Few scientists get grants from disinterested parties. The force that links “knowledge” to accuracy or truth is incentives.

Obligations, Ideologies, Misogyny, & Regifting (33m) – Editor’s Break 041

Editor’s Break 041 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: the coercive nature of customs and the obligations they create, when friends change ideologies and accuse you of being the one who’s changed, an accepted form of misogyny in marriage, individualism, the economics of regifting, what to do when a friend or family member becomes a cop, and more.