One of my favorite words is orthogonality — perhaps because it is found only rarely. I owe my ownership of the word to my mentor from Kentucky State University, Dr. Terry Magel, formerly head of the Computer Science program.
Tag: science
Up To You To Make 2021 Better
If 2020 wasn’t the best year, look in the mirror to see who’s responsible for making 2021 better.
Spreading Enlightenment Ideas Beyond Borders
An interview with Faisal Saeed Al Mutar.
Social Desirability Bias vs. Tourism
Economically speaking, there’s a straightforward win-win case for these Mexican resorts: Not only do they make the tourists happier; they make the Mexicans happier by providing them with better opportunities than they have elsewhere in the Mexican economy. If you reconsider this verdict through the distorted lens of Social Desirability Bias, though, a radically different picture appears before your eyes. Once you forget economics, you could easily describe the resort experience in the following sordid way.
Parents Win Battle to Reopen California Playgrounds
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order prompted backlash from parents, medical professionals, and state legislators who insisted that outdoor play for children is not only safe but essential for children’s health.
Call It Sour Grapes
I got my Ph.D. in economics from Princeton in 1997. Twenty-three years after graduation, I remain a professor at a mid-ranked school. The odds that I’ll ever get a job at a top-20 department look awfully low. How do I feel about this situation? The socially approved response, at least within social science, is to […]
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Protection or Pain Treatment: Choosing Between Your Gun and Medical Marijuana
If you’ve ever filled out a Form 4473, you’re familiar with the Question 11e: “Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or other controlled substance?” In case you thought there was any ambiguity with regard to medical marijuana, you were wrong.
COVID-19 Lockdowns: Liberty and Science
The Chinese Coronavirus (COVID-19) hit American shores — officially, anyway, there is significant evidence that it arrived earlier — in late January 2020. The American public was then told that a two-week shutdown of the economy would “flatten the curve,” relieving the pressure on hospital intensive care units and saving lives in the long run. The average American, including conservatives,…
Diet Pills and Persistent Error in Health and Science
Earlier this year, I was doing a deep dive into virology. Coincidentally, this was before Covid, in effort to solve my own health-related problems and mysteries. I had the same experience I’ve had when I went deeper into any field. A realization that nobody in the field knows what the hell is going on.
Absurd Thanksgiving Guidelines Reveal an Astonishing Level of Government Overreach
When we get to the point where individuals find it “natural” for the government to tell us how to take turns eating our Thanksgiving turkey, a pandemic is the least of our concerns.