The Doubts Were Not Reasonable | Defector

The phony comforts of useful idiots

On Casey Newton and the shallowness of anti-skepticism.

Four scepticisms: what we can know about what we can’t know | Aeon Essays

The ancient Sceptics used doubt as a way of investigating the world. Later thinkers undermined even that possibility

Judges and Grand Juries Reject Trump's Efforts to Investigate

A detailed record of federal courts and grand juries rejecting the Trump administration’s use of subpoenas, search warrants, and indictments.

So maybe now we can agree that having an unchecked research integrity militia who unfortunately has the ear of the press and increasingly that of the the publishers, but who fiercely rejects any… | Ioana A. Cristea

So maybe now we can agree that having an unchecked research integrity militia who unfortunately has the ear of the press and increasingly that of the the publishers, but who fiercely rejects any minimal ethics or code of conduct, is a (growing) problem? Also, that 1. problems have to be investigated before deciding they are are legitimate and serious; 2. this investigation is not social media, blogs and the press; 3. this investigation should not be on the front page of journals and Retraction Watch; 4. there are degrees of seriousness and some things can just be corrected or are simply not very consequential (no, it's not a house of bricks where we have to check every brick, that's a dumb analogy), so being absolutely hysterical and overdramatic about any lie, inaccuracy or mistake is purposeful at worse and should be ignored at best and 5. it is not only unnecessary, but harmful, to also go into other, non-academic things the person did or does to complete "investigations" that you (press, sleuth, blogger, etc) do not have the tools and information to do completely and accurately (this fixation would be called harassment in the before times). Others will justly write about what the institutions did or did not do, but what I want to say is that we really should end it with the blank credit we give to any and all allegations that come from the establish research integrity truth fighters.

Be Wary of Silicon Valley’s Guilty Conscience: on The Center for Humane Technology

2017 was a somewhat difficult year for the tech titans, and it looks as though those problems persist in 2018. Of course, the key term in the previous sentence is “somewhat.” After all, these compa…

When Corrections Fail: The Persistence of Political Misperceptions

An extensive literature addresses citizen ignorance, but very little research focuses on misperceptions. Can these false or unsubstantiated beliefs about politics be corrected? Previous studies have not tested the efficacy of corrections in a realistic format. We conducted four experiments in which subjects read mock news articles that included either a misleading claim from a politician, or a misleading claim and a correction. Results indicate that corrections frequently fail to reduce misperceptions among the targeted ideological group. We also document several instances of a “backfire effect” in which corrections actually increase misperceptions among the group in question.

The Eric Adams Indictment Is, Unfortunately, Very Funny

A brief roundup of the absolutely slapstick levels of corruption contained therein.

Rated not helpful

New CCDH research shows that X's Community Notes are failing to counter misleading claims about the US election, despite Musk calling it the "best source of truth on the internet.”

The Supreme Court is corrupting American democracy

One cannot hope to bribe or twist/ (thank God!) the U.S. chief jurist

Shadow of a Doubt, by Andrew Kay

How OCD came to haunt American life

What Really Happened at the Depp–Heard Trial—and How People Got It So Wrong

A washed-up movie star, men’s rights activists, and true-crime fans duped America.

Trump Told Supporters To “Cheat Like Hell.” The NY Times Went With “A Bit Tired Of Politics.”

By now it’s old hat to point out that the mainstream media bends over backwards to pretend that Donald Trump is a “normal” president. The number of times you could point to the co…

The Trump Assassination Attempt Meets the Internet’s Brain-Rot Era | …

archived 17 Jul 2024 14:45:50 UTC

The Gang of Four Are Guilty

At this trial, the GOF were accused of many crimes, including misleading the world on what patterns were all about, and making intermediates think they could write code like experts.  I wasn't there, but if I had been, this is what I would have said.]    

Deceptive Alignment is

Thanks to Wil Perkins, Grant Fleming, Thomas Larsen, Declan Nishiyama, and Frank McBride for feedback on this post. Thanks also to Paul Christiano, D…