Stephen Colbert - America Again: Re-Becoming the Greatness We Never Weren't

Sorry for the sparse presence recently folks, but I've been buried under a mountain of work with the end of the semester. Last night, for instance, I got a chance to have some breakfast only after midnight, and as I poured myself a bowl of cereal, I started watching a recent interview with Stephen Colbert at Google that just had to be posted here.Why? Because in trying to explain the title of his latest book, Stephen Colbert starts the whole interview...

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Michael Sandel - The Moral Limits of Markets

There are some things that money can't buy... for everything else... oh crap, there's no anything else! Over the past couple of decades, and without almost anyone noticing, we have turned from a market economy—one in which we use capital as a tool to achieve certain ends—to a market society: one in which market values replace all other values, and in which profit becomes its own end and the standard against which everything else is measured.Philosopher...

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Bill O'Reilly - Christianity Is a Philosophy, Not a Religion

Unfortunately, the word philosophy is used, misused and abused by all kinds of people. For some, like the local drunk at your nearest bar, for instance, it means the semi-coherent and misogynistic ramblings about the "deep truths" he has "discovered" through dozens of failed relationships, and that he can't help but share with you. For others, it means some sort of "deep" motto, like "believe in yourself." A slightly more respectable version still...

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Stephen Fry - Classical Music Is NOT Irrelevant to Youth

Apparently there was some sort of debate in Cambridge recently in which the motion was that "classical music is irrelevant to today's youth." The first question a philosopher might ask at the outset is to explain what we mean by the word "irrelevant." Are we saying that young people don't care about classical music? That it's irrelevant to their aesthetic preferences? Are we saying that, whether young people enjoy classical music or not, it has no...

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Dan Ariely - The Truth about Dishonesty

If I were to ask you if you are an honest person, chances are that you'd say yes. Yet, if we look at the details of your everyday behavior with a magnifying glass, we'd most likely discover all sorts of ways in which you lie, cheat and steal, on a regular basis! Notice the irony? In answering a question about your own honesty, you behave dishonestly! Well, it's not quite that straightforward. It's not so much that you'd be lying to me; it's...

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Propositional Logic - Using Truth Tables to Evaluate the Validity of Complex Arguments

In our previous lesson on propositional logic, we learned that we can take arguments in natural language (English, Spanish, German, whatever) and translate them into symbolic form through the use of variables to represent statements, and connectives to represent relationships between statements. This helps us set aside irrelevant considerations such as the content of an argument (what the argument is about), or the language used to express that content,...

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Propositional Logic - Connectives and Truth Tables

The Stoic philosophers bequeathed us with an important theory of ethics and a very respectable account of the nature of the good life. What's less well known, outside of philosophical circles, is that they are also responsible for developing a theory of logic that can impressively deal with most forms of everyday reasoning. Logicians and mathematicians, especially over the pasts two hundred years, have come up with more sophisticated theories of...

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Steven Pinker - You're Already Committed to Reason

One thing that we philosophers love is questions and spirited friendly debate. This dialectical process helps us get a better grasp on various subjects, and though we may not always reach consensus, we do gain intellectual growth.But this kind of attitude is not ubiquitous, especially for those just getting acquainted with philosophy. On many occasions, when dealing with some elusive topic, whether in epistemology, the philosophy of religion, or...

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Megyn Kelly Makes Karl Rove Her Bitch

I have an ongoing debate with a friend. We're both liberals, and I think one can theoretically separate a person's political ideology from their physical attractiveness, and not like the former while very much liking the latter, or vice versa. My friend thinks I'm full of crap: once you know what's inside a person's heart and soul, especially when they're conservative ideologues, the outside is just as hideous as the inside.And the object of contention...

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Election Results in a Beautiful Animation

I don't know if you heard, but here in the ol' U.S. of A. we just had an election this Tuesday. You know, just trying to choose who the most powerful man in the world would be...Well, as it turned out, President Barack Obama was re-elected, beating his conservative-liberal-tea-party-ultra-conservative-liberal-conservative opponent Mitt Romney.If you haven't been paying attention, or don't quite understand how things break down, the following animation...

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Substance Dualism

Although most philosophers of mind are probably physicalists, there is still a live debate about the ontological status of mind: is it physical or immaterial?On one side of the debate are those who argue that thoughts are not physical, and therefore cannot be generated by something physical. Apart from obvious religious and soteriological reasons, one of the more popular lines of argument goes roughly as follows: when we have a complete physical...

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Take the Money, Donald Trump! Do It for the Children!

Apparently Donald Trump wants to help charities, but he won't donate the money without extorting President Obama to release documents that, let's face it, will not satisfy the birthers and their conspiracy theories.Fortunately, Stephen Colbert has an offer of his own for Donald Trump :)The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video ArchiveAnd of course, once it's all over, those will be the smartest...

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Richard Dawkins - Sex, Death and the Meaning of Life (1)

Dostoevsky's dictum "without God, anything is permitted" is often used by religious believers to make the point that, quite aside from the issue of its truth, religion plays an important role, perhaps even a necessary one, in fomenting moral behavior and virtue. Without God, where would morality come from? If we were simply left to our own devices, what would be there to prevent absolute chaos, violence, crime and wanton lasciviousness?Well, whatever...

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Obama and Romney Laugh It Up

With the upcoming elections, things have been heated up for the past few months. And though not to the same level, both major contenders, as well as the PACS and Super PACS that support them, have resorted to some cheap shots, ad hominem attacks and tactics that are unbecoming of our best ideals of civility and leadership.So I was really glad to see Obama and Romney take a break this past week to lighten things up and engage in some humor at...

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Obama on Romnesia: Don't worry. Obamacare Covers Pre-Existing Conditions :)

Romnesia is a serious and highly contagious medical condition, usually related to Paulzheimers. As its name suggests, it's most obviously related to Mitt Romney's almost daily political flip-flopping depending on what particular constituency's votes he's trying to secure. If he's in Massachusetts, for instance, he will advocate for various liberal platforms and women's issues. When he's in the Bible Belt, he is all about religion and the need...

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Adora Svitak - What Adults Can Learn from Kids

Have you ever wondered what could happen if you respected the intelligence and potential of your children, and read to them a little Aristotle, some history and science instead of just simple bedtime stories?Well, wonder no more. Here's a great example of the positive influence of intellectual stimulating your children's brains.Now, pick up that dusty philosophy book that's been sitting in your book shelf for years and put it to good use...

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Jumping from Space

What did you do this weekend? Oh, no reason... It's just that while you were doing whatever you were doing, stuntman Felix Baumgartner ended up becoming the first human to break the sound barrier without actually being on any kind of supersonic aircraft... he just jumped to a free fall from something like 24 miles above the Earth!Me? I was riding a segway...

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Children's Television Chop Shop - This Week With George Snuffleupagus

Romney wants to fire Big Bird, and conservatives seem to agree that we spend way too much money on things like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR. And while reigning in excessive spending is generally a good idea, do programs that educate the public count as a waste of money? No, it's actually an investment; one that will pay off in great dividends!So how about we cut other forms of outrageous spending? Like, I don't know, the stupid...

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Rumble 2012 - Bill O'Reilly vs Jon Stewart

The recent presidential debate between Romney and Obama turned out to be a disaster. Romney came loaded with a semi-automatic shotgun full of soundbites and lies, he threatened to fire Big Bird, and once again flipped flopped on his position (I've never known a prostitute who can assume so many positions, but I guess if you're a corporate whore, you gotta be extra flexible). Obama, on the other hand, just let Romney get away with all these bs claims,...

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Hexaflexagons to Blow Your Mind

Whether you are particularly fond of it or not, you have to admit that when math gets involved in origami, amazing things start to happen (as we've seen in this previous TEDTalk presentation).So imagine what would happen when origami and math meet Vi Hart's quirky style to make mathematical concepts accessible and interesting: pure awesomeness. Thanks to the following lesson on the hexaflexagon, you'll never think of hexagons the same way again...And...

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Samuel Jackson, Wake the F**k Up! - A Rebuttal

You may remember from a few days ago that video reminiscent of the children's story Go the F**k to Sleep, in which Samuel Jackson highlighted the importance of civil and political involvement, and complained about voter apathy by inciting voters to Wake the F**k Up! Of course, of the two main candidates running, Obama is clearly the better choice over Mitt Romney, but the least of two evils is still not the best state of affairs.So, the folk over...

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A Christian Nation?

A great number of Americans believe that the U.S. is a Christian nation. Can this claim be justified?Well, if what one means by that claim is that the majority of Americans are Christians, that's most likely an empirical fact: most Americans really are Christian. However, it doesn't follow that because the majority of citizens are Christian, the nation itself is Christian. Why not?This would be an instance of the logical fallacy of composition: assuming...

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Ben Goldacre - What Doctors Don't Know About the Drugs They Prescribe

Richard Feynman once defined science as that which we do to avoid fooling ourselves. We humans are universally prone to the cognitive bias known as selection (or confirmation) bias: instead of looking at the big picture, hits and misses alike, we have a natural tendency to look for evidence that confirms the things we already believe, and we tend to ignore and/or forget evidence that would contradict our view of the world.This is why if you're a...

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Samuel Jackson - 'Wake the F++k Up' for Obama

Children's bedtimes stories used to bore me to tears (maybe that's the point?) until I finally came across one that really resonates with the reality of parenting: Go the F**k to Sleep. And if the book itself wasn't already awesome all on its own, the audio version was read by none other than Samuel Jackson. If you haven't heard it yet, have a listen here.Well, last time he wanted his child to go the fuck to sleep, but he wants you to wake the fuck...

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Science vs. Philosophy? Nigga Please...

When it comes to the question of the importance and relevance of philosophy, I'm not sure whether Lawrence Krauss just loves the attention of being polemic, doesn't get just how narrow-minded and simplistic his beliefs are, doesn't realize he's committing some major category mistakes and some basic logical fallacies that a first-year philosophy student would easily identify, or is just too stubborn to admit that he spoke out of his ass without knowing...

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Making Sense of Spelling

If you're a bibliophile and a lover of the beauty and sensuousness of the spoken and written word (like Stephen Fry in this fantastic animated essay), then you probably already know about the  sophistication, the richness, and the history (animated, no less) of the English language.But if don't have a strong background on grammar and etymology, or if you're learning our language for the first time, you may sometimes find it frustrating, confusing...

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5 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know about People

If you haven't already, at some point in your life you will most likely have to deliver some sort of presentation to an audience. And if you want it to go well, you need to make sure you know your material inside and out. But while mere knowledge and understanding of the material are necessary conditions for a successful presentation, they are not sufficient.Remember that you are speaking to an audience, and for your presentation to make an impact...

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Ecce Homo Art "Restorator" Alpha Dog

A few weeks ago we posted a video on our Google+ page about a Spanish lady who attempted to "restore" an ecce homo fresco of Jesus. The New York Times also reported on it.Well, what started out as the presumed Son of God turned in her capable hands into the retarded offspring of Chewbacca, so you'd think she would be hiding in shame... oh, but you underestimate this lady's cojones. Stephen Colbert reports, and congratulates:The Colbert Report Get...

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Apparently Mitt Romney Can't Stand Half of All Americans, and Most of Them Are Conservatives and the Elderly...

You may have heard a few days ago that Mother Jones released a devastating series of videos showcasing Mitt Romney talking to a bunch of rich buddies and donors, and saying what he REALLY thinks about poor people when he doesn't know there's a camera rolling. Many are calling this the death of his campaign, but given that the Republican constituency is apparently made up of masochists who actively and consistently vote against their own interests,...

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We May Need a Break, But You Can Still Follow Us

As you probably know already, I consider this blog as purely a project of love and civic duty. It's my way of contributing a little bit to the world by sharing interesting, and hopefully thought-provoking, things I come across. I make no money from it, since I have chosen not to include ads or to solicit donations.Unfortunately (for our present purposes), I have a grueling semester ahead of me, with around 200 students for whom I am responsible....

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Steven Pinker on Taboos, Political Correctness and Dissent

It's Steven Pinker... he's got things to say, and you already know that whether you agree with his views or not, he's always interesting to listen to, and he always manages to stimulate you to think about those interesting things yourself, so why not have a listen to a few things he has to say?And if you want a longer (and hilarious) treatment of these and other related questions, don't forget you can find his lecture on cursing, veiled threats and...

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60 Seconds Adventures in Economics - The Invisible Hand

If you thought the Open University's 60 Second Adventures in Thought were over, think again! Yes, they may be done with paradoxes and strange thought puzzles (for now), but there's plenty of other fascinating things to explore, and they have decided to devote some attention to the field of economics.Of course, no introduction to economics would be complete without Adam Smith's concept of the "invisible hand," that self-directed mechanism through...

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How to (and Why) Prove a Mathematical Theory

When it comes to the world of our sensory experience, the idea of "proof" is somewhat misplaced, since there is always the possibility of new evidence contradicting something we previously had every good reason to believe, not to mention the fact it could all be a dream or a simulation in The Matrix!But in the world of abstract ideas, especially numbers, the kind of reasoning used there does lend itself to proofs because you get to specify exactly...

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Release the Clinton!

First it was the economy, stupid. But apparently not only did trickle-down Republicans not get it, they regressed and went backwards, so it's time for President Bill Clinton to come back and school everyone in what can only be described as a masterful rhetorical and substantive performance.And because Republicans don't seem to get the economy stuff, Clinton identifies the source of their confusion: it's arithmetic, stupid! :)Anyway, here's something...

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Some Fun Analysis of the DNC

As you may have been able to tell a long time ago already, I have some major problems with Republicans, but to be fair, I also have some major problems with Democrats: mainly the fact that they are big pushovers who don't have the balls to stand up to greedy conservatives and do the right thing for the people they represent.And I hope this is something that's going to stay, but at least in campaign mode they are finally standing up to the avalanche...

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Michelle Obama's Speech at the DNC

There are some things about President Obama's first term that we may find infuriating and disappointing, even though his record, though vilified by the opposition, actually shows some amazing improvements that aren't sufficiently touted in the mainstream media. So yeah, there are some disappointments, especially given the promise and the hope that he awoke in us when he first decided to run . That idealism, unfortunately, was on a head-on...

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Abusive Obsessive-Compulsive Has to Punch Wife Exactly 20 Times

You're probably already aware that having a mental disorder is a nightmare in its own right, but have you ever wondered what it would be like to have multiple mental disorders at once? The folks at The Onion have:In that case, if she's not making mistakes in sets of 20 all at once, the beatings are kind of her fault, right?...

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Secrets of Our Living Planet - The Emerald Band

I may not be able to blog this week, since I'm going to be spending some quality time with my family, so I'm leaving you dear readers with a fascinating documentary.We've seen in multiple cases before the intricacies of various animals. What's different about today's documentary is that it showcases the interesting and intricate relationships between various organisms to explain why there is so much biological diversity in the Earth's rain forests,...

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Dare Mighty Things - Curiosity on Mars

I don't know about you, but I'm still ecstatic about the Curiosity success, and things just keep getting better and better...Some of the obvious important and concrete goals of NASA have to do with scientific research, discovery, application and engineering, but although it cannot be so easily quantified, one could easily argue that whether by design or chance, it is one of the greatest vehicles we have to increase the fecundity of scientific inspiration:...

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Todd Akin, Republicans and "Legitimate Rape"

As you may be aware, Congressman Todd Akin has been receiving fire from all directions for his stupid, right-wing ideological, scientifically illiterate and insensitive remarks about how women who are victims of "legitimate rape" have natural physiological mechanisms to prevent pregnancies, implying that women who do get pregnant after being raped were not really raped. Everyone's been jumping on the response bandwagon, and so I can do no better...

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