Category: Social Sciences

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
October 5, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Cultural Anthropology
Tagged
, Aldous Huxley, algorithms, animals, anthropomorphism, artificial intelligence, Brave New World, cars, chatbots, children, communication, concentration, culture, Delusion, dog care, electronic media, human minds, humans, love, Mind Matters News, Podosphaera leucotricha, polar bears, powdery mildew, Psychology Today, reading, relationships, Richard Stevens, science fiction, Tara Wells, tobacco, toys, trees}

With AI, Anthropomorphism Is High Stakes; But It May Be as Old as the Human Race

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 5, 2026

Computational Sciences, Cultural Anthropology

5}

Such relationships can lead to delusional spirals, including marrying a bot. One man proposed to his bot when he feared it would run out of memory. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
October 2, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Political Science
Technology
Tagged
, adults, americans, books, government, Harvard Gazette, humans, Jill Sonke, Nation’s Report Card, National Endowment for the Arts, reading, Return of the God Hypothesis, Rose Horowitch, Sam Leith, Sarah Kuta, Sebastian Faulks, Smithsonian Magazine, The AI Delusion, The Atlantic, The Spectator, thinking, twentysomethings, University of Florida, young people}

Abandonment of Books Would Have Devastating Consequences

_{Denyse O’Leary
October 2, 2026

Computational Sciences, Political Science, Technology

6}

If we reach the point where most people cannot muster that level of sustained attention, changes unwelcome to many of us are inevitable. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Date
September 19, 2026

Categories
Arts
Cultural Anthropology
Human Origins and Anthropology
Tagged
, anthropologists, archaeologists, art gallery, Basque country, cave art, cave bears, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, cave painting, Chauvet Cave, cinema, claws, Diego Garate, Eduardo Palacio Pérez, El Castillo, France, graffiti, installation art, paintings, Paleolithic period, researchers, Smithsonian Magazine, Spain, torchlight, University of Cantabria, virtual reality, Werner Herzog}

How Best to Appreciate Paleolithic Cave Art

_{Science & Culture
September 19, 2026

Arts, Cultural Anthropology, Human Origins and Anthropology

4}

Of course, the experience wouldn’t be really complete without simulating the threat of a cave bear trapping the artists. Read More ›

low angle view of scientists holding various test tubes

^{Type
post

Author
Wesley J. Smith

Date
September 15, 2026

Categories
Political Science
Scientific Reasoning
Tagged
, democratic institutions, economic growth, health, ideology, income, inequality, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Panel on Inequality, moral values, Nature (journal), policy issues, political science, scientists, social mobility, technocracy, technocratic rule, United Nations, wealth}

Top Science Journal Would Empower Scientists to Rule on Income and Wealth

_{Wesley J. Smith
September 15, 2026

Political Science, Scientific Reasoning

4}

Reframing subjective policy issues as questions of objective “science” makes it easier to justify relying on “experts” for policy answers. Read More ›

Neanderthal armed with lance, their part in Homo Sapiens Anthropology and Darwinian Theory.

^{Type
post

Author
Denyse O’Leary

Date
August 15, 2026

Categories
Cultural Anthropology
Evolutionary Psychology
Human Origins and Anthropology
Tagged
, Amazon, archeology, Ascent of Man, astrobiology, China, Darwinian evolution, Eurasia, evolutionary psychology, forebears, genomes, glaciers, Greece, Jonathan Cheng, Matthew Phelan, Neanderthals, rainforest, Ross Andersen, Sanxingdui, Stone Age, subhumans, The Atlantic, UC Berkeley, Wall Street Journal}

Human Evolution Needs Subhumans, and Needs Them Badly

_{Denyse O’Leary
August 15, 2026

Cultural Anthropology, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Origins and Anthropology

6}

Excavation of Neanderthal and other sites is leveling even further the fabled Ascent of Man. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Peter Biles

Date
July 31, 2026

Categories
Computational Sciences
Linguistics
Tagged
, 404 Media, AI slop, Anthropic, artificial intelligence, books, bots, creativity, Frank Landymore, Futurism, ISBNdb, language, large language models, lawsuits, literature, pirating, rare books, technology, Ted Gioia, writing}

Gutting Old Books to Feed AI: What Could Go Wrong?

_{Peter Biles
July 31, 2026

Computational Sciences, Linguistics

2}

The question is: Who wins? Maybe we should start buying up all the old books before the bots get to them. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
David Klinghoffer

Date
July 27, 2026

Categories
Faith & Science
Intelligent Design
Sociology
Tagged
, atheists, Bheki Mahlobo, Big Bang, Blu-ray, Book of Job, cells, chromosomes, DVD, Europe, faith, intelligence, intelligent design, Joel Kotkin, molecular biology, Piers Morgan, Real Clear Investigations, religion, Return of the God Hypothesis, secularization, sociology, Stephen Meyer, The Story of Everything, The Telegraph, theodicy, United States, universe, urban studies}

Science, Faith, and Education: Not the Unlikely Trio You Once Thought

_{David Klinghoffer
July 27, 2026

Faith & Science, Intelligent Design, Sociology

4}

Note this: “religiously engaged people have become more likely to be well-educated, while atheists are less so.” Read More ›

Ancient Greek marble sculpture taped lips aesthetic background

^{Type
post

Date
July 9, 2026

Categories
Linguistics
Scientific Freedom
Social Sciences
Tagged
, 1984 (novel), censorship, COVID-19, disinformation, domestic extremism, English, George Orwell, government, Harvard University, information, Jacob Siegel, Joe Biden, language, lockdowns, malinformation, neologisms, Newspeak, Oldspeak, Skepticalifornia, surveillance, The Information State, thoughtcrime, UnHerd}

“Malinformation” — Another Sinister Neologism from the Folks Who Specialize in Them

_{Science & Culture
July 9, 2026

Linguistics, Scientific Freedom, Social Sciences

3}

The government got lots of support from an academic elite that was anxious to introduce Newspeak terms including “malinformation.” Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Casey Luskin

Date
July 7, 2026

Categories
Evolution
Evolutionary Psychology
Neuroscience & Mind
Tagged
, ancestors, brain, Carl Sagan, complexity, crows, evolution, fish, flatscreen television, humans, Jack Reacher, limbic system, lizard brain, lizards, mammals, McGill University, neurobiologists, neuroscience, octopuses, Office for Science and Society, onions, ontogeny, pancakes, parrots, Paul D. MacLean, phylogeny, radio, reptile, reptiles, scientific hypotheses}

McGill University Refutes Pop-Psychology Claim that Humans Have a “Lizard Brain”

_{Casey Luskin
July 7, 2026

Evolution, Evolutionary Psychology, Neuroscience & Mind

5}

The false belief traces back to the fact that Carl Sagan was one of its strongest proponents. Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Andrew McDiarmid

Date
July 7, 2026

Categories
Faith & Science
Psychology
Tagged
, contemplation, courage, creativity, Declaration of Independence, dehumanization, designer, etymonline.com, faith, free will, freedom, friction, happiness, hope, human beings, humankind, humanness, humans, individuality, intuition, Karl Jaspers, liberty, life, love, Man in the Modern Age, meaning, Nicolai Berdyaev, organization, philosophers, presence, reasoning, relationship, resistance, spontaneity, surprise, technology, transcendence, virtuousness}

Endowed with Spontaneity: Celebrating Human Freedom

_{Andrew McDiarmid
July 7, 2026

Faith & Science, Psychology

4}

That’s 1930s-German-philosopher-speak for the power and freedom human beings have to know themselves, be known to others, and be active agents in the world. Read More ›