Contriving

 That is, something along the lines of "We don't let our business relationships get in the way of our objectivity."

I have multiple problems with that.  

1.  Would a publication which did favor those whom it had a business relationship with say anything else?
2.  I'm much less worried about explicit favoritism to advertisers than I am to much more subtle, and many times, not even intentional types of biases.  
3.  I'm not convinced that a publication that preemptively makes such statements is more trustworthy than one which doesn't.

The real issue publications have from my point of view is the unintentional biases.  To me, it's pretty apparent when a review or article is nothing more than an advertisement in disguise, it's the more subtle type of article that worries me.

The type where the publication doesn't give an advertiser a free pass, but also doesn't give as much coverage to an advertisers competitors.  The type where phrasing unintentionally makes an advertiser look better than if they weren't.

Basically, I think stating "advertising doesn't affect our editorial policy" is hopelessly naive about the way humans brains work.

Originally posted on Google+ · March 1, 2014

Originally posted on Google+ · February 28, 2014

The things we believe cost us when they are wrong.  Sometimes those costs are less than the cost of changing our mind, sometimes not.

When you believe something that has potential high costs if your belief is wrong, make sure you've exposed yourself to the absolute best arguments against it.  

Defeating weak arguments against your own beliefs cause us to feel disproportionately stronger about the basis for what you believe.

Costs of changing your beliefs can be emotional, psychological, social or financial.  Costs make it less likely that we'll be vigilant in our search for truth, so make sure your exposure to the opposing argument is extensive exposure to the best arguments.

Be especially wary of beliefs that make you feel good.  Be especially wary of beliefs that make you feel good!  Be especially wary of beliefs that make you feel good!!

Be wary of things you believe because of your identity.  When you believe something because you're American, or because you're a Democrat, or because you're a Catholic, or because you're a man, you're more likely to make mistakes.

Ask yourself where you'll find the best arguments for opposing beliefs.  

Are you likely to find them from others with the same beliefs as you?

Are you likely to find them from some guy on the street who happens to hold the opposing belief?  

Are you likely to find them on cable news?

If you believe in a god, have you looked for the absolute best arguments against the existence of a god, or have you merely heard the arguments of fellow believers?  Maybe you should do some research and find the best possible arguments from those who don't believe.

The same holds for if you don't believe in god.  Read some theology, Do some research.  Don't stop at the first website you find on Google.

What if you're a libertarian or conservative or liberal?  Have you read what the opposition has to say other than the headlines on TV?  Have you read the science on why people have the political leanings they do?

Of course, we all believe things that are wrong.  How much effort we should expend trying to prove our belief wrong is proportional to how much having the wrong belief costs us.

Are some sources likely to deliver better arguments because of a track record of continual progress towards true models of reality?  If so, that lessens the effort we have to expend to correct wrong beliefs which means we can correct more of our wrong beliefs.

Be careful in deciding if some sources are more likely to deliver better arguments.  The same biases that cause us to have wrong beliefs will also cause us to give more weight to sources that confirm what we already believe.

* To steelman an argument is the opposite of to strawman an argument.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 27, 2014

I'm going to use the same pull quote Tyler Cowen did at Marginal Revolution as it's my favorite part of the article.

Novak is tall, solemn, polite and stiff in conversation, until the conversation turns to passenger pigeons, which it always does. One of the few times I saw him laugh was when I asked whether de-extinction might turn out to be impossible. He reminded me that it has already happened. More than 10 years ago, a team that included Alberto Fernández-Arias (now a Revive & Restore adviser) resurrected a bucardo, a subspecies of mountain goat also known as the Pyrenean ibex, that went extinct in 2000. The last surviving bucardo was a 13-year-old female named Celia. Before she died — her skull was crushed by a falling tree — Fernández-Arias extracted skin scrapings from one of her ears and froze them in liquid nitrogen. Using the same cloning technology that created Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, the team used Celia’s DNA to create embryos that were implanted in the wombs of 57 goats. One of the does successfully brought her egg to term on July 30, 2003. “To our knowledge,” wrote the scientists, “this is the first animal born from an extinct subspecies.” But it didn’t live long. After struggling to breathe for several minutes, the kid choked to death.

The Mammoth Cometh
Bringing extinct animals back to life is really happening — and it’s going to be very, very cool. Unless it ends up being very, very bad.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 27, 2014

The space suits in use on the ISS are 35 years old.

As Astronaut’s Helmet Filled With Water, He Told NASA 3 Times It Wasn’t From Drinking Bag
While NASA’s Mission Control “performed admirably” during a spacewalk water leak crisis in July, a report on the incident showed that controllers did not send astronaut Luca Parmitano back to the airlock until after he made three calls saying the water didn’t appear to be from a drinking bag. There are several reasons this happened,…

Originally posted on Google+ · February 27, 2014

Have some Hammerheads.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 26, 2014

Watch a snowflake grow.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 26, 2014

Watch the Kingfisher catch fish in slow motion.

Originally posted on Google+ · February 26, 2014

I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.

 — Stephen Henry Roberts

Originally posted on Google+ · February 25, 2014