I stumbled onto a concept I suspect may become one of my important ones. Science has a famous and useful phrase, “not even wrong,” that describes something not worth considering scientifically. For example, science considers the idea that of Earth being at the center of the universe wrong. The evidence against that model is overwhelming, though for a long time it seemed plausible since the stars, sun, and moon seem[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series on responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicist, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on them, here is my take on today’s post, “Why Tell Koko About Robin Williams’s Death?“. According to press reports, Koko, the gorilla adept at sign language, seemed saddened to hear the news of the death of Robin Williams, whom the gorilla met once in 2001[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series on responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicist, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on them, here is a take on an earlier post,”Tourist Retractions.” I recently spent several days at a relatively expensive hotel. The place was deplorable and unsanitary, with an unresponsive front desk. I gave it a poor write-up on TripAdvisor.com, the travel website, titling my review[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series on responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicist, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on them, here is my take on today’s post, “Is It Wrong to Watch Football?” I’ve recently begun to question my support for the N.F.L. I suspect that the recent discoveries about concussions and the prevalence of early-onset dementia among players are just the tip of[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series on responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicist, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on them, here is my take on today’s post, “Should a Camp Counselor Stop a Student From Trying Coffee?” I work at a summer camp for high-school students. This year, a Mormon camper decided to drink coffee. Some staff members felt that we should try to[…] Keep reading →

A friend and I spent the weekend camping. On Monday morning, we were late getting on the road. I was going to be late for a summer course and asked my friend to hurry. At some point, I noticed that we were traveling at 130 m.p.h. I did not say anything because I wanted to make it back to class. Shortly after, we were stopped for speeding. My friend thinks[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series on responses to the New York Times column, The Ethicist, looking at the consequences of one’s actions instead of imposing values on them, here is a take on an earlier post, “Campus Police: Precrime Division“. I study computer science at a midsize university, and my school has cameras that cover almost every part of campus. The development of video-processing algorithms that can discern race, height and approximate[…] Keep reading →