Philosophy & Ethics

Elsevier published *six* fake journals.

Last week we found out that Merck paid Elsevier to publish a fake peer-reviewed journal.  This week we found out that Elsevier produced five other pay-for-publication journals.   The  names of the journals haven't been disclosed, but Elsevier is condu ...

Blog Post - Stephanie Pulford - May 16 2009 - 3:24pm

BioLogos, god-of-the-gaps and misunderstanding science

Francis Collins' new Templeton-sponsored website, BioLogos, has been getting a bit of news coverage recently. For those not familiar with the story: Collins is the Director of the Human Genome Project, and BioLogos is his attempt to persuade Christian ...

Blog Post - Tom Rees - May 19 2009 - 4:22pm

The Borg Builders

The Borg Builders Human language evolved to serve human purposes.  For most people, that purpose is to just get on with life, to be happy, to work, to play, to provide for tomorrow and to leave this world a better and a safer place for our children.   Int ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 13 2009 - 7:17pm

Mummy's Little Grammatical genius

Mummy's Little Grammatical genius How babies learn to use language. A special note of caution to students.  My description of how a baby probably acquires language is speculative and is not a part of any well established theory.   If you are studying ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 18 2009 - 9:51am

A Grammar of Questions.

A Grammar of Questions. Quistic grammar is based on what I believe to be the biological basis of language in the brain: a set of models of our internal and external environment, specifically including the social environment, with the models being labelled ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jun 19 2009 - 4:03pm

The Virtue (?) Of Selfishness

In exploring some of the biological issues surrounding selfishness and altruism, invariably the philosophical issue of selfishness surfaces. Ayn Rand has argued that selfishness is a virtue because it is the rational and principled concern with one’s own w ...

Article - Gerhard Adam - May 30 2009 - 7:09pm

The Beauty of Justice

The Beauty of Justice Some celebrities use their status to promote the most idiotic ideas. Fortunately, there are many more, who use that status to help make the world a better place.   In the UK, many TV stars and presenters make an annual contribution to ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 22 2009 - 5:10am

Ethics, Expertise and Law

Ethics, Expertise and Law Dear reader: please excuse the style of this article.  I am dealing here with observations in law.  I have chosen a legalese style so that any student of law stumbling upon this article may more easily perform a web search for au ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 23 2009 - 3:23pm

Merck Gets A Revenue Shot In The Arm- Cancer Researcher Claims Gardasil For Boys Would Help Put Him 'Out Of Business'

70% of you, man or woman, will have an HPV infection at some point in your life.   There is no cure for HPV, just as there is no cure for the common cold and in most people, an HPV infection will clear up on its own, like the common cold.  It can also be p ...

Article - Hank Campbell - May 24 2009 - 12:00pm

A Journey to the Centre of the Universe

A Journey to the Centre of the Universe There has been debate for millenia amongst philosophers as to where the centre of the universe lies. There is a possibility that I may have found it.  Please note the classic use of hedging.   There is a reason for ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - May 26 2009 - 10:32am