Monday, November 14, 2005


Save Dying Languages?
Donald Pittenger writes: Dear Blowhards -- I'm not sure there's an official list, but items in the press claim that... posted by Donald at November 14, 2005 | perma-link | (32) comments

Wednesday, October 19, 2005


The Weight Loss Industry
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Thanks to visitor (and weight-and-diet expert) PeggyNature, who called my attention to Paul Campos'... posted by Michael at October 19, 2005 | perma-link | (13) comments

Sunday, October 9, 2005


What We Eat
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- I'm down and nearly out with a bad cold. Since it's my first illness... posted by Michael at October 9, 2005 | perma-link | (16) comments

Sunday, September 11, 2005


Group Characteristics 4
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Here's a rousing passage from Charles Murray's recent Commentary essay, "The Inequality Taboo": Let... posted by Michael at September 11, 2005 | perma-link | (18) comments

Saturday, July 23, 2005


Athletes: Genetic Freaks?
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- There really are (in some cases) biologically-based differences between (some) people. Heavens, but it... posted by Michael at July 23, 2005 | perma-link | (18) comments

Friday, June 17, 2005


Women's Brains, Men's Brains
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Steve Sailer linked to a terrific article by the LATimes' Robert Lee Hotz. Its... posted by Michael at June 17, 2005 | perma-link | (11) comments

Thursday, June 9, 2005


Genes
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- A medical doctor involved in research who I happened to talk with the other... posted by Michael at June 9, 2005 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, May 18, 2005


Incompleteness and Drug Development
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Was it circa 1990 when we were all informed that life as we knew... posted by Michael at May 18, 2005 | perma-link | (4) comments

Saturday, February 19, 2005


Thinking and Language
Michael Blowhard writes: Dear Blowhards -- Doesn't it sometimes seem as though scientists spend much of their time "discovering" what... posted by Michael at February 19, 2005 | perma-link | (10) comments

Sunday, October 17, 2004


Digital, and Prestidigital
Fenster Moop writes: Dear Blowhards, A while back, you (Michael) wrote about the impact of digital technologies on culture. This... posted by Fenster at October 17, 2004 | perma-link | (9) comments

Thursday, September 2, 2004


Being Happy
Dear Blowhards -- I've had a good time recently reading up on what scientists and behavioral economists have learned about... posted by Michael at September 2, 2004 | perma-link | (24) comments

Thursday, April 29, 2004


Social Pyramids
Dear Friedrich -- Gene Expression brainiac Razib wonders about something I've wondered about too. It goes roughly this way: once... posted by Michael at April 29, 2004 | perma-link | (32) comments

Wednesday, April 21, 2004


Is this the Reason Men Vote Republican?
Michael: As I mentioned, I’ve been reading Spencer Wells’ book, “The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey.” (You can... posted by Friedrich at April 21, 2004 | perma-link | (15) comments

Monday, April 19, 2004


Roots of Ornamentation
Michael: I spotted an interesting story in the Los Angeles Times on April 16. Written by Robert Lee Holtz,... posted by Friedrich at April 19, 2004 | perma-link | (18) comments

Thursday, April 8, 2004


Happiness? Evolution Don't Need No Stinkin' Happiness
Michael: What’s the deal with happiness, anyway? ‘Happiness’ science seems to keep popping up wherever I go these days. I... posted by Friedrich at April 8, 2004 | perma-link | (21) comments

Thursday, April 1, 2004


If Reality is a Head of Hair, Is Language a Comb?
Dear Friedrich -- The first time I ran across linguistic relativism -- the doctrine that language determines thought -- I... posted by Michael at April 1, 2004 | perma-link | (31) comments

Wednesday, March 24, 2004


String Theory Etc.
Dear Friedrich – Long ago at Camp Massaweepie, my Boy Scout chums and I would occasionally gather in a tent... posted by Michael at March 24, 2004 | perma-link | (17) comments

Monday, March 8, 2004


Lives and Loves of Great Mathematicians
Michael: A while ago, as you may remember, I blogged about Carl B. Boyer’s and Uta C. Merzbach’s “A History... posted by Friedrich at March 8, 2004 | perma-link | (31) comments

Sunday, January 11, 2004


How Structuralist Is Your Fantasy Life?
Michael: I don’t know if you agree with me, but consulting myself, I guess I would have considered sexual fantasies... posted by Friedrich at January 11, 2004 | perma-link | (11) comments

Friday, January 9, 2004


Caleb Crain on Ellen Dissanayake
Dear Friedrich -- I've mentioned Ellen Dissanayake several times on this blog. The author of such books as What Is... posted by Michael at January 9, 2004 | perma-link | (2) comments

Saturday, December 13, 2003


Fat Like Me
Michael: My name is Friedrich and I’m overweight. At the moment I’m pretty seriously overweight (I’m 6’ 1” tall and... posted by Friedrich at December 13, 2003 | perma-link | (31) comments

Friday, December 5, 2003


Blowhards Scoop Times Again
Dear Friedrich -- Arts and Letters Daily (here) linked to this Mary Duenwald NYTimes article here. The piece is interesting... posted by Michael at December 5, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Thursday, December 4, 2003


Nietzsche and Pinker
Michael: I couldn’t help but notice when I read the Edge interview with Steven Pinker (that you so thoughtfully linked... posted by Friedrich at December 4, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Wednesday, December 3, 2003


Steven Pinker Interview
Dear Friedrich -- Here's a good Edge q&a with Steven Pinker, the author of the excellent evo-bio survey "The Blank... posted by Michael at December 3, 2003 | perma-link | (17) comments

Friday, November 28, 2003


Elsewhere
Dear Friedrich -- * Brian Micklethwait declares himself medium-agnostic where the visual arts are concerned, here. * Julie Iovine at... posted by Michael at November 28, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Wednesday, November 19, 2003


High Pitched Voices
Friedrich -- I've been out in California, thus spending a lot of time in the car, and thus listening to... posted by Michael at November 19, 2003 | perma-link | (32) comments

Thursday, November 13, 2003


Cave Art Redux
Friedrich -- Apologies for the light blogging. I've been out of town attending to a hospitalized relative. Everything's going well,... posted by Michael at November 13, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Tuesday, November 4, 2003


Sociobiological Song Lyrics
Michael: I recently heard an old song by the Georgia Satellites, “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” The lyrics of the... posted by Friedrich at November 4, 2003 | perma-link | (29) comments

Monday, November 3, 2003


We Need a Sociobiological Economics
Michael: I’ve been reading a lot about cooperation and private property recently, but what my reading has led me to... posted by Friedrich at November 3, 2003 | perma-link | (34) comments

Thursday, October 23, 2003


Visual Perception and Biology
Dear Friedrich -- Colors -- tons of them, an infinitely divisible spectrum. Don't even computers these days display something like... posted by Michael at October 23, 2003 | perma-link | (8) comments

Saturday, October 18, 2003


Culture as Mating Ritual
Michael: Are you intellectually attracted to reductionist arguments? I must admit that I am. They may be right, they may... posted by Friedrich at October 18, 2003 | perma-link | (23) comments

Monday, October 13, 2003


Sexual Selection and Fashion Redux
Michael: Okay, I’ll admit it—occasionally I blow a posting. I think I’ve got a nice little idea all ready to... posted by Friedrich at October 13, 2003 | perma-link | (32) comments

Saturday, October 11, 2003


Sexual Selection and Fashion
Michael: Have you, like me, long been puzzled by certain aspects of feminine fashion? I never had any trouble with... posted by Friedrich at October 11, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Thursday, September 18, 2003


Evo-Bio of Music
Michael: You’re a lot more musical than I, so maybe you remember this differently, but when I was first introduced... posted by Friedrich at September 18, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Saturday, September 6, 2003


Magic Eye
Friedrich -- I recently picked up (at B&N, on sale, for next to nothing) one of those Magic Eye books.... posted by Michael at September 6, 2003 | perma-link | (17) comments

Tuesday, September 2, 2003


Genetics, Environment and IQ
Michael: I’ve been reading a lot recently about environmental impacts on IQ, and I must admit it is kind of... posted by Friedrich at September 2, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

Friday, July 25, 2003


"Envy," Immortality and Genes
Michael: Have you heard of an essay titled “Envy” that’s causing some buzz in the literary world? Appearing in the... posted by Friedrich at July 25, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Saturday, June 28, 2003


Qualia, Neuroscience and Art
Michael: Thanks for putting me on to another paper written by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein, “The Three Laws... posted by Friedrich at June 28, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

Tuesday, June 24, 2003


Hidden Capacities
Michael: There’s a fascinating piece in the New York Times of June 22, “Savant for a Day” (which you can... posted by Friedrich at June 24, 2003 | perma-link | (12) comments

Friday, June 20, 2003


Religion, Politics and Temperament
Michael: Some time ago you mentioned in a posting that you (at least half jokingly) attributed the persistence of religion... posted by Friedrich at June 20, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Tuesday, June 17, 2003


Half Baked Notions, Redux
Michael: A paragraph from your recent posting, Some Half-Baked Notions I Couldn't Figure Out How to Fit in Other Postings,... posted by Friedrich at June 17, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Saturday, June 14, 2003


Free Reads -- Matt Ridley on Genes
Friedrich -- I'm sure this is nothing more than a sign of how shallow I am and how short my... posted by Michael at June 14, 2003 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, June 6, 2003


Free Reads -- V.S. Ramachandran
Friedrich -- From a BBC 4-sponsored talk given by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran, Director of the Centre for Brain and Cognition... posted by Michael at June 6, 2003 | perma-link | (7) comments

Wednesday, June 4, 2003


Schizophrenic Science
Michael: When you were leafing through a magazine, did you ever wonder if the editors ever read the whole publication?... posted by Friedrich at June 4, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Saturday, May 31, 2003


Family Trees
Michael: In the June edition of Scientific American, there is an interesting article by Charles H. Bennett, Ming Li and... posted by Friedrich at May 31, 2003 | perma-link | (9) comments

Monday, May 26, 2003


Blog-a-palooza redux
Michael: Following a link in your recent posting, Blog-a-palooza, I read two of Tim Hulsey’s interesting posts on the political... posted by Friedrich at May 26, 2003 | perma-link | (21) comments

Thursday, May 15, 2003


Behind Every Celebrity...
Michael: Did you ever notice that famous people often have parents or other ancestors who are as remarkable as they... posted by Friedrich at May 15, 2003 | perma-link | (5) comments

Wednesday, April 16, 2003


Culture and Scale-Free Networks
Michael: In the May issue of Scientific American, there is an article by Albert-Laszlo Barabasi and Eric Bonabeau on “Scale-Free... posted by Friedrich at April 16, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Tuesday, March 25, 2003


Sisterhood is Forever
Michael: In researching some aspects of my postings on Impressionism, I have entered new territory (for me, anyway): women’s studies.... posted by Friedrich at March 25, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Sunday, March 9, 2003


Why Don't You Know What I'm Thinking?
Friedrich – Why does a woman expect her man to be able to read her mind? And why does she... posted by Michael at March 9, 2003 | perma-link | (22) comments

Tuesday, February 25, 2003


Nature v. Nurture
Michael: A few years ago I bought a book entitled “Beyond Left and Right.” I thought at the time that... posted by Friedrich at February 25, 2003 | perma-link | (6) comments

Monday, February 24, 2003


A Feathered T. Rex--Image Evolution
Michael: According to a story in Scientific American, the evolution of feathers seems to have occurred not in "birds" or... posted by Friedrich at February 24, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Free Reads -- Jonathan Rauch
Friedrich -- In this month's Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch writes humorously about introverts (he admits that he's one) and extroverts. Sample... posted by Michael at February 24, 2003 | perma-link | (9) comments

Monday, February 17, 2003


Fear and Memory
Michael: I thought you might be interested in an article in the March edition of Discover magazine, entitled “Can the... posted by Friedrich at February 17, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Friday, January 24, 2003


Aesthetic Impacts of Population Dynamics
Michael According to the Wall Street Journal of January 24, falling birth rates around the world may lead to the... posted by Friedrich at January 24, 2003 | perma-link | (11) comments

Saturday, January 18, 2003


Free Reads -- Therapy for Immigrants
Friedrich -- A thought-provoking piece by Sarah Kershaw in the NYTimes about how immigrants bring (and act out) their own... posted by Michael at January 18, 2003 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, January 8, 2003


Free Reads -- Tunes and the brain
Friedrich -- Researchers at Dartmouth using MRI studies have begun mapping out which parts of the brain are involved in... posted by Michael at January 8, 2003 | perma-link | (2) comments

Free Reads -- Chess and intelligence
Friedrich -- Well, gee, if I have a brain cell or two, then I ought to be able to play... posted by Michael at January 8, 2003 | perma-link | (3) comments

Tuesday, December 17, 2002


Progress
Michael— I see from the NY Times of December 17 that one of my pet theories is being empirically validated:... posted by Friedrich at December 17, 2002 | perma-link | (1) comments

Monday, December 16, 2002


New Ideas: Drawing Blind, Cheap Movies, Evo Lit Crit
Michael— About once a month I seem to spend a sleepless night caused by middle-aged problems too mundane to mention... posted by Friedrich at December 16, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, December 4, 2002


Funky Chickens
Friedrich -- Music has been found have a fast and dramatic impact on the moods of very young chickens, reports... posted by Michael at December 4, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, November 29, 2002


Aesthetics and Dogs
Michael A story from the New York Times, which you can read here, reveals recent progress made in understanding the... posted by Friedrich at November 29, 2002 | perma-link | (5) comments

Wednesday, November 20, 2002


Free Reads—The Source of Consciousness
Michael In the Los Angeles Times of November 17, there is an interesting article on brain research—apparently my topic for... posted by Friedrich at November 20, 2002 | perma-link | (7) comments

Wednesday, November 6, 2002


Evobio Keeps Up With the Times
Michael I don’t know if you noticed, but the NY Times Science Times section of November 5 was an orgy... posted by Friedrich at November 6, 2002 | perma-link | (2) comments

Thursday, October 31, 2002


Free Reads -- Steven Pinker
Friedrich -- The indispensable Steve Sailer does a q&a with Steven Pinker, author of the remarkable new "The Blank Slate,"... posted by Michael at October 31, 2002 | perma-link | (1) comments

Saturday, October 26, 2002


Free Reads -- Trowbridge on dogs and music
Friedrich -- Dave Trowbridge at Redwood Dragon has been thinking about animals, in-born natures, and music, here. Not to be... posted by Michael at October 26, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, October 18, 2002


Evo Bio Questions -- Acne
Friedrich -- I couldn't be happier that evolutionary-biology thinking has been flourishing, and at the progress it's made in pushing... posted by Michael at October 18, 2002 | perma-link | (2) comments

Thursday, October 17, 2002


Free Reads -- Steve Sailer
Friedrich -- I love checking in on the protean Steve Sailer (here). He writes enlighteningly about evolutionary biology, he writes... posted by Michael at October 17, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, October 16, 2002


Gross Over-generalizations -- Women and Baked Goods
Friedrich -- Mood heighteners? What is it with women and baked goods? Last night, for example, I was at dinner... posted by Michael at October 16, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Thursday, September 12, 2002


Free Reads -- Pygmy Negritos
Friedrich -- Steve Sailer talks with George Weber, a Swiss businessman who's knowledgeable about the Pygmy Negritos of the Andaman... posted by Michael at September 12, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, September 6, 2002


The Mind, Part 7,342,941
Friedrich -- Another sensible science column by Sharon Begley in the Wall Street Journal, again, unfortunately, unavailable online. This one's... posted by Michael at September 6, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Thursday, September 5, 2002


Schopenhauer
Michael Have you ever read any Schopenhauer? I happened on this bizarre website called "Frownland: Pessimists speaking the truth," here.,... posted by Friedrich at September 5, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, September 4, 2002


Surf's Up
Friedrich -- The Wife and I drove by a surfing beach recently. There were a few gals on surfboards and... posted by Michael at September 4, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Friday, August 30, 2002


Sigmund vs. Science
Friedrich -- A levelheaded science column by Sharon Begley in today's Wall Street Journal (not online) about the unconscious. Of... posted by Michael at August 30, 2002 | perma-link | (2) comments

Thursday, August 29, 2002


Tales of Sociobiology
Michael Two short tales of the left’s reactions to sociobiology. The first is set during my least-favorite decade, both personally... posted by Friedrich at August 29, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments

Wednesday, August 21, 2002


Eat this
Michael From a review by Joan Acocella of Felipe Fernandez-Armesto's Near a Thousand Tables: A History of Food: But Fernandez-Armesto... posted by Friedrich at August 21, 2002 | perma-link | (0) comments