Are We Progressing from Reductionism to Holism?

Contrary to what some people think, probably not.

For example, there used to be a theory that ulcers were psychosomatic. That was replaced by the more reductionist approach of assuming that gut problems were caused by bacteria in the gut. The claim that we're advancing out of the dark ages of reductionism into a glorious holistic future doesn't always hold water.

There's the alternative theory that digestive problems are caused by Unix operating system commands: awk, grep, fsck, nroff…

Experts on “Gaming the System”?

There's been some opposition to requiring lawyers to pass bar exams.

Wait a moment… I thought the opposition to standardized tests was based on the idea that the people who passed were experts in “gaming the system” instead of the content. Isn't the content of law (in practice, if not in theory) a matter of “gaming the system”? Apparently, people who pass bar exams merely memorize facts instead of knowing them, a distinction so subtle it may as well be nonexistent.

On the other hand, maybe that means requiring bar exams is unnecessary. Lawyers who didn't pass a bar exam might not have enough customers to matter.

It's Earth Day

Wouldn't Earth Day be an ideal day to start taking the Earth apart into space habitats?

I Identify as …

Many of my fellow wingnuts are dubious about people who identify as something others won't classify them as. Please note we can do that too. For example, after seeing this, I tweeted:

It's oppressive to call me a right-wing nut job. I actually identify as a 19th-century liberal.

An Example of Betteridge's Law of Headlines

A recent blog post (discussed here) started with the headline:

Is the Birth-Control Pill Creating A Race of Eunuchs?

I was reminded of Betteridge's law of headlines:

Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.

It looks like the “Pick-Up Artists” have created a theory that says they should get all the girls. When they don't get all the girls, they start adding epicycles to the theory. To make matters worse, they seem outraged by the possibility that their theories are wrong.

Of course, if they want to keep unmanly men from breeding, the simplest method is to abolish firearms. I'm waiting for the Pick-Up Artist/Neoreactionary community to start supporting gun control.

One Reason Neoreactionaries Are Annoying

According to nearly any leftist, right-wing thought is based on the desire to exploit the weaker classes. The most annoying feature of some neoreactionaries is that they agree with that. (A recent example can be found here.)

On the other hand, there are liberals are annoyed at people supposedly on their side who exemplify the smug authoritarian stereotype. For example. George R. R. Martin said:

God DAMN, people. You are proving them right.

I feel your pain.

Notable and Quotable

According to Paul Graham:

I suspect the biggest source of moral taboos will turn out to be power struggles in which one side only barely has the upper hand. That's where you'll find a group powerful enough to enforce taboos, but weak enough to need them.

The above quote has an obvious application to the tempest in a teapot in Indiana. It also applies to the current allies of libertarians, especially if they win by a small margin. Next year's taboos might come from people we're applauding or defending today.

Explaining the Opposition to RFRA Laws on the Left

It's an April Fool joke, of course. To think they actually fooled the rest of into thinking they could turn on a dime like that … or that they had actually forgotten this started with a defense of nonstandard religions … or that they were seriously gloating about conservatives who supposedly didn't know it could go both ways ….