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Where science meets art. The only necessary and sufficient book store in Melbourne.
Hope our friends enjoy the new look and feel – now optimised for mobile devices for access on the go.
PEOPLE
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Coordinator: Peter Ellerton
Web guy: Jason Etheridge RESOURCE COLLECTIONS
NEW RESOURCES
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- A nice Philosophy of Mind summary
- The power of categorical logic
- What exactly is the scientific method and why do so many people get it wrong?
- Paralympic athletes faster than olympic athletes — what does this tell us about difference?
- Logic: if + then = why? How can we understand the power of logic?
- How do we ensure we are exposed to new ideas? A parody with bite.
- A Life of Meaning (Reason Not Required) – What is the nature of our relationship with reason?
- Can you name this cognitive bias?
- By what measures can we value human life?
- Teaching philosophy improves standardised scores
- Are we in control of our own decisions?
- Neuroscience and education: myths and messages
- Free will is not as free as we think – and that’s ok.
- Where’s the Proof in Pseudoscience?
- Science in the lead?
RANDOM POSTS
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- Algebra in Bikinis
- More Dilbert magic - Argumentation
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc or False Cause - Correlation does not imply causation
- Analysis of Critical Thinking in Climate Science
- The Moon Landings Were Faked and the Characteristics of a Good Hypothesis
- Bayesian Inference (Homo Bayesianis)
- Are we individual or social creatures?
- More, Sir Thomas - Utopia
- When Should Science be Censored?
- The value of subjective experience (or not)
USEFUL RSS FEEDS
Philosopher’s Zone
NYTimes – The Stone
- What Pop Stoicism Misses About Ancient Philosophy
- Humans Are Animals. Let’s Get Over It.
- Death Has Many Names
- What Would David Bowie Do?
- Are We the Cows of the Future?
- Time Isn’t Supposed to Last This Long
- A.I. and I
- Of Death and Consequences
- I Don’t Want You to ‘Believe’ Me. I Want You to Listen.
- Teaching Racial Justice Isn’t Racial Justice
Philosophy Now
RSA Animate
- The Green Corridors Initiative
- Governance governing government
- Why print money when we can print wealth?
- Building a resilient health and care system
- We'll always have Paris?
- Experimentation and equity in global cities
- Technology-enabled deliberative democracy
- Healthier placemaking
- Creating a sovereign wealth fund in Wolverhampton
- Economic recovery and climate action
Scientific American – Mind and Brain
- How the Brain Tells Apart Important and Unimportant Sensations
- Can't Buy Me Luck: The Role of Serendipity in the Beatles' Success
- The Dark Side of Collaboration
- Mapping the Brain to Understand the Mind
- Facial Expressions Do Not Reveal Emotions
- Brainstorming on Zoom Hampers Creativity
- Brain-Reading Devices Help Paralyzed People Move, Talk and Touch
- How to Make Smart COVID Risk-Benefit Decisions
- A New Dimension to a Meaningful Life
- Carrying On in Difficult Times
TED talks
- Why Africa needs community-led conservation | Resson Kantai Duff
- The crime-fighting power of cross-border investigative journalism | Bektour Iskender
- How to stop banks from investing in dirty energy | Lucie Pinson
- The case for a 4-day work week | Juliet Schor
- My long walk across India for women's freedom | Srishti Bakshi
- The future of the food ecosystem -- and the power of your plate | Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli
- The most powerful untapped resource in health care | Edith Elliott and Shahed Alam
- A bold plan to transform access to the US social safety net | Amanda Renteria
- A transparent, easy way for smallholder farmers to save | Anushka Ratnayake
- An election redesign to restore trust in US democracy | Tiana Epps-Johnson
THEMED RESOURCES
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Category Archives: Philosophy of Science
What exactly is the scientific method and why do so many people get it wrong?
There’s a big difference between science and pseudoscience. But if people don’t understand how science works in the first place, it’s very easy for them to fall for the pseudoscience. Source: What exactly is the scientific method and why do … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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A Life of Meaning (Reason Not Required) – What is the nature of our relationship with reason?
If philosophy is to stay relevant, it must bridge the gap between feeling, thought and reason. Few would disagree with two age-old truisms: We should strive to shape our lives with reason, and a central prerequisite for the good life … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science
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Where’s the Proof in Pseudoscience?
Peter Ellerton, The Conversation Contrast this with homeopathy, a field that has generated no discernible growth in knowledge or practice. While the use of modern scientific language may make it sound more impressive, there is no corresponding increase in knowledge … Continue reading
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Teaching the nature of science (and keeping students engaged)
Peter Ellerton, The Conversation What’s particularly disturbing about current science education at the primary, secondary and tertiary level is the almost complete lack of explicit consideration of what I’ve referred to as the “nature of science”. Not only are many … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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Why You Don’t Know Your Own Mind
Alex Rosenburg, The Stone. It is often said that we can never truly know the minds of others, because we can’t “get inside their heads.” Our ability to know our own minds, though, is rarely called into question. It is … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, Philosophy of Science
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The value of subjective experience (or not)
From smbc
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Mind - Consciousness, Philosophy of Science
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Why would anyone believe the Earth is flat?
Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland Belief in a flat Earth seems a bit like the attempt to eradicate polio – just when you think it’s gone, a pocket of resistance appears. … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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Dilbert on Zeno
Zeno does it again.
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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We can’t trust common sense but we can trust science
Peter Ellerton, The University of Queensland When a group of Australians was asked why they believed climate change was not happening, about one in three (36.5%) said it was “common sense”, according to a report published last year by the … Continue reading
Posted in Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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The Principle of Sufficient Reason
Form the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy “The Principle of Sufficient Reason is a powerful and controversial philosophical principle stipulating that everything must have a reason or cause. This simple demand for thoroughgoing intelligibility yields some of the boldest and most … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science, Web links
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Hume’s criticism of the design argument
Hume-Dialogues – Jeff Speaks
Posted in Critical Thinking, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Science
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What use Philosophy?
Discuss.
Posted in Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science, PowerPoints, Video and other Media
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A Useful Introduction to Critical Thinking Skills
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The Language of Science
Listen and learn: the language of science and scepticism Peter Ellerton Making sure what’s intended is what’s heard can be more difficult than it seems. Melvin Gaal (mindsharing.eu) As scientists, one of our responsibilities should be to promote clarity. A lot … Continue reading
Posted in Booklets, Handouts and Worksheets, Critical Thinking, Media Articles, Cartoons, Philosophy of Science
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Another Double Blind Test surprise
Stradivarius Fails Sound Test Versus Newbie Violins Download pdf (from sciam) Can you tell the difference between modern violins and antiques crafted by Italian masters? Don’t feel too bad – expert players can’t do it either. In a double-blind test, 21 experienced … Continue reading
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Logic, Knowledge Systems and World Views
The way of logic – 02 December 1995 – New Scientist FOR almost two centuries, anthropologists have been studying how non-European cultures understand the world around them. Now philosophers of science are getting in on the act. Armed with intellectual … Continue reading
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The Changing Climate of Skepticism
Via Embiggen Books In this excellent talk given by Peter Ellerton (winner of the 2008 Australian Skeptics prize for Critical Thinking) on the Climate Change debate, the viewer is encouraged to examine the way in which the debate is being … Continue reading
Imagining the Tenth Dimension
Excellent intellectual exercise
A Wonderful Piece of Pseudoscience in Advertising
Well worth reading the whole lot. The language is absolute nonsense. “By strengthening the body’s own natural energy and innate intelligence, the QLink allows it to recognise and differentiate between which external energies are healthy, and which are not. The … Continue reading
How Science Works in Action
Faster-than-light neutrinos show science in action Making a very good point about when to believe evidence. via Scientific American Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 24 hours, you’ve probably heard about the neutrinos that … Continue reading