Steve Patterson

Category: Culture and Life

  • Reparations and the Intertemporal Justice Warriors

    Injustice. Few things cause stronger feelings. Moral beliefs are some of our deepest held beliefs, and perceptions of injustice can spark protests, political movements, or can even become a preface to war. When people believe morality is on their side, they can become emboldened to make serious changes in the world.

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  • Postmodernism is Anti-Mind (Literally)

    Human action is an expression of philosophy. Every decision we make is inescapably framed and guided by our ideas about the world. Sometimes these ideas are clearly communicated by our actions; we write a book or create meaningful art. Other times, our ideas are so silent we aren’t even aware of them; they become a kind of subconscious framework for our actions. I’d like to examine one particular philosophy which can be seen through a diverse range of human actions: postmodernism.

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  • Quantum Physics and the Abuse of Reason

    (Update: listen to my interview with Oxford professor Dr. Simon Saunders on this subject.)

    Patriotism has been called the “last refuge of a scoundrel,” and for good reason. But over the last few years, I’m afraid that phrase has become outdated. Patriotism is now the second-to-last refuge. Quantum physics has become the last refuge of a scoundrel.

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  • Charlie Hebdo as an Excuse to Take Selfies

    Forgive my bluntness, but I can’t help noticing the odd Western response to the Charlie Hebdo tragedy. It’s so abstract. The rallies, the symbolism, the arm-in-arm marches, the dramatic storyline between freedom of speech (the pen) versus religious fanaticism (the gun).

    Terrorists raid a magazine headquarters and shoot people, and the first response is for millions of people to walk with signs? To flood Twitter with clever hashtags? Public leaders and the media are claiming this is all to “show solidarity.” But to whom is everybody showing their solidarity? To their neighbors who already agree with them and share their same culture? All of this seems like a peculiar way to react to an act of terrorism.

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  • Can You Judge Intelligence Based on Beliefs?

    Here’s an uncomfortable question: can you accurately judge somebody’s intelligence based on their beliefs? The polite answer is “no”, but my own experiences make me think otherwise. Specifically, when people defend plainly inaccurate beliefs, it can reveal a few things: the amount of research they’ve done, their intellectual integrity, and/or their ability to critically think.

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  • Life-Support Television

    Imagine a new drug made for old people. It has few physical effects, but many psychological. It keeps people calm and satiated, and it keeps their mind occupied without requiring physical activity. By sitting someone down and administering the drug, you can easily placate them. This drug already exists; it’s called “television”.

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