Author: Mr. Lakhaney

TOK Teacher

Maligned Study on Gay Unions Is Shaking Trust

May 26, 2015

How do we create knowledge in the social sciences? What constitutes proof? What methods do social scientists undertake?

When we hear conclusions and findings of studies we often don’t question or think about how those conclusions were arrived at. This article about a particular study highlights some of the challenges and limitations of producing knowledge in the human sciences.

What methods are appropriate? How reproduceable are findings in the human sciences? What are the ethical limits of experimentation? How do the structures of our institutions (universities, scientific journals) promote or inhibit the production of knowledge?

“The scientific community’s system for vetting new findings, built on trust, is poorly equipped to detect deliberate misrepresentations. Faculty advisers monitor students’ work, but there are no standard guidelines governing the working relationship between senior and junior co-authors.

“The reviewers at journals may raise questions about a study’s methodology or data analysis, but rarely have access to the raw data itself, experts said. They do not have time; they are juggling the demands of their own work, and reviewing is typically unpaid.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/science/maligned-study-on-gay-marriage-is-shaking-trust.html?_r=0

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/28/upshot/pollings-secrecy-problem.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=mini-moth&region=top-stories-below&WT.nav=top-stories-below&abt=0002&abg=1

Deepak Chopra blasts scientist who criticized his view of evolution. The scientist fires back.

May 21, 2015

“Scientists disagree vigorously with one another as they attempt to build the case for new advancements; this peer review is the heart of the scientific process, one of the tools and techniques scientists have developed to encourage the flow of good ideas and sift out bad one. Unfortunately, Dr. Chopra chooses to circumvent that path, publishing his claims as self-help books rather than subjecting them to the rigors of scientific review.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/20/deepak-chopra-blasts-scientist-who-criticized-his-view-of-evolution-the-scientist-fires-back/?tid=pm_local_pop_b

And a second related article

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/15/scientist-why-deepak-chopra-is-driving-me-crazy/

Texas hunter shoots endangered Namibian rhino for $350,000

May 21, 2015

“A US hunter who paid $350,000 to kill a black rhinoceros in Namibia successfully shot the animal on Monday, saying that his actions would help protect the critically-endangered species.”

http://news.yahoo.com/texas-hunter-shoots-endangered-namibian-rhino-350-000-000807061.html

Here is an article arguing in favor of that policy.

http://www.ozy.com/immodest-proposal/save-the-animals-by-hunting-them/39349?utm_source=dd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=05202015

The fascinating cultural reason why Westerners and East Asians have polar opposite understandings of truth

May 21, 2015

“The geography shaped the way people interacted with one another. In ancient Greece, one could decide to move his goat heard with little consideration of what other people thought — unless his livestock invaded somebody else’s property. But, if in ancient China, one were to make the most of his rice harvest, he’d need cooperation from neighbors.”

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/fascinating-cultural-reason-why-westerners-162722303.html

Witness Accounts in Midtown Hammer Attack Show the Power of False Memory

May 18, 2015

“The real world of our memory is made of bits of true facts, surrounded by holes that we Spackle over with guesses and beliefs and crowd-sourced rumors. On the dot of 10 on Wednesday morning, Anthony O’Grady, 26, stood in front of a Dunkin’ Donuts on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan. He heard a ruckus, some shouts, then saw a police officer chase a man into the street and shoot him down in the middle of the avenue.

“There is no evidence that the mistaken accounts of either person were malicious or intentionally false. Studies of memories of traumatic events consistently show how common it is for errors to creep into confidently recalled accounts, according to cognitive psychologists.”

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/nyregion/witness-accounts-in-midtown-hammer-attack-show-the-power-of-false-memory.html?_r=0

Movie Review: ‘Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop’ on HBO

May 13, 2015

“Dubbed ‘The Cannibal Cop,’ Gilberto Valle was convicted in March 2013 of conspiring to kidnap and eat young women. Valle argued it was all a fantasy; the prosecution’s narrative convinced jurors otherwise. Valle was facing a possible life sentence when filmmaker Erin Lee Carr began visiting him in prison. After 22 months behind bars, his conviction was overturned in a stunning reversal. Carr was there for his release and subsequent house arrest to examine a life arrested. But the question remains: given the chance, would he, could he, have done it? ‘Thought Crimes’ unravels the conflicting stories of a potentially dangerous young man and the unexpected consequences of our online activity.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/arts/television/review-thought-crimes-the-case-of-the-cannibal-cop-on-hbo.html?referrer=&_r=0

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4503900/

Lotteries: America’s $70 Billion Shame

May 13, 2015

“People spent more money playing the lottery last year than on books, video games, and tickets for movies and sporting events combined.

“In an age of rising income inequality, it’s pernicious that states rely on monetizing the desperate hope of its poorest residents. State lotteries take from the poor to spare the rich, all while marching under the banner of voluntary entertainment. Banning lotto games will not make our poorest communities suddenly rich. But these neighborhoods have lost enough lotteries in life even before they touch a penny to the scratch-off ticket.”

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/lotteries-americas-70-billion-shame/392870/?utm_source=SFTwitter

The Cost of Turkey’s Genocide Denial

April 24, 2015

“Such obstinate refusal to come to terms with history’s darker chapters is not unique to Turkey. Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has refused to acknowledge and apologize for what Imperial Japan did during its colonial annexation of Korea or in China in the 1930s and during World War II. Russians agonize over but repeatedly temper their assessments of Stalin’s crimes; Poles and Ukrainians turn away from the brutalities of the anti-Semitic pogroms before and during World War II.

“Americans, Australians and Israelis shy away from confronting the foundational crimes that were committed against those living on the territory that they coveted but which they wanted emptied of indigenous people. It is often forgotten that former victims can easily become perpetrators in their drive to make a nation.”

“Turkey has lost the battle with truth over its refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide, a Turkish academic who helped break a long-standing taboo on the issue said.”

http://news.yahoo.com/turkey-lost-battle-truth-over-armenia-genocide-academic-182428141.html

Another article.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36433114?mc_cid=1e136768f2&mc_eid=34e2887073