Monthly Archives: August 2016

All the time I hear some public figure saying that if we ban or allow X, then logically we have to ban or allow Y, even though there are obvious practical reasons for X and obvious practical reasons against Y. … Continue reading →

Some economists [like Bryan Caplan] are now arguing that the benefits of college are almost entirely signaling – showing that you can learn and how much crap you can swallow – rather than conferring knowledge that makes you better at … Continue reading →

For many years, The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) has given a test aimed at black students, the National Achievement Scholarship Program, originally called the the National Achievement Scholarship program for Outstanding Negro Students. It was a lower-standard version of … Continue reading →

Important drugs have often originated in some sort of ‘traditional medicine” – witch doctors and such. Even Western medicine, the most baroque and useless of ‘traditional medicines”, has occasionally yielded a useful therapies. But maybe we should look at traditional … Continue reading →

That time again: time to contribute. You can send funds via Paypal, by check (to me or to West Hunter Incorporated if you’re after deductibility). You can also send bitcoins, to 1Jv4cu1wETM5Xs9unjKbDbCrRF2mrjWXr5. Many people enjoyed my podcast interview with James … Continue reading →

Parabiosis: the idea is connecting the circulatory systems of two animals: mostly this has been done in mice. Interestingly, if you connect an old mouse to a young mouse, the young blood seems to rejuvenate the old mouse, improving its … Continue reading →

We have a problem.

Thinking of disturbing some shut-ins. Canonical example: Ghost Riders of the Sky Suggestions?

You can think of a political ideology as a set of preferences – ” I Like Candy!” – plus a theory of how things work – “lower marginal tax rates will increase economic growth and technological progress”. Generally, the self-destructiveness … Continue reading →

Vioxx was a big story, underappreciated in my view. Vioxx (rofecoxib) was a new NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) developed by Merck and approved by the FDA in 1999. Aspirin interferes with two forms of cyclooygenase, Cox-1 (involved with protecting the … Continue reading →