I keep waiting for this headline to appear. In the ongoing struggle between privacy and convenience, convenience often seems to win without much debate. Marketing and advertising professionals seem to have unlocked the key to getting consumers happily hand over data about themselves: simply offer some rewards. If you let us track all of your… Continue reading NSA Loyalty Rewards Program: $1,000 Tax Rebate
Category: Ethics
How to Protect Your Kids Online – These 5 Easy Ways
I’d like to say up front that this is not a fear-mongering post. The internet and I basically grew up together. I learned a lot about the world and myself through connecting with others, and I taught myself skills that serve me well to this day – like blogging! Viruses and phishing scams were never… Continue reading How to Protect Your Kids Online – These 5 Easy Ways
Ph.Dad Episode 5: Baby Beer
This week we brew an American-style barleywine that will serve two purposes! It will be the celebration beer for after our baby is born; however, we’ll also be wax sealing a few of them to save them so that hopefully they can be eventually be our kid’s first beer! We chose the barleywine style precisely… Continue reading Ph.Dad Episode 5: Baby Beer
Moral Monday: The Wedding of River Song
Merry Moral Monday! Several of us—JustHeath included—here at Philosophy Matters are purveyors of the British science fiction series Doctor Who. In fact, J J Sylvia, the founder of the website, has even written a very good chapter in a centered on the philosophy of the television program. This past Saturday night, I happened to catch… Continue reading Moral Monday: The Wedding of River Song
On memes and Burmese pythons
I spend days doing science and some nights at a wonderful place called the Nature Research Center in Raleigh, North Carolina where they host the Science Café every Thursday night. This Thursday the museum was host to an exceptional speaker and herpetologist, Mike Dorcus. While joining a group of scientists, citizens and excited kids… Continue reading On memes and Burmese pythons
On Eliminating Poverty
Recently, we’ve been discussing Peter Singer’s book. Last time we noted that most people think the U.S. devotes more of its budget to foreign aid than it actually does. And even when you include private giving, the U.S. is still last in giving among developed nations. Today, I want to focus on that idea of… Continue reading On Eliminating Poverty
On Myths of Foreign Aid Spending in the U.S.
I ended my last post with a few questions, one of which included: What percent of the federal budget do you think is spent on foreign aid? As you can see in the graph above, the mean percentage response is 31, while the median is 25. Although the data in the graph above is from… Continue reading On Myths of Foreign Aid Spending in the U.S.
Philosophy Book Club: One World
I recently read Peter Singer’s while working on lesson plans for a Governor’s School course proposal. Although some of the information in here is a bit outdated, the overal premise is still relevant and extremely important to think about as the trend toward globalization continues to increase. The most basic way to state the problem… Continue reading Philosophy Book Club: One World
Rational Thoughts on Gun Control
From an ethical perspective, I think most people – and most ethical theories – would tend to agree that fewer mass shootings and fewer gun murders would be a good thing. The problem, of course, arises when we discuss how to achieve that goal. I’ve written before about how rhetoric-filled memes work against that goal,… Continue reading Rational Thoughts on Gun Control
Moral Monday: The Hellgramite Method
Bonjour, mes amis! Well, it’s been precipitating quite a bit here recently in the Golden Triangle region, so I’ve been catching up on the 1980’s reincarnation of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone (TTZ). Much like Gene Roddenberry’s original Star Trek, TTZ are often a mix of science fiction and morality tales. We emphasize critical thinking… Continue reading Moral Monday: The Hellgramite Method