Falsehoods II
Category archives for Falsehoods II
Ethanol Falsehood Examined
Posted by Greg Laden on September 11, 2013 
Learning is easy. Getting it right is harder. Expunging falsehoods is hardest, but most rewarding. There is a “meme” (using the definition of a meme as something most people in a certain community think whether it is true or not) that to produce one gallon of Ethanol for fuel you have to use some larger…
Why Do Men Hunt and Women Shop?
Posted by Greg Laden on November 27, 2012 The title of this post is, of course, a parody of the sociobiological, or in modern parlance, the “evolutionary psychology” argument linking behaviors that evolved in our species during the long slog known as The Pleistocene with today’s behavior in the modern predator-free food-rich world. And, it is a very sound argument. If, by “sound”…
That Columbus Day is Evil: A truth and a falsehood
Posted by Greg Laden on October 8, 2012 Columbus Day has become a holiday of disdain, and there are many people who feel it should be taken off the books. It is a little like the Martin Luther King Jr. day maneno in reverse. If you were a progressive thoughtful American you’d have supported having a state-wide Martin Luther King Jr. day, and…
Mythbusters on Head-on Collisions
Posted by Greg Laden on October 1, 2012 I’m sure you all have cable and/or satellite setups and thus see the Mythbusters, which is clearly one of the best things on TV, as they produce them. But I am always a couple of years behind because I watch them on Netflix. Two more seasons were released on Netflix very recently, so I’ve been…
There is no fruit in a BLT
Posted by Greg Laden on May 28, 2012 
First, I want to say that tomatoes are a fruit. Here is a scientific definition of fruit: Fruit noun, plural: fruits (1) (botany) The seed-bearing structure in angiosperms formed from the ovary after flowering. source See? Tomato is a fruit. Having said that, in common English parlance we do not call a tomato a fruit.…
A Proxy Indicator is Not What You Think It Is
Posted by Greg Laden on September 19, 2011 I want to say a word about what a proxyindicator is. And isn’t.
“We can know nothing about the origin of life”
Posted by Greg Laden on July 30, 2011 Falsehood!!! Sometimes people say that because it seems reasonable to them … what, with life originating so long ago and so much geological mushing-around happening since then. But sometimes people say that, and sound quite innocent in saying it, because they want to throw the average person off track and make them think that Evolutionary…
Today’s falsehood: Correlation Implies/Does Not Imply Causality
Posted by Greg Laden on June 20, 2011 We will get to Correlation and Causality in a moment, but a lot of people come to this post seeking ideas about the genetic basis of intllignce or other features thought by some to be inherited. So, first, a couple of links about that then Imma let you get back to today’s falsehood. First, you…
Falsehood: “If this was the Stone Age, I’d be dead by now”
Posted by Greg Laden on May 1, 2011 It is generally thought that life expectancy in the past was less that it is today for our species as a whole and in the case of industrialized countries in particular. However, this belief counts as a falsehood not because it is untrue (it is, in fact, true) but because many people get this idea…
Falsehoods: Human Universals
Posted by Greg Laden on January 26, 2011 There are human universals. There, I said it. Now give me about a half hour to explain why this is both correct and a Falsehood. But first, some background and definition.