Understood. But it’s not about instincts. The heading of the piece assumes that certain behaviours/desires are not intrinsic. It then assumes that reaction to affection is. I’m not sure that’s right. Kids may think bugs and broccoli are ‘yucky’. I’m not sure our parental response should necessarily be “your kid’s…

I don’t know about the ‘no tickling rule’. I know that has become a popular view. I don’t know that it is based on robust studies on child psychology, as opposed to politics. I obviously appreciate the message of “your body is your own”. I wouldn’t want to suggest overcoming resistance to strong objections. But I also…

Awesome parenthetical.

Don’t worry, dudes. With those savings, you’ll all be able to help pay down the national debt. An additional 7 trillion in 10 years, that’s about $160k of debt per taxpayer. I’m sure we can agree to all share that evenly, and with tax savings over $1,000/year, it’ll be gone in no time! Like the icecaps. But, you know,…

Dude, these aren’t weirdly-shaped. They’re all symmetrical, in two dimensions. I was hoping for some insight into the cucumber-with-a-tilt, and the age-old question: “if I’m cubing a sphere, do I opt for perfection and chuck tiny outer-wedges? Or do I preserve and use all? Or do I lick those bits and try to stick them…

Rather glossing over fluorine, probably the principal distinction between “natural” and “unnatural” toothpaste. There is a reason why it is added to drinking water and “unnatural” toothpaste. You’re less likely to get cavities (see e.g. the Cochrane reviews footnoted here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridati…

If a reporter’s job is not “learn what powerful people are talking about in secret, and then share it with everybody else,” then I sincerely do not know what the fuck it is

I’m not sure (2) is that easy, either. Capital gains are a feature of most OECD countries. There are a host of reasons for their differential tax treatment: see e.g. from pg 11 here: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/fr/taxation/taxation-of-capital-gains-of-individuals_9789264029507-en;jsessionid=30f2hoq93jeep.x-oecd-live-0…

Also works with underwear!

Sure would be nice if they let you put this in your Nike+ running app, so it would just check GPS and give you audio cues.

A bunch of these aren’t equivalent. The replacement matches the adjective without the amplifier (e.g. creative=innovative, dangerous=perilous, expensive=costly). Some are arguably over-amplified (e.g. excellent>very good), and some are only equivalent in a specific context (very sharp, very special, very thoughtful).

Siri: turning on and off the Philips Hue lights (I’ve given up on specific lights); setting timers; setting reminders w. geofencing, etc. (it’s good); calendar appointments (it sucks at parsing location/invitee/title); Shazam; units of measure conversions; and amusing my wife when I ask it to internet search and it…

Nah. According to Scientific American, which has a plausible explanation, hot water freezes faster than (very) WARM water, but more slowly than cold water. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-it-…

Amused by the trashing of this piece of Canadiana. Then you brought in god’s game of hockey. Them be fighting words. We are going to put a glove on the end of the CanadArm (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadarm), throw it to the ice, and pummel you, Burneko.

Very interesting, as a rule of thumb. But I think probably wrong. I think you need to be matching tie width to 1) collar spread (your knot is going to be a function of both knot size and tie width) and 2) breadth of shirt visible between the lapels. A slender, high-buttoned suit will usually have narrow lapels. But a…

This is extremely culturally-specific. In many cultures, it will have no effect. In some, it may be perceived as a green light (e.g. an "unchaste" woman attending a bar without spouse).

I have to say, I think the reference to "white privilege" that we see so much of nowadays is misconceived . I don't mean that there isn't grossly discrepant and racist treatment. I mean that what is usually described is the white person receiving a right or treatment they deserved and a person of colour receiving…

To be pedantic (or precise), an areligious Golden Rule isn't necessarily empathy. Its closest analogue may be Kant's categorical imperative, which was decidedly non-emotive (generating debate embodied in Hume's thinking).

Some of your other arguments (esp. price) might hold, but I'm not buying the weight one:

Is an "imitate assholes and run away" project really instructive? It strikes me as a little childish.