Ian’s Picks

by Ian Pollock

* Philosophy Bites interviews Adina Roskies on the relevance (or lack thereof) of certain neuroscience results to free will.

* David MacKay’s fantastic book Sustainable Energy without the Hot Air is a really wonderful starting point for energy policy research; although it is a bit UK-specific, the techniques (he shows his work!) are all nicely adaptable to other countries provided you’re capable of a google search. Even better, for those who are allergic to paying for stuff, there is a free online version.

* Richard Yetter Chappell at Philosophy, et cetera takes on an intuitive objection to Peter Singer’s “drowning child” thought experiment.

* Trends in science fiction’s vision of the future, by Annalee Newitz, complete with interesting speculations on where the trends come from. It appears the future is currently receding from us.

* Optics Picture of the Day is a fantastic site, which not only presents eye candy from the world of optics, but explains it. Do not click if you intend to be productive for the next hour.

* Stephen Novella of NeuroLogica on cognitive decline with aging. Actionable: “risk factors include hypertension, obesity, smoking, a high saturated fat diet, and social isolation. Protective factors include physical activity, staying mentally active and socially engaged, moderate alcohol consumption, and vegetable and fish consumption.”