This essay on the 18th century philosopher David Hume illustrates the difficulty 18th century and later Christians had accepting his combination of atheism and virtue. They considered it an offense and challenge to their beliefs. Here in the US, we’re in the early 21st century and dealing with much the same religious fear and intolerance.
If you’re interested in critical thinking and the remarkable ability of many people to delude themselves and others, it’s worth reading this short reference on crank magnetism, which may remind you of several people you know. We certainly have some people among our relatives and my kids’ friends who are walking demonstrations of crank magnetism.
RationalWiki is a good resource for critical thinking and research on ideas and people you encounter. I’ve found it well written and have not found any obvious false or misleading statements in my occasional visits to the site.
In this Scientific American article, Cherri M. Pancake, current president of the Association for Computing Machinery, discusses the release of a new ACM code of ethics.
I’ve worked in computer science for more than 20 years and seen firsthand that our profession badly needs an up to date and well defined code of ethics. I’m looking forward to seeing what individuals and companies do to adopt and improve this code.
This thoughtful read on a profound philosophical and medical question is worth your time. The setting is a tragedy that began with a routine tonsil removal gone wrong, resulting in severe brain injury or brain death, depending on your definitions.
