Harvard Ass’t Prof of Philosophy James Pryor: How to Write a Philosophy Paper

…pretend that your reader is lazy, stupid, and mean. He’s lazy in that he doesn’t want to figure out what your convoluted sentences are supposed to mean, and he doesn’t want to figure out what your argument is, if it’s not already obvious. He’s stupid, so you have to explain everything you say to him in simple, bite-sized pieces. And he’s mean, so he’s not going to read your paper charitably. (For example, if something you say admits of more than one interpretation, he’s going to assume you meant the less plausible thing.)

Dave’s Quick Search Taskbar Toolbar Deskbar: I can’t use this, since I shun M$ Internet Explorer, but it otherwise sounds very useful.

All N.J. Anthrax Cases Said Linked — ‘Contaminated mail that passed through a regional mail processing plant

in Hamilton Township, near Trenton, appears to be the common thread in

all seven infections in New Jersey, said Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the state’s

epidemiologist.

That finding eases fears that other, unknown sources could have

contributed to the state’s anthrax outbreak. Bresnitz said any mail

contaminated by the anthrax-laden letters had probably been received

and opened, and any other infections caused by that contamination

probably would have surfaced by now.’ NY Times [“FMHreader”, “FMHreader”]

The next three blinks courtesy of Spike Report:

Michael Kinsley: TV News Killing Our Precious Verbs Washington Post

UFOs And The Great Outdoors:

‘Forget bear attacks, avalanches and giant ants. The real danger in trekking around the great outdoors is abduction. That’s right, abduction by aliens is probably the leading cause of outdoors people disappearing from off the face of the planet. But since abducted humans seldom leave a trace, this problem has gone largely unreported.

The fact that this country has been infiltrated by aliens has been well documented by many of the supermarket tabloids. But how can you know if that person next to you in the checkout line is human or an alien? How can you be sure? What about your spouse?

Up until now there’s been no sure way to differentiate a human from an alien cleverly disguised as one, so identifying the aliens (humanoids) among us (July 1995, page 39) has been pretty much a guessing game. So you can imagine our excitement when we received a call about a newly developed and affordable UFO Detector (the older models designed for military use were waaay out of our price range). Would we want to test one? Hey, is our name Popular Mechanics?’

Trouble by the truckload: a threat that has drawn scant attention Why the nation is ill-prepared to deal with a favorite weapon of Islamic terrorists. US News & World Reports

Black Blocs for Dummies: the publisher of the popular and often inane ‘…for dummies’ series of books doesn’t like this tongue-in-cheek anarchist primer.

“Q: Does one have to wear black to be in a black bloc?

No. Black is the color of anarchism, which is why we call it the “black” bloc. Many anarchists take this so far as to wear black, but the wearing of the black during a black bloc has more to do with anonymity than it does with being a fashion statement.”

Chicago cracks down on dangerous dogs… actually, on their owners: ‘Chicago dog owners who allow their pets to run wild will face $300 fines and up to six months in jail, and $10,000 penalties if the dog goes on the attack.

Owners of dogs subsequently declared ”dangerous” will also be required to have their dogs spayed or neutered, have an identifying microchip injected under the animal’s skin and obtain $100,000 in liability insurance within 10 days of the designation.’ Chicago Sun-Times

Phizzheads: send this company front and side views of your face and they’ll make you a fully animatable 3D digitization of your head that can be plugged into the latest 3D games, text messages. etc.

Child’s Play Dept: Etch-a-Sketch Art Gallery and Bible stories rendered with Lego characters

Biology and crime — ‘Numerous studies have shown a link between antisocial, violent crime and low serotonin metabolism in offenders. But researchers have not been able to explain why processing of this essential neurotransmitter was lowered in these individuals. Is it that serotonin?s uptake is inhibited by receptors on neurons, or is the cause found further up the metabolic chain in a possible excess of serotonin?s metabolic precursor, free L-tryptophan?

Enter scientists from the University of Kuopio, Finland….’

Worst of both worlds: “Being born of uncertain gender is the last sexual taboo. But why is the truth about ‘intersex’ so often kept from the patients themselves? … It is not as unusual as you might suppose, and according to some medical experts is becoming more common.” Sunday Times of London

‘The morning my copy of Steven Johnson’s Emergence arrived, I also took delivery of my quarterly copy of Journal of Consciousness Studies with the theme “Emergence” boldly etched on the cover. The latest issue of this new periodical is taking no prisoners in its effort to extend the frontiers of emergence, ranging from the innermost recesses of the human brain to the outer reaches of cosmos. Is consciousness an emergent property? Is mind an emergent property? Is God an emergent property?’ Sunday Times of London books

ACLU Action Alert: Keep Customs Officers Accountable!: ‘Legislation being considered by Congress after the September terrorist attacks continues to revolve around the misguided perception that giving expanded, unchecked authority to those who enforce our laws will necessarily make us safer. A prime example is the new, “Customs Border Security Act” (H.R. 3129), a bill originally meant to deal with U.S. Customs employee wage issues, which now includes provisions that would weaken protections against racial profiling, other illegal searches, and undermine the right to privacy in personal correspondence.’ One click will urge your Congressional delegates to oppose giving Customs officials free reign and opening the door to widespread racial profiling.

AIDS myth fuels S. Africa’s child-rape scourge: ‘South Africa is in shock over a surge in the rape of children and even babies, fuelled by a myth that sex with a virgin will protect a man against AIDS, activists said on Monday.” Reuters

New HIV subtype may be tougher to treat: CDC: ‘US government scientists have identified a new class of HIV that could give rise to infections that are resistant to the drug AZT and potentially thwart the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy in some patients.’ Reuters

Pill ‘may blunt sexual urge’ — ‘Smell is thought to play an important role in sexual attraction

Women taking the contraceptive pill may find themselves less responsive to the very smells which attract them to men, say researchers.

The study, published in the journal Human Reproduction, measured the ability of women to detect distinctive smells such as musk – while taking and not taking the Pill.’ BBC