On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former firefighter and policeman, assassinated the Mayor, George Moscone, and a supervisor, Harvey Milk, of San Francisco. His guilt was not denied. But his lawyer argued that White had a diminished capacity for rational thought, and therefore couldn’t be guilty; he was suffering from deep depression, and incapable of premeditating murder. As a symptom of his wretched mental state, his lawyer pointed out that he was eating mostly sugary foods, including Twinkies (the ‘golden sponge cake with a creamy filling’, according to its maker Hostess Brands).… Read the rest “Do We Have Free Will? Or, The Twinkie Defense Reconsidered”
social justice
A great injustice
On March 19, 2023, the New York Times carried a story that began:
It’s one of the great injustices of this era that countries contributing negligible amounts to global carbon emissions are now feeling the most harrowing impacts of climate change. Pakistan, which makes up less than 1 percent of the world’s carbon footprint, had a third of its territory under water in last year’s floods. Parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are experiencing the worst drought in 70 years of record-keeping, threatening millions with famine, even though the entire continent of Africa contributes less than 4 percen of global carbon emissions.… Read the rest “A great injustice”
Solving Poverty
UPDATED 14.8.26
One solution for poverty is simply to give poor people enough money to meet their basic requirements. Various programs to achieve such a Guaranteed Basic Income (GBI) have been put forward over the years. What they generally have in common is that money flows from richer taxpayers to people living in poverty. What else they share is the concern, by many observers, that they will de-incentivize people to work, and that we can’t afford them.… Read the rest “Solving Poverty”
The Gila River People, Victims of Modernity
The present-day Gila River in the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area in southeast Arizona.
Both nature and nurture affect human obesity. For some people, and for some populations, the genetic tendency to become obese is not fulfilled because of their environment, the circumstances of their lives. But when those circumstances change, the genetic potential may be realised quickly, and lead to the medical issues that follow from obesity. An example that starkly illustrates this comes from the sunbaked desert south of Phoenix, Arizona.… Read the rest “The Gila River People, Victims of Modernity”