About Them Crazy Conspiracy Theories

About Them Crazy Conspiracy Theories

Society,

Finally, somebody was able to explain why certain beliefs or theories manage to propagate through society with amazing success. Here’s an excellent short essay called “Crony Beliefs”.

Using a clever analogy that compares beliefs in the brain with employees at a company, the author explains how utter falsehoods are able to infiltrate the collective intellect. The essay goes through several solutions that seem reasonable, explaining why they are not sufficient. But worry not, a solid – although difficult – solution is proposed as well. Read the essay and get ready for the intellectual struggle of elevating our society’s resistance to lies and toxic reasoning.

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Big Data Is People

Big Data Is People!

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This has been a very good read. The subject of Big Data is treated quite exhaustively. What is currently a popular buzz-word is carefully disassembled and explained in proper-sized bits. There is some historical information about the field of statistics in there too, both interesting and, at times, amusing.

Big Data is here to stay, that much is certain. But while the rewards this paradigm can offer are great, we should also be aware of the risks to our privacy and the threat it carries regarding how it can and will affect our society.

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India and Gender Equality

India Makes Efforts towards Gender Equality… Through Censorship

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In India, many families are taking their gender preferences a bit too far. Because of the perceived material benefit of having boys, women tend to terminate girl pregnancies more often. This has resulted in the country having one of the worst gender balances in the world.

Various Indian governments have tried to tackle the problem in different ways. The latest such maneuver is asking Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to censor advertisements for services that determine the sex of unborn children.

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A Yoga Pose

Is Yoga Really an Entry Drug to Buddhism?

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Among the strangest things I’ve read lately is how a group of (Christian) parents prevented yoga exercises from being taught at a Swedish school. Among others, the motivation was that the exercises might tamper with their children’s religious beliefs

Fairness champion Sweden interdicts religious interference in schools. However, yoga is related to Buddhism the same way fasting is related to Christianity. Yoga and fasting are disciplines that test the body and mind. Both practices have been proven time and again to be beneficial. And while fasting requires a careful understanding of one’s biorhythms, yoga is a readily available for improving one’s body, balance, physical and mental discipline.

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The Blue Marble

World Teeters on the Brink Of…

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Welcome to mid-2016. Science and technology have progressed immensely. Are we on the brink of a new golden age, or is it all just clever brain-washing? Are we on the brink of war, or is it just the same old game of measuring who has the bigger gun? Are we going to vote in the next Hitler and give up our privacy, praying for protection from Big Brother? Or are we going to sit down at the same table with our worst enemies and enact sweeping social and political changes?

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The Internet Diagram

The Uncertain Future of the Internet

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As one of the most, if not the most powerful force for change, the Internet’s future is a cause for concern. In the past decade, governments and corporations have increasingly encroached upon our freedom and privacy. These entities will use every possible excuse to rein-in the transformative power of the Internet.

As more people get connected, the Internet is becoming a mirror of our society. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the horrible, we can all find it online. Our society isn’t perfect. Regulatory bodies are using this aspect to motivate various restrictions as being “for our own good”, this being one of the age-old excuses that our masters have used when trying to deprive us of something.

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Switzerland Goes For Social Disaster

Switzerland Invents New Recipe For Social Disaster

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Europe’s allergic reaction to Islam reaches new heights of the absurd. Other than being known as a haven where dubious characters stash their money in secret bank accounts, Switzerland has become increasingly racist and intolerant. In one region, the Swiss are forcing (via fines) Muslim students to shake the hand of their female teachers.

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Polish Magazine Worried About Islamic Rape

Polish Magazine Is Worried About “The Islamic Rape of Europe”

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How did right-wing Polish magazine “The Network” manage to jump onto the international stage last week? By slapping an ominous warning, on top of an image featuring a white woman groped by brown hands. It’s a clever composition, combining the terrifying specter of rape with the prototype of the blonde angel attacked by the dark forces.

The image insidiously connects to the collective consciousness of the European Christianity, to which it gives dire warnings about our “values” being under imminent threat.

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