Here it is, a rundown of interesting articles I’ve come across recently, to consider for your weekend readings:
A non-Standard model. Most cosmologists say dark matter must exist. So far, it’s nowhere to be found. A widely scorned rival theory explains why. (Aeon)
Zebras, bacteria and asteroids. On what’s real and whether whatever it is can be part of a unified science. A very good summary of some fundamental debates in philosophy of science. (The Philosopher’s Magazine)
Tragedy as self-deception. We do it to ourselves. (IAI News)
The paradox of individualism. Individualism has been blamed for the break up of communities, personal alienation and rampant western consumerism. At the same time, with its focus on liberty and human rights, it is lauded as the crowning glory of western culture. (3 Quarks Daily)
Was Marcus Aurelius a persecutor of Christians? The scholarly take. (Harvard Theological Review)
Philosophy as a Way of Life
Per conversation on Twitter, and my own academic background, agreed on Marcus. Until Decius, there’s simply no evidence of imperially-ordered, targeted persecution of Christians.
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so grateful for these suggestions. loved reading all 5
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It is quite clear to me why the physics community has not embraced MOND yet: It does not present any underlying principle for its arbitrary cut-off small acceleration. For Dark Matter all theories are endowed with underlying principal theoretical structures, usually supersymmetry which is attractive for a bunch of reasons, not only DM. That said, it is fascinating how all the DM and SUSY theories are failing to be productive. We live in interesting times for astronomy and cosmology and I suspect (hope) we’ll witness a paradigmshift around the next bend of the road.
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