Category Archives: Pet peeve

Is the overuse of low memory data types to blame for much of tribalism and overall nonsense one encounters online and offline?

Posted on June 12, 2018 by Lascap

The notion of “data types” is probably the most underrated concept outside of computer science that I can think of right now. Briefly, computers use “typed variables” to represent numbers internally. All numbers are internally represented as a collection of … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Philosophy | Leave a comment

#Yannygate highlights the underrated benefits of keeping foxes around

Posted on May 25, 2018 by Lascap

In May 2018, a phenomenon surfaced that lends itself of differential interpretation – some people hear “Laurel” whereas others hear “Yanny” when listening to the same clip. As far as I’m concerned, this is a direct audio analogue of #thedress … Continue reading →

Posted in In eigener Sache, Neuroscience, Pet peeve, Psychology, Science, Social commentary | 1 Comment

What should we call science?

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Lascap

The term for science – scientia (knowledge) is terrible. Science is not knowledge. It is simply not (just) a bunch of facts. The German term “Wissenschaft” is slightly better, as it implies a knowledge creation engine. Something that creates knowledge, … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Science | 1 Comment

Beyond free will

Posted on March 23, 2016 by Lascap

Some say that every time philosophy and neuroscience cross, philosophy wins. The usual reason cited for this? Naive and unsophisticated use of concepts and the language to express them within neuroscience. Prime exhibit is the mereological fallacy – the confusion … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Pet peeve, Philosophy | 1 Comment

Mary revisited: The Brian problem

Posted on November 11, 2015 by Lascap

Generations of philosophers have been fascinated what has been termed the “Mary problem“. In essence, Mary is the worlds foremost expert on color vision and knows everything that there is to know about it. The catch is that she is … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Philosophy | 6 Comments

On the insinuation of bad intentions

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Lascap

Intentions matter. When assessing the merit or moral value of an action, we do not do so solely based on their outcomes, but take intentions into account. For instance, we consider it worse if someone breaks one cup in an attempt to … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Psychology, Social commentary, Technology | 1 Comment

On “Kardashians” in science and the general relationship between achievement and fame

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Lascap

I am not in the habit of commenting on ephemeral events, but this was brought to my attention by interested parties in a decidedly snarky fashion which obliges me to respond. Briefly, Neil Hall introduced the “Kardashian index” to quantify the … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Science, Social commentary | 2 Comments

Ideological opportunity cost (IOC)

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Lascap

Ideology interferes with an unbiased appraisal of reality. This – in itself – would be detrimental enough, but ideology is far more insidious than that. By nature, ideology is designed to be extremely self-serving and inherently creating in- and an out-groups. … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Philosophy, Social commentary | 3 Comments

What should we call simulated data?

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Lascap

Data is not made. Data is born as a result of a measurement process. Taking measurements (in conjunction with a measurement theory) creates data. But then, what should we call – in contrast – the results of simulations, the output of … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Philosophy, Science | 1 Comment

On the importance of consistent mapping

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Lascap

The problem I’m about to write about has been persisting for quite a while and I thought Google would have fixed it by now. Alas, no such luck, thus far. In a nutshell, we have been aware of the extreme … Continue reading →

Posted in Misc, Optimization, Pet peeve | Leave a comment

PSA: Your “sleep monitor” is probably anything but

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Lascap

As the “quantified self” (probably ill-named) movement gains steam, all kinds of apps that purport to measure important physiological parameters that are related to health gain popularity. In principle, this development is to be welcomed, as individual lifestyle and metabolism … Continue reading →

Posted in Data driven lifestyle, Optimization, Pet peeve, Social commentary, Technology | 7 Comments

Charlemagne was a Neuroscientist

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Lascap

The exploits of Charlemagne are fairly well documented and widely known. He was both the King of the Franks and the founding emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (technically, the Carolingian Empire). In this capacity, he is renowned for a wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Neuroscience, Pet peeve, Science, Social commentary | 2 Comments

Eponyms are stifling scientific progress.

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Lascap

An eponym is something that is named after a particular person. I would like to put forward a radical assertion: The habit of naming an idea or principle in honor of its purported discoverer or developer is holding Science back. Therefore, eponyms have … Continue reading →

Posted in Pet peeve, Science | 3 Comments