Category Archives: Technology and Society

Business, Culinary, Health, Media Criticism, Science And Society, Technology and Society

Good Food Advice

8 Comments

…for the wrong reasons:

Breads made with white flour have not only been stripped of all of their nutrients, but they might even contain remnants of the chemical used in the bleaching process. Our obsession with white foods (sugar, I’m looking at you) is totally odd and unfounded. The natural, unbleached version tastes the same (if not better) and is far more nutritious.

Not really. You should cut out the bread, period.

Why must everything that tastes so good be so bad for us? Our beloved creamy, fulfilling ice cream is extremely high in sugar and fat. And since milk is an animal protein, it’s also high in cholesterol. Sure, you can opt for some yogurt or a vegan dessert, but they’re not the same.

The problem with ice cream is the sugar, not the fat or cholesterol.

There is nothing wrong with ordering a regular cup of coffee (and you can even toss in a little half and half if you need it), but the calories add up very quickly when it comes to those fancy $7 coffee beverages. They taste so good because of all the added sugar and fat. You’ll get an immediate boost from a huge sugar rush, and then you’ll crash hard. Then you need another high-calorie coffee drink to feel better.

Again, it’s the sugar, not the fat or the calories that’s the problem here. Counting calories is junk science.

Bacon, sausage, and even cold cuts: they’re oh-so-yummy, but they’re just awful for your health. They contain high levels of unsaturated fat and sodium.

No, bacon has saturated fat. Which is good. And there is more danger from underconsumption of sodium than over.

A guaranteed way to add inches to your waist is to indulge in fried food. High in calories, fat, saturated fat, and carcinogens (yup, in those beloved french fries), there is nothing good about this. Except for their scrumptious flavor, obviously.

The problem with fried foods is not the fat, saturated fat, or calories (unless you’re frying it in seed oils, in which case the fat is bad because of the omega 6s). The problem with fried foods is carbohydrates in the batter. Deep frying dusted veggies in lard or tallow is fine.

Business, Philosophy, Space, Technology and Society

Jeff Bezos

4 Comments

An interesting space-related profile from Princeton, his alma mater.

I did an interview a few months ago for the upcoming documentary, even though I didn’t really know O’Neill (I met him once). He had a large indirect influence on my life. The last question I was asked was what single word came to mind when I thought about him. My answer: “Hope.”

[Afternoon update]

It’s important to understand that The High Frontier came out in the mid-70s, a time of doom and gloom. Paul Ehrlich and the Club of Rome were always banging on about overpopulation and running out of resources, and instead of global warming, we were supposed to be worried about a return of the glaciers. In addition to O’Neill’s book, Peter Vajk (himself inspired by O’Neill) came out with a book meant to be a palliative, titled Doomsday Has Been Canceled. Anyway, that’s the context in which I said that he brought hope.

Philosophy, Space, Technology and Society

Human Extinction

30 Comments

Would it be a tragedy?

Note that he doesn’t consider the possibility of homes for both humanity and other terrestrial life off planet.

FWIW, if I had to choose between saving a few lives and all of the art in the Louvre, it’s not at all obvious that the lives have higher value. I can certainly imagine some people willing to sacrifice themselves for it, but that issue isn’t in his question.

Business, History, Space, Technology and Society

115 Years Of Powered, Controlled Flight

10 Comments

Fifteen years ago, on the centennial anniversary of the Wright’s first flight, I wrote three separate essays on it. One was at National Review, a second was at Fox News (though I can’t find it; the original blog post can be found here), I think, and a third was at what was then TechCentralStation, but that one seems to have succumbed to link rot. If anyone can find it, I’d appreciate it (I think the title was “Airplane Scientists”).

It’s also the fifteenth anniversary of the first time that SpaceShipOne went supersonic. Burt liked to do things on anniversaries.

[Afternoon update]

John Breen found it.

[Update a while later]

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Satire, Social Commentary, Technology and Society

Titania McGrath

5 Comments

Godfrey Elfwick (who was banned from Twitter) welcomes her back. (I suspect that the same person is behind both satire accounts.)

[Saturday update]

Reflections from Titania xirself:

Indeed, Twitter’s modus operandi appears to involve routinely silencing those who defend social justice and enabling those who spread hate. In my short time on the platform, I have regularly come across hate speech from the sort of unreconstructed bigots who believe that there are only two genders, or that Islam is not a race. It’s got to the point where if someone doesn’t have “anti-fascist” in their bio, it’s safest to assume that they’re a fascist.

The permanent suspension only lasted for a day, but the experience was traumatic and lasting. I now understand how Nelson Mandela felt. If anything, my ordeal was even more damaging. Mandela may have had to endure 27 years of incarceration, but at least his male privilege protected him from ever having to put up with mansplaining, or being subject to wolf-whistling by grubby proles on a building site.

She is a true martyr.

[Bumped]