Benjamin Keep

Benjamin Keep

Nov
09

The Threads of Bad Science

How do you extract bad science from your head? During one of my previous jobs, I had to pore over
3 min read
Nov
02

Learning is Path Dependent

Prior to the summer of 2022, my son had no interest in rockets. Trains? Yes. Fire trucks? Yes. Planes? Hell
2 min read
Oct
26

When Information Sours Decision-Making

I began playing poker in the early aughts. No-limit-holdem was skyrocketing to popularity, online casinos were offering absurd bonuses to
3 min read
Oct
19

Why Won't Science Tell Me The Answer?

Science is often portrayed as an activity that provides answers. And so it does. To get to the moon, you
1 min read
Oct
12

Lessons from The Mozart Effect

Can listening to Mozart make your kid more intelligent? The Mozart Effect wasn't the original quirky psychology finding.
7 min read
Oct
05

Government by Crisis

In 1038, a young leader from "The Great State of White and High" (AKA Xi Xia) decided to
3 min read
Sep
28

The Best Book No One Has Read

It's bad when academics don't even read your book. Alistair Crombie's magnum opus, "
3 min read
Sep
21

How Science is Undone

Clifford Burdick (1894-1992) spent his life trying to disprove modern evolutionary and geological theory. He was a creationist. And one
4 min read
Sep
14

Intelligence is not a personality trait

Ten years ago, few people thought that Elon Musk was an idiot. Yes, perceptive observers could probably tell that there
2 min read
Sep
07

Church and State Debate

Lots of factors contribute to productive arguments. But they can't happen at all if the arguers don'
4 min read