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February 2022

February 28, 2022

So Long, Pax Americana

War has returned to Europe after a long, dreamy sabbatical. Russia’s troops and tanks are...

December 2021

December 30, 2021

More Signal, Less Noise

A while back, I left formal academia. In the post where I announced that decision,...

October 2021

October 15, 2021

Geophysicist Dorian Abbot Loses MIT Lecture Thanks to Twitter Mob

University of Chicago geophysicist Dorian Abbot was disinvited from giving a lecture on exoplanets at...

August 2021

August 31, 2021

Faith and the Evolutionary Predicament

The "scientific image" of humans offered by evolutionary biology is cold, impersonal, alienating…and objective. But...

April 2021

April 30, 2021

The Joys and Challenges of Interdisciplinary Research

Academia can be a fiercely jealous environment — jealous, that is, of the boundaries between...

March 2021

March 31, 2021

The End of the Conflict Between Religion and Science

Religion and science used to be at each other's throats, especially in the heady days...

February 2021

February 10, 2021

Is Academia a Failed Initiation Rite?

Now that I’m (mostly) outside the world of American higher education, I’ve been looking in...

January 2021

January 12, 2021

The Symbolism of Old Gods and the U.S. Capitol Assault

On January 6th, 2021, a herd of conspiracy maniacs stormed the United States Capitol. A...

December 2020

December 31, 2020

Academia and I Have Decided to Leave Each Other

Even stronger than the feeling of regret is the giddy anticipation of what comes next,...

November 2020

November 09, 2020

The Voice of Scientific Authority Is Aghast…and Clueless

It took four days after the 2020 U.S. presidential election for the country to identify...

August 2020

August 27, 2020

The Human Need for Culture

Some interesting battle lines have formed in the past few months.* We Americans had gotten...

June 2020

June 20, 2020

Racism and the Professional Class

I’ve been hesitant to say anything about the recent protests and nationwide conversation about American...

May 2020

May 30, 2020

When the Social Order Has Legitimacy – Or Not

It might not seem like it at this exact moment, but despite the coronavirus lockdowns...

April 2020

April 27, 2020

Liberal Democracy, Science, and the End of the End of History

Are we living through the end of the end of history – that is, the...

March 2020

March 21, 2020

Scientific Conflict About the Coronavirus Lockdown

As the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the world, shutting down entire countries and threatening the worst...

March 06, 2020

The Coronavirus Outbreak Shows the Dangers of Social Hypercoherence

Globalization: it may be a 2000s buzzword, but it’s brought the world many benefits. Our...

July 2019

July 03, 2019

First Came the Temple – Then the City?

Looking at the world's towns and cities from above, a fascinating pattern appears: we build...

June 2019

June 13, 2019

Tradition and Innovation as Worldviews: Is Research into Religion a Fool’s Errand?

Tradition and religion are a poor fit in the innovation-driven economy that professionals inhabit. Is...

May 2019

May 10, 2019

Is Ritual a Tool for Resilience?

In complex systems, too much efficiency can lead to a loss of resilience. Ritual and...

February 2019

February 22, 2019

Religion, Postmodernism, and Science™: Frenemies

Religion, science, and postmodernism are usually seen as enemies. But each of these ideologies holds...

January 2019

January 23, 2019

What Is Postmodernism? And Why Does It Matter for Science?

We're living in a post-truth era. Is postmodernism to blame, as famous philosopher Daniel Dennett...

December 2018

December 11, 2018

Measuring the Evolution Gap between the Humanities and the Sciences

According to a recent research report, scholars in the humanities and the hard social sciences...

November 2018

November 29, 2018

Why Postmodernism and Science Can’t Stand Each Other

I’m freshly back from Denver, where the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion...

October 2018

October 26, 2018

What Is Religious Studies? Or: No, Grandma, I Am Not Going to Be a Pastor

By trying to rid themselves of theology, religious studies scholars have paradoxically also banished science...

July 2018

July 31, 2018

A Theory of Why Academics and Educated People Are (Getting More and More) Liberal

A curious thing has happened over the past few decades in American higher education. The...

June 2018

June 12, 2018

Suicide, Modern Life, and Being In Control

I want to talk about suicide. It’s topical. In the past week and a half,...

March 2018

March 15, 2018

How Religion and Science Are Like Different Cultures

I have a new article up at Orbiter Magazine about the relationship between religion and...

February 2018

February 28, 2018

Why I Left the Humanities for the Sciences

I didn’t start out as a scientist. As an undergraduate, I majored in English,...

January 2018

January 25, 2018

Can secular societies sustain themselves?

Is religion headed for extinction? If we look at the rare conditions that sustain the...

January 11, 2018

Why meaning is more important for humans than comfort

Religion does many things. It can form bonds between people, foment conflicts, and inspire people...