It's tempting to think of lies as aiming to deceive, so that an unconvincing lie is an unsuccessful lie, and an obvious lie is an incompetent one. This piece, co-authored with Jennifer Saul, gives a primer on the usefulness of obvious lies for authoritarian politics.

Game after game the ice at the #WorldJuniors #wjc just seems consistently terrible - wet, rutted and sticky. How do you manage to get bad ice in Minnesota in January? Can’t they just crack a window open and let it freeze?

New paper on norms of #testimony, #argumentation and debunking.

New paper on norms of #testimony, #argumentation and debunking.

Water and limestone, Niagara.

Even in late November all it takes is a sunbeam.

Even the dragonflies are turning red in October. Caught this lovely Autumn Meadowhawk taking a short break from hoovering up sluggish fall insects.

Late October and this hibiscus refuses to give up.

Five spectacular blue jays at the feeder this morning when I opened the blinds. Too unsubtle to be a real message from the universe. (Two jays moved before I could grab the phone, but a lovely red-bellied woodpecker and I think a pine siskin jumped in.)

The Minus Touch works its magic.

How odd that they would collectively land on this naïve metaphysics without some underlying principle or endpoint guiding them! Ah, well. It is something for their extremely progressive peers to contemplate as they go on collaborating with and glorifying these signatories in every way possible.

Philosopher Talia Bettcher is starting a new series, responding to misconceptions about trans people. Here's her first, Part 1 of "Are Trans People Delusional?" She's so incredibly clear and careful-- I hope this reaches people. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyXj...

I realised yesterday that, if I want an accurate picture of how bad Man Utd currently are, I can track 27 live match stats on the BBC. People CAN in fact comprehend complex numerical information - it takes real effort to create and maintain economic ignorance at the level our media does.

A thread of all the elected Democrats who've put out statements of support for trans people this week as Republicans manufacture a genocide: 🧵

The fact that right-wingers commit the vast bulk of domestic terrorism in the US is well-established by numerous expert investigations & reports. But the right *accuses* the left more often, makes more *noise* about it, so they've bullied reporters into framing this as a "both sides" problem.

An accurate and reasonable point. This is is a perfect moment to present the world with his actual views, not to conceal them because they might make him look bad.

Fanone gets it: Opposition to political assassinations includes people whose views have no redeeming qualities, like Charlie Kirk. Sugarcoating his views not only is dishonest in itself, it conveys that maybe you wouldn't oppose assassination of people whose views you don't sugarcoat.

i think anyone saying he practiced politics the right way or that we should continue his work should first have to read out loud his last days worth of posts to someone they love who doesnt know who he is

Trump’s bullshitting never harmed his standing with his base. His supporters know he’s a bullshitter, but recognize he isn’t bullshitting them. They are in on the joke. Some perceive that they are now targets of his weaponized bullshit rather than amused witnesses to it. And they don’t like it.

Of the many explanations for why Trump’s base remain discontented with him over Epstein, there is this: He bullshitted them about it, in exactly the way they’ve laughed at when he bullshitted everyone else. And they don’t like being on the receiving end. theconversation.com/donald-trump...

Monarchs along the path this afternoon.

It is astonishing how much a hummingbird clearwing moth looks like a tiny hummingbird wearing costume antlers.

Mouth very full

Hibiscus kind of day in the garden.

Breathe deep, and focus on the part of the referee’s report that’s a fair cop.

Garden time

You know, over the years Caligula has taken a lot of flak for proposing to make his horse a Consul. And while history doesn’t record the horse’s side of the story, plausibly that horse was a lot smarter than the alpha male hooters guy that Trump just made an ambassador. Giving this one to Caligula.

Excellent paper by an excellent philosopher. #DeclaringAConflict

Our front pollinator garden just got a little shoutout from the town. Great timing as today we replaced the back lawn with pollinator-friendly plants too. Here’s some flowers and critters from the front.

I was nearly back to my car when suddenly I saw it. I forced myself not to look around, keeping an outward calm. But my thoughts whirled. Which of my enemies had set such a fiendish trap? Were they watching right now? What was their backup plan, if the banana peel somehow failed?

Cool, a 25% hike to an already overpriced subscription from Sportsnet+. The app has mostly just told me that the eight-hour drive to my favourite team’s arena means I’m in the streaming blackout zone, so honestly i appreciate the reminder to unsubscribe. @sportsnetpr.bsky.social

Melissa Hortman's #philosophy degree was from #BostonUniversity, which is also my alma mater. An exemplary life of applied philosophical principles cut short. #philsky #womeninphilosophy

This looks like the most unsurprising chart I've ever seen, but if you only read British media you'd lose your mind learning that this is the reality of it

When the Cass Review came out last year, the NYT rushed to cover it complete with post notifications. After reviews in Germany and Utah came out supporting gender affirming care for trans youth, dead silence. You can be just as biased in what you don't cover as what you do.

A quarter century later, evidence is mounting that I will not again be coaching hockey in Aberdeen, so it might be time to let the jacket go.

I was glad to have known and been colleagues with the brilliant, kind, funny and talented philosopher Rolf George. erbgood.com/tribute/deta...

I was glad to have known and been colleagues with the brilliant, kind, funny and talented philosopher Rolf George. erbgood.com/tribute/deta...

Viva o 25 de Abril! Aos meus amigos portugueses. Today I see a healthier democracy in Portugal than in many nations, due in part to the living memory of the Carnation Revolution, and the knowledge that democracy does not happen automatically.

The birds! Fittingly for Easter, the cardinals are lively this morning. Merlin reports chipping sparrows, blue jays, song sparrows, American robins, common grackles, brown-headed cowbirds, Carolina wrens, house sparrows, chickadees, and dark-eyed juncos. Seeing all but the cowbird. Lovely.

Thirty-eight of 43 experts cut last month from the boards that review the science and research that happens in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health are female, Black or Hispanic, according to an analysis by the chairs of a dozen of the boards.

Note to fellow journos: If only one "economist" agrees w Trump tariffs—as evidenced by fact that this particular "economist" is now being interviewed and cited everywhere as only "expert" willing to publicly defend them—consider confirming that he's actually an "economist." Check CVs, for example.

Proposing that we just assume that every talk is a work in progress, and reserve the opening caveats for when researchers wish to confess that they are presenting stagnant congealed ideas that they plan never to revise.

Alex Ovechkin’s stunning new record for most NHL goals scored comes shortly after a much less celebrated milestone: Sidney Crosby’s new record for most consecutive point-per-game seasons (20). A remarkable layer on Ovie’s achievement is that he has arguably never spent a season as the best player.

Source of my recurring springtime feud with rabbits: I love to see crocuses and they love to eat them. (Their end of the feud is eating the crocuses; mine is occasionally looking out the window with narrowed eyes and slightly furrowed brow.)

Need to hack my garmin watch so when I wake up with a training readiness score of 1, it plays the #Gauntlet phrase, “Elf is about to die."

Everyone wants there to be a grand scheme behind all of this but the terrible truth is that extremely stupid people are in charge and they have a fanatical devotion to wrong, childlike concepts of society and economics cooked up by right wing radio hosts in order to sell tainted dietary supplements

just gonna say that this would be a dodgy thing for anyone to say but specifically from a South African this is less "dog whistle" territory and more "clean boosted and run through a 100W tube amplifier" territory

I just want to personally thank Pete Hegseth for proving my theory that when your entire personality is “minorities are incompetent,” it’s usually because you’re more incompetent than anyone could have imagined.

Nothing will kill more children than the ongoing decimation of CDC, NIH, and USAID work to lift vaccine uptake in the US and world. Child survival rose 75% in the last 50 years. Vaccines account for 40% of that. Measles vax alone was 60% of the benefit. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...