Monthly Archives: September 2010
Cross-Dressing at Oxford
Oxbridge and in particular its dramatic societies (most notably, Cambridge Footlights) have long been tarnished with accusations of dubious sexual activities. Last night I had my first cross-dressing experience. I had been giving a talk at the retirement celebration for … Continue reading
Filed under General Thoughts
The Cost of Faking It
When Paul Bloom and I gave a presentation at SciFoo this summer, we talked about how essentialism influences the way that we feel about objects. Many of us (but not all I grant you) think that special objects are unique … Continue reading
Filed under Research
Entering the Uncanny Valley
Psychology is often dismissed as a limp science but I was pleasantly surprised by recent work in robotics that was described by my colleague Prof. Shoji Itakura at the BPS Developmental Psychology meeting earlier this week in London. Shoji is … Continue reading
Filed under Research
Immaculately Conceived Ice Cream
I just had to post this item in time for the Pope’s visit to the UK tomorrow. I don’t get so upset by religion as many other atheists do, but then I guess I have always considered it such an … Continue reading
Filed under atheism, In the News
Soul Music
If you have been following this blog then you will know that there are people who will pay good money to have their mortal remains turned into objects to leave behind. Some of these are useful like eco-friendly artificial reefs. Others … Continue reading
Filed under Essentialism, In the News
Religion Explained
If you have ever had any doubts about what religion you should adopt, help is at hand from the Holy Taco site who produce handy flowcharts to help you make up you mind. I got this one from the delightful … Continue reading
Filed under atheism, General Thoughts
