Erin O’Connor on Helena Echlin’s dysphoria as a graduate student at Yale.… Read the rest
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
Neil Postman Obituary 
Oct 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
NYU media critic, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death and other influential books.… Read the rest
A Carla Sandwich and Disgrace
Oct 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
John Sutherland recommends Coetzee, Roth and Prose novels for understanding of sexual harrassment.… Read the rest
The Public Library of Science
Oct 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scientific reasearch should be freely available.… Read the rest
Market-Worship is Ideology Too
Oct 8th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Ignoring the differences between government and business is ideology.… Read the rest
Toxins in Organic Maize
Oct 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
No agriculture is ‘natural’ but without it we’ll all starve to death, remember?… Read the rest
How to Evaluate Evidence
Oct 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Crooked Timber discusses evidence for and against global warming, and how hard it is to know the difference.… Read the rest
Critical Realism Replacing Postmodernism?
Oct 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If postmodernism is indeed dead…Sokal and Bricmont have surely been instrumental in hastening the death-throes.’… Read the rest
Eagleton and Kermode
Oct 7th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘While Eagleton has always shouted his heresies, Frank Kermode has whispered his doubts.’… Read the rest
Fundamentalism in Pakistan
Oct 6th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Creeping Talibanization apparent even in the universities.… Read the rest
Femininity, Phooey
Oct 6th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Oh no, it’s gone! Well what a relief.… Read the rest
You Mean Knowledge Can Be Useful?
Oct 6th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Clever old Congress, firing those pesky scientists. Err – ooops.… Read the rest
Rorty on Davidson
Oct 5th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Retail skepticism makes sense but wholesale does not.… Read the rest
It’s All So Much Funnier Now
Oct 5th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Criticism has gone bonkers in the forty years between ‘The Pooh Perplex’ and ‘Postmodern Pooh.’… Read the rest
Royal Society Rebukes Guardian
Oct 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
For publishing a speculative article about the contents of scientific papers before publication.… Read the rest
Philip Stott Tears a Strip Off Guardian
Oct 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘It is precisely such spin and partial reporting that is undermining the role of science in society.’… Read the rest
More Philip Stott
Oct 4th, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Newspapers are supposed to report, not speculate.… Read the rest
What’s Going On In There?
Oct 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
What happens to the brain and to consciousness after trauma?… Read the rest
Environmental Propaganda Wars
Oct 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Entrenched positions prevent both sides from evaluating arguments on the merits.… Read the rest
More on Academic Conformity
Oct 3rd, 2003 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Critical Mass is hearing from people.… Read the rest
