Hubble telescope has found nearly 100 new planets.… 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Inevitably links go out of date.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.
Guardian List of 101 Women ‘Intellectuals’ 
Jul 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Desperate list includes singers, actors, novelists, fashion designers.… Read the rest
Tony Judt on Edward Said
Jul 2nd, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Frowned on overfamiliarity with “theory” at the expense of close textual reading.… Read the rest
EU Commissioner Nails Vatican ‘Bigotry’
Jul 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Opposition to condoms ‘hurting and bringing into great danger the lives of millions out there.’… Read the rest
Orders to Get Religion Get Blunter Every Day
Jul 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If Kerry’s really secular, he’s abnormal.’… Read the rest
Polio Vaccinations can Resume in Nigeria
Jul 1st, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Confirmation that Kano will start vaccinating again is huge relief to WHO.… Read the rest
Letters to the Guardian on GM Food
Jun 30th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘If scientific evidence cannot be accepted as good grounds for decision-making, what can?’… Read the rest
It Takes a Big Brain to Make a Trickster
Jun 30th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Machiavellian intelligence, complex social skills, large primate brains go together.… Read the rest
Carl Zimmer on Machiavellian Monkeys
Jun 30th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Big brains and theory of mind are useful for lying and manipulating.… Read the rest
More than 4000 Scientists Protest
Jun 29th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Scientists accuse Bush administration of twisting science for its own ideological ends.… Read the rest
Whither the US Public Intellectual?
Jun 29th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Decline, advance? Better, worse? More insular, more public? Yes. Or no.… Read the rest
Dale Peck and Tom Eliot: Cool Pair
Jun 29th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Criticism, gangster rap, extreme makeovers – all part of the entertainment industry.… Read the rest
The Guardian Considers ‘Presentism’
Jun 28th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
How far off the hook should we let morally obtuse people who are long gone?… Read the rest
Problems With the Precautionary Principle
Jun 28th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Our obsession with keeping safe can expose us to new dangers.… Read the rest
Cellphones and Actor-observer Paradox
Jun 28th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Mobiles give delusions of grandeur and a segregating sense of superiority.… Read the rest
WHO: Vaccination to Resume in Nigeria
Jun 27th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Kano state to resume vaccinations after eight month boycott.… Read the rest
West and Central Africa at Risk of Polio
Jun 27th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Officials announced a 22-country synchronized vaccination campaign for autumn.… Read the rest
Astronomer Martin Rees Considers the Future
Jun 27th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Our Final Century says we are on thin ice.… Read the rest
Vetting of Government Scientists on WHO Panels
Jun 27th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
Science is supposed to be an open process, not a government-approved one.… Read the rest
Horrible Prediction
Jun 27th, 2004 |
Filed by Ophelia Benson
‘Ten or fifteen years from now, appeals to religious Americans will be an accepted part of liberal politics.’… Read the rest
