The B-52's - Deadbeat Club
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| What happened to this Aspen? |
I try to read center-right thinkers, but as you've read, they are often pretty frustrating.
One thing these dudes do (and they're overwhelmingly men) is mock their "liberal" current (or former) colleagues in academia.
A common tactic is to find a study that contradicts "conventional wisdom" and then say this proves the "liberal elite" are just sheeple who care more about doctrine than "truth."
One recent post cited a study that people who consumed alcohol lived longer than those who didn't, but the liberal medical establishment won't promote alcohol. Obviously, I want to believe this (!) but if you correct for other factors (e.g., why the teetotalers don't drink) the effect goes away. 🙁
Another key center-right hobby horse is that no one has the courage to do real research on the differences between sexes and races. I am no blank-slater, and as mentioned in Losing My Religions, there are, on average, some differences between men and women. But as documented in this Equality post, the "research" into differences between groups is generally not done in good faith.
Of course, it isn't just Ayn-Rand-warped white men who are given to the Dunning-Kruger effect and other cognitive distortions.
With all that said, every once in a while, a center-right writer hits on an important point or two, even if buried in "everyone is stupid except me" language. Here are two related examples, one on climate change and the other on radiation risks. (Irrational fear and misunderstanding of "radiation" is causing more climate change.) (More on radiation.)
Two images from that post, the second from Randal Munro of XKCD - you'll need to click for that one to be legible:
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