Other Writing

The New York Times

“What is economics good for?”
Recent debates over who is most qualified to serve as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve have focused on more than just the candidates’ theory-driven economic expertise.
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“Can moral disputes be resolved?”
Moral disputes seem intractable—more intractable than other disputes. Take an example of a moral position that most of us would consider obvious: Honor killing is wrong.
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“Why I am a naturalist”
Naturalism is the philosophical theory that treats science as our most reliable source of knowledge and scientific method as the most effective route to knowledge.
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“Why you don’t know your own mind”
It is often said that we can never truly know the minds of others, because we can’t “get inside their heads.” Our ability to know our own minds, though, is rarely called into question.
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“What kind of a problem is climate change?”
If the summer heat, followed by Hurricane Dorian, hasn’t convinced you that climate change is real, probably nothing will. Those of us convinced will want to mitigate it if we can.
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“The making of a non-patriot”
Best to start with a small boy, preferably an immigrant, a stateless refugee from a war-torn continent. Place the child in an environment that makes it obvious he owes his family’s prosperity, freedom and even its survival to the generosity of the American nation.
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London Telegraph

“The lessons history can teach us about the pandemic”
It is hard to know just how much damage this coronavirus is going to cause when it’s all said and done. And that’s the most disruptive thing about it: the uncertainty.
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Time Magazine

“Humans are hardwired to tell history in stories. Neuroscience tells us why we get them wrong.”
We love stories. We’d like to have all our knowledge packaged in stories — narratives with plots that involve people (and animals) with reasons and motives, carrying out their aims and designs, in cooperation or conflict, succeeding or being thwarted.
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The Slate

“Why most narrative history is wrong”
It’s almost universally accepted that learning the history of something — the true story of how it came about — is one way to understand it. It’s almost as widely accepted that learning its history is sometimes the best way to understand something.
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