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I May Be Wrong, and That’s OK!

Have you ever felt like scientists were assholes? Or at least super arrogant?  I often hear scientists sound this way. And when I was in academia it seemed they surrounded me. Being an academic seemed synonymous with being so arrogant that you turned people off. I think many of us have experienced this and it does academia and science a disservice. It’s like a medical doctor with no bedside manner. If you can’t communicate with…

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FLASHBACK! KEW Episode 30: Quality

How do we know whether one thing is better than another? This may seem like a benign question, but think about that for a minute. When making decisions about something we need, whether it’s a new car, new shoes, or the food we eat we bring into the decision our opinions, ideas, and biases. Usually, we have a range of ‘quality’ (whatever that is) that we think is appropriate. This is largely driven by budget…

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KEW Episode 30: Quality

I became sort of obsessed with the idea of quality after reading Robert Pirsig’s ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance’. Not that it matters but at one time this was the best selling philosophy book in the world. Which is kind of weird because it’s really just a story about a guy who goes ‘crazy’ trying to define what quality is. I’m not trying to drive myself or anyone else crazy, but I think…

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Preview KEW Episode 30: Quality

Quality is one of those words we think we understand but I’m going to argue that we really don’t. Quality is about the inherent characteristics of an item or idea. But instead of assessing these characteristics we tend to describe quality in terms of how the item makes us feel or whether we like it or not. I argue that our assessment of quality is often nothing more than our opinion. Which is fine, but…

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KEW Preview Episode 23: Who’s Right?

My therapist posed the question to me once, “Would you rather be right, or happy?” and I have thought about it ever since. At the end of the day, I’d rather be happy. Our desire to be right, to win arguments, or impose our beliefs and values on to others is contributing to the ‘us vs. them’ mentality so prevalent in today’s society – especially in the U.S.A. where I live. This week I discuss…

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