biology | Wright's Writing

Aug 241 min read

The science on low-carb vs. high-carb diets

The subject of this post is pretty far afield from what I usually write about, but the book I just read is so brilliant I had to write a...

Apr 1610 min read

Notes on botany

I've found politics so incredibly bleak lately, and I've been so frustrated by my inability to make any kind of difference...

Jun 1, 202224 min read

Critical thoughts on feminism and social constructionism

On various pages of this website and blog I've criticized some of the dogmas of feminism, for instance the social constructionist dogmas...

Jul 9, 20219 min read

The truth about gender

Some months ago I saw Richard Dawkins recommend on Twitter a new book called The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths about Sex and...

Jun 15, 202111 min read

On humans' language faculty

You may have heard of the “talking gorilla” Koko. I remember as a child reading about this fascinating creature that had been trained to...

May 26, 20216 min read

The miraculous brain

[Old notes.] I’m reading Stanislas Dehaene’s Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts (2014). Good book,...

Sep 6, 202019 min read

Journal-notes on cognitive science

[From 2015.] Reading a bunch of articles on cognitive development. A fascinating field. Interesting: Human infants who receive little...

Sep 1, 20205 min read

Biology and destiny

[Notes from ten years ago.] I’m amazed at the extent of our culture’s cult of secrecy in matters of the body. Even in this age, people...

Jun 28, 20207 min read

Old student notes on random philosophy articles

Sometimes I like to return to philosophy in order to get the sort of intellectual stimulation that reading history doesn't provide. E.g.,...

Jun 6, 202016 min read

Rambling reflections on Camille Paglia

I've been reading Camille Paglia's collection of essays Sex, Art, and American Culture (1992). I disagree with a lot of Paglia's...

Jul 19, 20197 min read

A plea for honesty in discussions of sex and gender

A recent article of mine, called "Political Correctness Is Getting Out of Hand," elicited some angry emails. Not from people who...

Dec 20, 20181 min read

The evolutionary history of life on Earth

I recently read a great book called A New History of Life: The Radical New Discoveries about the History of Life on Earth. Couldn't...

Mar 5, 20181 min read

Notes on cognitive science, and on pragmatism

Sometimes I like to read about contemporary philosophy and science, to escape the dreariness and intellectual semi-sterility of writings...

Jul 20, 20163 min read

Richard Lewontin, Chomsky, and common sense

Richard Lewontin’s article “The Evolution of Cognition: Questions We Will Never Answer” is excellent. It counsels skepticism about...