Bad Philosophy

Stephen, Kevin, Kiki, and new guest Matt Epperson examine whether chaos-inducing “jokers” are a fundamental reason why society works. Science thinks so. Do you?

Continue reading

9-11, AirBnb, Alan Moore, anarchy, autopsies, Bass Pro Shop, Batman, Bernie Madoff, Code for America, collective action, comics, crime, eBay, ethics, financial services, free market, French Revolution, game theory, Getaround, government, ion, iTunes U, Joker, Kevin, Kiki, lighthouses, Lloyd Blankfein, mafia, Matt E, Mitt Romney, Nash Equilibrium, NPR, Planet Money, PRI, Prisoners' Dilemma, publics goods, rational anarchy, social engineering, Stephen, Steven Levitt, superheroes, taxes, Texas Tech University, The Dark Knight, The Killing Joke, The Price is Right, thermodynamics, This American Life, Tragedy of the Commons, Watchmen

Have you ever been sitting in a horror movie and right after that moment when the bad guy leaps out and you spring about four inches off your seat, turned to yourself and gone “Why did I do that? I know this isn’t real.” If so, then you’ve most definitely experienced the Paradox of Fiction. […]

Continue reading

aesthetics, Batman, belief, Blair Witch Project, children, Cloverfield, Colin Radford, comics, Dan Arieli, Dr. Hick, emotion, epistemology, fear, fiction, Gran Torino, Guitar Hero, Harry Potter, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, horror, Jackie Chan, Kevin, make-believe, meta, Michael Myers, movies, paradox of fiction, Plato, Predictably Irrational, rationality, Saturday Night Live, Saw, sharks, Sherlock Holmes, Stephen, Superman, theatre, zombies

We’re back! Pardon the week off. We had to deal with a rather unexpected chainsaw-wielding polar bear invasion, but all is good now… except for Kevin’s leg … Anyway! This week BF took a trip to the movies, grilling Hollywood’s latest Oscar fetish, Slumdog Millionaire with first-time guest Eric Braden. We also delved into the realm of free will vs. determinism, where Eric and I pulled no punches in our quest to disprove the other. Oh, and the audio was FRAKKING AMAZING if I do say so myself. Enjoy, peeps!

Continue reading

24, Adaptation, Al Qeada, Albert Einstein, American Dream, Batman, Beauty and the Beast, Best Picture, Bill Clinton, causation, charity, Charlie Kaufman, Christopher Nolan, Dan Brown, Danny Boyle, destiny, determinism, education, epistemology, Eric Braden, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, ethics, evolutionary psychology, fatalism, fate, Forrest Gump, free will, Frost/Nixon, God, guilt, Harry Potter, Heath Ledger, Hollywood, Jack Nicholson, Joker, Kevin, LEGOs, Leibniz, LOST, love, memes, metaphysics, MIA, Milk, multiple universes, Mumbai, neoconservatives, Nietzsche, Occam's Razor, Oscars, Patrick Swayze, Peter Travers, Pixar, poverty, Pulp Fiction, quantum mechanics, reality, Richard Dawkins, Roadhouse, Robert Wright, Slumdog Millionaire, Star Wars, Stephen, string theory, Ted Stevens, The Big Lebowski, The Coen Brothers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Dark Knight, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Reader, Titanic, Trainspotting, Wall-E, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Wikipedia, Woody Allen

As we enter 2009, the last year of the Noughties, we here at BF decided to do a little retrospective on the previous year, highlighting some things that piqued our interest in 2008. Not only that, we decided to make some outlandish predictions as well. If you’re still hungover from last night’s revelry, we forgive you. If not, join me, Kevin, and Jed for some laid-back BF action. We even created a resolution for once-again-absent Matt Legler, who was stuck in the middle of nowhere unfortunately. Oh, and as a New Year’s bonus, I cooked up a brand new intro. Bon appetit!

Continue reading

2008 election, 2012: The Movie, AIM, alcohol, Andromeda Strain, Apple, AT&T, Austin, Azure, Barack Obama, Batman, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Bill Clinton, black holes, British Parliament, C-SPAN, California, cell phones, CNN, Colorado, computers, Digital TV Transition, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, Dungeons and Dragons, Economic Crisis of 2008, economics, entropy, filibuster, Firefly, Flickr, FOX News, genetic engineering, George Bush, Germany, gold standard, Google, government, Gregorian calendar, Halo, Halo: Landfall, HEB, Hulu, inflation, iPhone 3G, Iraq War, Japan, Jayne hat, Jediah, Joss Whedon, juggling, Jurassic Park, Kevin, Lake Malta, Large Hadron Collider, larping, Leo Laporte, Lubbock, MacRumors, mainstream media, Mayans, Michael Crichton, Microsoft, Nathan Fillion, Neil Patrick Harris, pantheism, Poland, Prey, RadioShack, RaiderVille, reality distortion field, Robert's Rules of Order, Ron Paul, rowing, RSS, SkyNet, Skype, speculative fiction, Sprint, State of Fear, Stephen, Steve Jobs, Terminal Man, Terminator, Texas, Texas Tech University, text messaging, The Dark Knight, the end of the world, The Internet, The Machine Girl, TV, TWiT Live, University of Texas, Verizon, VoIP, Writer's Strike, Yahoo!, Yahoo! Pipes, Yoakum