Carolina Curmudgeon

Carolina Curmudgeon's Substack delves into critical evaluations of politics, education, and societal issues, often through the lens of cognitive biases, empirical evidence, and moral questioning. It features critiques of public figures, analyses of controversial topics, and reflections on personal philosophy and experiences.

Cognitive Biases Educational Methods Political Commentary Social Justice and Activism Media Criticism Moral and Ethical Discussions Personal Reflections Identity and Diversity Issues

The hottest Substack posts of Carolina Curmudgeon

And their main takeaways

L’affaire Dokoupil: Is Ta-Nehisi Coates deeply ignorant, a bigoted antisemite, or both?

59 implied HN points • 12 Oct 24
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Media Race Conflict Public Opinion Identity politics
  1. Ta-Nehisi Coates faced criticism for his views on Israel in a recent book, which some believe are biased and factually incorrect.
  2. Tony Dokoupil, the CBS host who questioned Coates, was admonished by CBS News, sparking a debate about media standards and questioning important figures.
  3. The discussion around Coates' statements raises concerns about the portrayal of Israel, with some arguing that he presents a one-sided narrative that ignores broader context.

ScienceVs: Trans Kids Health Care: Are We Getting It Wrong? (II)

39 implied HN points • 12 Oct 24
🏥 Health Politics Trans rights Medical Ethics Child Health Mental health Public Policy
  1. 1. The podcast only featured experts who support gender-affirming care, not those who might question its effectiveness. This creates a one-sided view of a complicated issue.
  2. 2. The discussion did not challenge any ideas about gender identity or question the idea that being trans is just as normal as being cisgender. This could limit understanding of the topic.
  3. 3. A study noted that using a preferred name can significantly reduce suicidal thoughts in gender dysphoric kids. However, instead of pushing for medical treatments, maybe simple name changes and support could be a better first step.

ScienceVs revisits the issue of gender affirming care for children with gender dysphoria.

19 implied HN points • 08 Oct 24
🏥 Health Politics Gender Dysphoria Medical Ethics Child Health Public Policy
  1. ScienceVs has both criticized and supported gender affirming care for children with gender dysphoria. They seem to have a bias in how they present the evidence surrounding this care.
  2. A recent study found that many teens who initially identified as trans ended up identifying as cis later. This suggests that some may not need medical intervention.
  3. The effects of hormone treatments can lead to serious and permanent health issues. Critics argue that children should not be put on these treatments if there’s a chance they might change their identity later.

Cognitive biases and the framing of the Hamas-on-Israel war

179 implied HN points • 31 Dec 23
  1. Availability bias impacts judgments about the Hamas-on-Israel war by making people focus more on vivid and emotionally impactful images of Palestinian suffering, leading to bias in favor of Hamas.
  2. Cognitive biases like temporal order bias and omission bias influence how people think about causal judgments and blame in relation to the Hamas war on Israel.
  3. Controllability bias plays a role in how people assign blame and responsibility in the Hamas-on-Israel war, often leading to a disproportionate focus on what Israel could do to end the conflict.

Some additional thoughts regarding the Coleman Hughes TED talk brouhaha

59 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
  1. TED considered widening the discussion and adding a debate to Coleman Hughes' talk, sparking debate on fairness.
  2. Criticism was raised on accepting studies without caution, leading to questions on ideological balance.
  3. Debate on color-blind policies highlights different perspectives, emphasizing the importance of ideas over personal opinions.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Does the Leslie et al. (2020) meta-analysis prove that Coleman Hughes was wrong?

59 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
  1. The meta-analysis had significant flaws in its design and conclusions.
  2. Correlation does not mean causation, yet the authors used causal language in interpreting the results.
  3. The meta-analysis did not provide evidence that contradicted Coleman Hughes' claims about color-blindness and intergroup relations.

Gaslighting about Affirmative Action in Universities

19 implied HN points • 27 Dec 23
  1. Race-based affirmative action in college admissions has faced legal challenges and ultimately, utilizing different standards for students of different races in admissions has been deemed illegal.
  2. Many people wrongly believe that affirmative action primarily benefits economically disadvantaged students when in reality, it aims to increase diversity by admitting under-represented groups regardless of socioeconomic background.
  3. Data suggests that affirmative action admits may not perform as well academically as others and can experience negative effects, such as in STEM fields, contradicting the common belief that they are equally qualified and successful.

The kids are revolting

19 implied HN points • 20 Dec 23
  1. Feminist blogger Jill Filipovic supports celebrating young activists who protest for Gaza.
  2. Filipovic argues that the motivations behind the protests are based on compassion and a desire for change.
  3. The author questions the depth of understanding and moral principles of the protesters, suggesting a lack of knowledge and potential antisemitic undertones.

Neil deGrasse Tyson – probably should stay in his lane

19 implied HN points • 23 Nov 23
  1. Neil deGrasse Tyson's latest book discusses topics far from his expertise, leading to shallow ideas.
  2. Tyson displays arrogance by claiming special knowledge about topics like colors and genders.
  3. His views on gender identity and women's sports show a lack of depth and critical analysis.

If Israel deserves to be "decolonized" -- What country is/was Israel a colony of?

19 implied HN points • 21 Nov 23
  1. Israel is not a colony like many other countries, as Jews have lived there for thousands of years and purchased land legally.
  2. The concept of decolonization may be used as a cover for underlying antisemitism towards Israel.
  3. Critics of Israel may try to delegitimize the country by labeling it as a settler/colonial state, despite historical differences in its formation.

Useful Idiots II: The JVP “Not in Our Name” Protest

19 implied HN points • 28 Oct 23
  1. A Jewish Voices for Peace rally protested Israeli military actions in Gaza.
  2. The rally attendees were criticized for thinking the IDF's actions are done in their name.
  3. Some protesters were warned that even their progressive groups may not always support them.

A new theory of gender nonconformity in children

19 implied HN points • 25 Oct 23
  1. Research suggests that children who remember past lives of a different sex are more likely to exhibit gender nonconformity.
  2. The Division of Perceptual Studies at UVA explores empirical evidence for exceptional human experiences and consciousness after physical death.
  3. Children who report memories of past lives might make statements that could indicate previous life recollections.

Reading Wars: How many times does phonics have to win?

2 HN points • 16 Dec 23
  1. The age-old debate between Phonics and Whole Language instruction methods has resurfaced multiple times over the years.
  2. Despite resistance, evidence consistently supports the benefits of explicit instruction in phonics for beginning readers.
  3. Even with the introduction of Balanced Literacy, which downplays phonics, the evidence overwhelmingly favors phonics as the most effective method for teaching young children to read.

Today (Dec. 2, 2023) – RAPE IS RAPE (and rape in war is wrong).

0 implied HN points • 02 Dec 23
  1. Rape is wrong in any context, including war.
  2. Progressives may overlook certain instances of violence, like rapes of Israelis by Hamas, due to their ideologies.
  3. There is a conflict between the rights of females and other progressive priorities.

The morality of the death penalty, and friendly fire killings in the Hamas-on-Israel war -- a Signal Detection Theory analysis

0 implied HN points • 04 Feb 24
  1. Signal Detection Theory explains how people perceive and make judgments based on signal strength, sensitivity, and response bias.
  2. In criminal cases, using Signal Detection Theory can help analyze guilt and innocence judgments, but errors are inevitable due to imperfect human judgment.
  3. Applying Signal Detection Theory to deaths by friendly fire in war demonstrates how critical it is for soldiers to differentiate between enemies and civilians.

Nicholas Kristof has done it again – again.

0 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
  1. Nicholas Kristof is criticized for avoiding difficult moral issues while portraying himself as deeply caring and morally just.
  2. Critics question Kristof's lack of clarity on acceptable civilian casualties in conflicts like the one in Gaza.
  3. Kristof is accused of placing blame on Israel for the conflict with Hamas while downplaying Hamas's role and responsibilities.