The Pragmatic Realism in "Numbers Don't Lie"
Numbers Don't Lie. That's the title of the book I'm reading by Vaclav Smil. Smil is Bill Gates's scientist; "He’s a slayer of bullshit”...
Search
Kenneth Jacobs
- Nov 3, 2020
- 4 min
The Illusion of Inquiry: Google It
The status of truth in America is inextricably linked to our means of inquiry. Most common among those means is "Googling it." As the...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Jun 27, 2020
- 3 min
Democracy in Shared Experience
The current post is a part of the Thematic Quotes section of the Pragmatic Means blog. The purpose of this Thematic Quotes section is to...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Jun 20, 2020
- 3 min
Perception Generates a Common Interest
One of John Dewey's major insights was this: If we cannot perceive one another's actions for what they actually mean, then we cannot get...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Apr 26, 2020
- 4 min
Must We Verify Everything for Anything to be True?
There are countless things we take for granted: Timepieces, location services, and weather forecasts to name a few. They coordinate our...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Apr 21, 2020
- 6 min
Our New Norms Need Meaning
"Wanna Zoom?" "How about FaceTime?" "Skype is outdated, right?" In any case, videoconferencing is the new norm. It is how we maintain...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Mar 24, 2020
- 6 min
By all means: Mitigate COVID-19
As of this writing, COVID-19 has infected all 50 of the United States. Mitigation strategies––as simple as hand-washing and as complex as...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Feb 9, 2020
- 4 min
The Fixation of Belief Today: Googling It, Declaring Fake News, and Going with Your Gut
In his seminal article called The Fixation of Belief, C.S. Peirce (1877) identified four methods of fixing one's own belief: The method...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Jan 20, 2020
- 4 min
The Rules of Reasoning We Follow
Inquiry comes in many forms; not just in science, but in civilian life too. Scientists and civilians observe phenomena, manipulate...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Dec 22, 2019
- 2 min
Facebook: For-Profit Engagement
All engagement is good engagement, for Facebook at least. Engagement is when our attention is seized upon, not by our Facebook "friends"...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Dec 14, 2019
- 4 min
Democracy & Tuition-Free Public College
The purpose of education––its means, its subject-matter, and its ends––depends upon its society. In Democracy and Education, John Dewey...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Nov 30, 2019
- 3 min
Pure Science is the Study of Useless Things
According to Charles Sanders Peirce, science is not defined by knowing or organized knowledge. Instead, science is defined by the actions...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Oct 21, 2019
- 4 min
Evolutionism in Pragmatism: Darwin's Influence on Philosophy
Charles Darwin is best known for his theory of natural selection and its significant influence on the biological sciences. Perhaps lesser...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Oct 19, 2019
- 3 min
When Truth Lags
The truth of a matter lags when we reflect upon events after the fact. For instance, the harmful effects of CFCs were discovered in 1974,...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Oct 14, 2019
- 4 min
Do not Block the Way of Inquiry
The current post is a part of the Thematic Quotes section of the Pragmatic Means blog. The purpose of this Thematic Quotes section is to...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Aug 25, 2019
- 3 min
Peirce on Signs: Why it's not "Just a Matter of Semantics"
If you've ever been told "it's just a matter of semantics," then you know what it is like to be dismissed. The only difference between...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Aug 17, 2019
- 2 min
Pragmatic Means Keep Ends-in-View
The current post is a part of the Thematic Quotes section of the Pragmatic Means blog. The purpose of this Thematic Quotes section is to...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Aug 8, 2019
- 3 min
Pragmatic Truths are Not Personal Truths
Pragmatic truths are beliefs with value––to you and not just me. The belief that "smoking kills" is an example. There is value in the...
Kenneth Jacobs
- Aug 5, 2019
- 1 min
What is Pragmatic Means?
Pragmatic Means is a play on words. When we call someone pragmatic, we have to ask ourselves what pragmatic means? Pragmatic has many...
{"items":["5fee2a218454fe00179d6ed4","5f99a38d768cbf001605730d","5ef6be1186db780017688603","5ee98d58813ba8001786ba35","5ea325211b98f900179e6267","5e9e6bae5027110017897216","5e719c04d1ef7a00178c7d4b","5e3da696650cfc0017875677","5e25ee1284d5fe0018cb9370","5dfef30aee88af0017de9a06","5df2652b24a2610017941422","5de033fae33e3d0017893e3b","5dad22f8c3b459001701417d","5d53977113538c0016bd7b47","5da129fb6f5fbd0017b9cbb3","5d61c2bf31be4a01617a0404","5d5700035339c40016b9c9d8","5d4b7c35352b6d0017b1d84b","5d4770cc0c744700189136f8"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Columns","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fill","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":true,"gallerySize":30,"collageAmount":0,"collageDensity":0,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":false,"imageMargin":32,"galleryMargin":0,"scatter":0,"rotatingScatter":"","chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":true,"isSlider":false,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":false,"fixedColumns":1,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":50,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCropRatios":"","columnWidths":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.7777777777777777,"numberOfImagesPerRow":1,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":true,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":4,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_THE_RIGHT","galleryTextAlign":"center","scrollSnap":false,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"videoPlay":"hover","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","slideAnimation":"SCROLL","scrollDirection":0,"scrollDuration":400,"overlayAnimation":"FADE_IN","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"NEVER_SHOW","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imagePlacementAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxWidthMode":"PERCENT","textBoxHeight":0,"textBoxWidth":200,"textBoxWidthPercent":58,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"ATTACHED_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":1,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":"1","videoLoop":true,"jsonStyleParams":"","gallerySizeType":"px","gallerySizePx":960,"allowTitle":true,"allowContextMenu":true,"textsHorizontalPadding":-30,"itemBorderColor":{"value":"rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.25)"},"showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryLayout":2,"targetItemSize":960,"selectedLayout":"2|bottom|1|fill|true|0|true","layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":2,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0,"externalInfoWidth":0.58},"container":{"width":960,"galleryWidth":992,"galleryHeight":0,"scrollBase":0,"height":null}}