Free Talk Live

Flaming, trolling, ad hominem, logical fallacies, Godwin violations--it's all the stuff of too many online discussions. In Part 1 of this four-part series, logician and Cornell professor Walker White shows you how to spot the difference between productive and unproductive debates, using the tools of informal logic.

The informal institutions that enforce network security norms between ISPs are more efficient than a formal legal regime. Indeed, because formal and informal enforcement of security norms are substitutes, not complements, the formal legal system's neglect of ISPs is not merely benign but has also helped the Internet to flourish.

The Free Minds Film Festival uses film along with guest lecturers and panels to educate people about the ideas of a free society. These ideas change the world and lead to a freer, more voluntary, and more peaceful society.

Nine graduating staff members at the (public) University of Utah's newspaper are being threatened with not receiving their degrees after a traditional farewell gag ran in the student newspaper. The staff members received an e-mail informing them an administrative hold was being placed on their records. The university's e-mail claimed the editors were in violation of the university's Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities.

A Brazilian student was expelled today from a privately operated university for lewd conduct after a riot resulted from her choice to wear a short dress. The government is pressuring the university for justification. University officials say she's been expelled for her conduct, not her attire, but really, why should a privately-run institution need an excuse to expel any student they chose?

a Christian university based in Rome, Georgia, has mandated all employees sign a newly created “personal lifestyle statement” that, among other demands insists they “reject as acceptable all sexual activity not in agreement with the Bible, including, but not limited to, premarital sex, adultery and homosexuality.” Shorter, a private, coeducational, liberal arts university, has 200 employees, and was founded in 1873. Employees who refuse to sign the lifestyle statement are subject to termination.

At the beginning of this year, the book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua has caused fierce discussion on traditional Chinese education methods. Recently another book “Therefore, Beijing University siblings has brought a so-called wolf dad into the spotlight because he too, adopts extremely strict parenting methods and raises 4 well-behaving kids, 3 of whom get into Beijing University, one of the best universities in China. His parenting motto is “beating every 3 days gets your children into Beijing University”.

A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university after she was told she must undergo a remediation program due to her beliefs on homosexuality and transgendered persons.

Biologists from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have discovered that burning frankincense (resin from the Boswellia plant) activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain that alleviate anxiety and depression, suggesting that an entirely new class of medicinal drugs might be right under our noses.