Last Word on Nothing
lastwordonnothing.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2011
Group science-writing blog where several journalists write about odd corners of science, writing, and culture.
What HN saysHN links it for Jonah Lehrer's piece on the decline effect and electrical brain stimulation; one commenter notes Lehrer was later discredited for plagiarism and inaccuracy.
46HN people shared it
6linked it in comments
41stories submitted
648story points
3 months agolast shared
2011people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1Better Learning Through Electrochemistry4 people · 7 points · first shared 2012 · discussion on HN
- 2Pro Tip: Don’t Fall in the Thames2 people · 7 points · first shared 2011 · discussion on HN
- 3The Pocket Guide to Bullshit Prevention (2014)2 people · 3 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 4Jonah lehrer nature of truth2 people · first shared 2013
- 5Dumped by Google1 people · 271 points · first shared 2013 · 193 comments on HN
- 6Dignity1 people · 174 points · first shared 2019 · 38 comments on HN
- 7The Finkbeiner Test: A Tool for Writing About Women in their Professions1 people · 45 points · first shared 2018 · 60 comments on HN
- 8The Internet Is a Series of Lead Tubes1 people · 38 points · first shared 2015 · 22 comments on HN
- 9A Post About Porcupines1 people · 24 points · first shared 2019 · discussion on HN
- 10AI Is a Terrifying Purveyor of Bullshit. Next Up: Fake Science1 people · 13 points · first shared 2023 · 5 comments on HN
- 11Seeing Mammoths1 people · 9 points · first shared 2014 · discussion on HN
- 12Oh. I Thought You Were a Guy.1 people · 9 points · first shared 2013 · discussion on HN
- 13Loose Ends (2018)1 people · 8 points · first shared 2024 · 3 comments on HN
- 14A Bitcoin Dummy Has Questions1 people · 3 points · first shared 2018 · discussion on HN
- 15Galápagos Monday: When Conservation Means Killing1 people · 3 points · first shared 2015 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
peterwwillis · 2018-05-07
Unrelated: Openbenches, you don't have a single picture of the greatest benches in America? http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/IMG_0841.j…
thaumaturgy · 2014-09-09
> If there's a serious story somewhere about results not getting replicated when they should in many fields of science, I'd like to hear about it.
Actually, there is! It's been referred to as "the decline effect", and it's fascinating.
The New Yorker published an article about it a few years ago (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/12/13/the-truth-wears-off?curre… It has resurfaced in popularity a couple of times. It was written by disgraced journalist Jonah Lehrer, but later independent investigation failed to find any fault with the article he wrote (http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/11/05/jonah-lehrer-nature-of-tru… -- worth reading because it includes statements from scientists on Lehrer's article).
So far, my favorite explanation is the direct, obvious one, which is that we're sometimes -- perhaps more often than we'd expect -- falling victim to statistics. Given the very large number of experiments and studies being conducted everywhere, and the selection for positive results, statistical anomalies are being accidentally selected for and then not being extensively enough re-evaluated much later.
The article discusses that as a possible explanation, but the journalist does his job, igniting reader interest, by suggesting the effect somehow "defies the laws of statistics". I favor the simpler explanation, which is that our meat brains simply underestimate the vast number of ways in which statistics would like to bugger us.
Some of the things that…
wkearney99 · 2020-04-03
For those of you casually tossing that around: https://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2020/03/25/the-trolley-and-the-psych…
spdustin · 2016-07-12
A quote from the reporter's blog [0]: "When the nice neuroscientists put the electrodes on me, the thing that made the earth drop out from under my feet was that for the first time in my life, everything in my head finally shut the fuck up."
I'll be honest, that is a pretty compelling testimonial for many folks.
[0]: http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/02/09/better-living-through-elec…
aamar · 2013-07-23
For those that faintly recognize the author's name... this piece was written by Jonah Lehrer, whose writings were later discredited for a combination of plagiarism, inaccuracy, and methodological weakness. Interestingly, in the ensuing reassessment of Lehrer's writings, this article has survived basically unscathed, but I think this discussion (including some statements from the interviewed scientists) is very useful:
http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/11/05/jonah-lehrer-nature-of-tru…
CodeCube · 2013-04-16
Reminds me of the search for Jim Gray. Story here: http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2011/03/17/searching-for-jim-gray/