Skepticism

Quickies: Ta-Nehisi Coates, kale isn’t bad for you, and the scams of a collector of optical illusions

  • The hard truths of Ta-Nehisi Coates – “Coates is not a Christian. The heavy force in Between the World and Me — what makes it both unique and bleak — is his atheism. It gives Coates’s writing urgency. To consider the African-American experience without the language of souls and destiny is to strip it of euphemism, and to make the security of African-American bodies even more crucial.”
  • The illusionist – “Al Seckel has left the country. But the world’s greatest collector of optical illusions has left some troubles behind.” From Amy.
  • The viral idea that kale is bad for you is based on incredibly bad science – “This scare-mongering around kale started with a single profile, in Craftsmanship Magazine, of Ernie Hubbard, a Marin County alternative medicine practitioner who claims kale is causing a range of “persistent but elusive problems” in people, from gluten sensitivity to chronic fatigue, hair loss, and even Lyme disease.”
  • If male musicians were described the same way as female musicians – “There’s a softness to Bruno Mars. At 29 years of age, it seems as if he has lived this life more than once.” From Courtney.
  • Featured image by Flickr user Peter Roome.

Amanda

Amanda works in healthcare, is a loudmouthed feminist, and proud supporter of the Oxford comma.

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