Shades of gray, nuanced thinking

As many if not all of you are aware, these are not good days to be an intellectual. Thinking, and doing it well, are not a highly prized commodity of late, and in its place there are lots of concrete thinking and simplistic black and white answers. Way too many people seem unaware of how shallow such answers are and naturally our unpopularity arises from popping their balloons, to which they answer with hostility. For this reason, and his general sanity, the Phactor stays away from most current issues with only the occasional rant to vent his frustration. but every now and then you must admit that someone does it better. So here's the infamous science blogger, PZ Myers' essay on shades of gray. "This is a complicated world and there are a great many subjects that simply aren't reducible to binaries — we do a disservice to the subtleties when we discard them in favor of absolutes. And often I can agree that we need depth and breadth of understanding if we're to navigate a difficult situation."