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Some Weekend Reading
Personal blog · someweekendreading.blogsciencehealthpolitics
Some Weekend Reading is a personal blog at someweekendreading.blog about science, health and politics. Since 2023, 5 different Hacker News readers have linked it 8 times, most often “The Innumeracy of the Rulers”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-30, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (3) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link the essay "Math-illiterate rulers" on two thinking styles: fuzzy narrative big-picture culture versus logical detail culture, a narrative word-based versus web-of-facts divide.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 3 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Occasional tart thoughts of a grumpy old retired scientist, your humble Weekend Editor.
Most-linked posts?
- The Innumeracy of the Rulers2 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2024-08-12
What Hacker News says?
There's an essay on thinking styles: fuzzy narrative big picture culture versus logical detail culture. https://www.someweekendreading.blog/math-illiterate-rulers/
Comment linking /math-illiterate-rulers/
on “Facts don't change minds, structure does”Submitted Rush to get the new Covid booster [it might be withdrawn on September 18] as a story · 3 points
HN discussionThere's an essay on detail cultue versus fuzzy big picture culture; it comes down to a difference between narrative word-based comprehension versus web-of-facts. Lawyers versus engineers. Rhetoric versus logic. https://www.someweekendreading.blog/math-illiterate-rulers/ Related to "Let justice be done though the heavens fall" (Fiat justitia ruat caelum) versus "We're not going to acknowledge this because we don't li…
Comment linking /math-illiterate-rulers/
on “Ask HN: Are there "story-based" and "fact-based" people?”Submitted The Innumeracy of the Rulers as a story · 3 points
HN discussionAs Doonesbury put it: "A verb, Senator, we need a verb!" https://web.archive.org/web/20151031131012/https://writing.r... Walter White gave us "This is science, Jesse. We must be exact or we might just as well be in philosophy class." There's an essay on fuzzy big picture culture versus detail culture; it comes down to a difference between narrative word-based comprehension versus web-of-facts, logic, and mathematica…
Comment linking /math-illiterate-rulers/
on “When politicians gain power, their language becomes garbled”Submitted Reeeeeeally Long Covid (2022) as a story · 2 points
HN discussionSubmitted Who Uses AI? as a story · 1 points
HN discussionSubmitted High Tc Superconductors at Last? as a story · 1 points
HN discussion