Morgan Blackledge

“The sciences do not try to explain, they hardly even try to interpret, they mainly make models. By a model is meant a mathematical construct, which with the addition of certain verbal interpretations, describes observed phenomena. The justification of such a mathematical construct is solely and precisely that it is expected to work. —JOHN VON NEUMANN”
― William R. Miller, Rethinking Substance Abuse: What the Science Shows, and What We Should Do about It

“The feedback loop between science, empire and capital has arguably been history’s chief engine for the past 500 years. The following chapters analyse its workings. First we’ll look at how the twin turbines of science and empire were latched to one another, and then learn how both were hitched up to the money pump of capitalism.”
― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

“With the capacity to represent the world in signs and symbols comes the capacity to change it, which, as it happens, is also the capacity to destroy it. A tiny set of genetic variations divides us from the Neanderthals, but that has made all the difference.”
― Elizabeth Kolbert, The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History

“Instead of recovering, it seems that addicts keep growing, as does anyone who overcomes their difficulties through deliberation and insight.”
― Marc Lewis, The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease