Robert McHenry - Life After Britannica

Life After Britannica

In 1998, McHenry wrote the book How to Know, in which he explored the questions of what we can know and how we know that we know it. Though written in 1998, the book was not published until 2004.

During 2002 and 2003, McHenry worked part time in a used-book store, and for a company producing Internet content-filtering software. During the same period, McHenry had several articles published in the The Chronicle of Higher Education and The Vocabula Review. The articles were mainly about low standards in writing and verbal communication. One exception was a defence of Oprah's Book Club, following hostile comments from some critics.

In 2004, McHenry began writing regularly for TCS Daily about a variety of issues. A favourite topic has been Intelligent Design (ID), which he has criticized on several occasions. McHenry has argued that ID is not a theory in the scientific meaning of the word, because it is not based on evidence, it does not generate predictions, and thus cannot be tested. He has described ID as anti-science, because it begins with a conclusion, that some unknown things are unknowable, which is then supported by selected evidence. McHenry has argued that science is the engine of society and the root of economic success. He believes that ID supporters want to stop the engine, not just for themselves, but for everyone else. He views the support of politicians for ID as particularly dangerous.

McHenry has proposed two laws. McHenry's First Law states that 88% of all human behavior amounts to shouting "Hey! Look at me!". McHenry's Second Law states that the flow of 'information' expands to fill any available channel, while actual knowledge remains scarce and available only to those willing to work at it.

McHenry's articles are normally critical in nature, though there is a humorous side to McHenry. One example was an article about his thoughts of the possible meanings of a "No deadly weapons in building" sign he had seen outside a public library. Another example was an article where he weighed up the pros and cons of a suggestion that candidates for the United States Congress be selected by lot, but every apparent con became a pro after further consideration.