Category Archives: Psychology

You See What You Expect

Posted on June 10, 2019 by

Why do smart, sane, honest people sometimes disagree no matter how hard they try to find the truth? Name an issue: Abortion Feminism Immigration Islam President Trump Racism My friends and I often have stark disagreements about those issues. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Life, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trick or Treat

Posted on June 7, 2019 by

Is it okay to “trick people” for their own good? That question comes up early in John Staddon’s book The New Behaviorism. I’ve just started reading it, and it’s a thought-provoking analysis. Behaviorism is a psychological approach that, true to … Continue reading →

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Some Comforting Thoughts

Posted on May 31, 2019 by

Life can be troubling, especially during periods of heated social conflict. Politicians and the media are no help. Most now devote themselves to fomenting hatred and division. Schools are no help. Most now devote themselves to replacing knowledge with superstition. … Continue reading →

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X Marks the Spot

Posted on May 28, 2019 by

“Latinx?” What the heck is that? I see the word a lot lately. I finally figured out why media people have started using it. A Latino is a male Hispanic. A Latina is a female Hispanic. The words look like … Continue reading →

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War is the Second-Worst Thing

Posted on May 26, 2019 by

“Give peace a chance” was what they said back in the Vietnam War era of the 1960s. And what reasonable person could argue with it? War is something to avoid — unless the alternative is even worse. Those thoughts are … Continue reading →

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What’s at Issue in the Abortion Debate

Posted on May 17, 2019 by

Abortion isn’t exactly a “third rail” of American politics, since people yell about it all the time. But it is a third rail of rational discussion. Many people have dogmatic beliefs about it and they react with blind rage to … Continue reading →

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Follow Courage and Good Sense

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

I’m an optimistic kind of guy. I can usually find the “half full” in any glass, no matter how empty it is. But even I get discouraged sometimes. Most often, it’s because of human irrationality. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow … Continue reading →

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