Book Review: "Perplexities of Consciousness," by Eric Schwitzgebel

7/30/11. Nicholas Humphrey, a professor emeritus of psychology, reviews philosopher Schwitzgebel new book. We excel at not getting to know us.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/books/review/perplexities-of-consciousness-by-eric-schwitzgebel-book-review.html?_r=1&ref=books

Mental Illness and Leadership

7/30/11. This is an excerpt from psychiatrist Nassir Ghaemi's new book, "A First-Rate Madness:  Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904800304576474451102761640.html?KEYWORDS=ghaemi

Robert Ettinger. R.I.P.

7/29/11. Cryonics inventor --- proponent of freezing people after death to be thawed out in the future. It is still better to be seen than viewed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/30/us/30ettinger.html?_r=1&hpw

September 11 and Psychology

7/29/11. Some lessons learned on the way to treating trauma.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/29/health/research/29psych.html?_r=1&ref=health

Unraveling the Mystery of Murderous Minds

7/27/11.Prison psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple speculates about the mind of a man who is evil incarnate.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904888304576476052920894000.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Book Review: "The Believing Brain"

7/27/11. Psychologist and founder of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer describes the science behind our belief-dependent reality.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303365804576432011569887724.html?KEYWORDS=shermer

When Gray Days Signal a Problem

7/26/11. Many people suffer with a treatable condition called dysthymia or chronic, low-grade depression. This disorder is frequently missed or mislabeled, leaving too many people to lead lives of quiet desperation.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904772304576467993357594526.html?KEYWORDS=dysthymia

A Woman's Place

7/26/11. A modern story about how one of the best of executive talent navigates corporate America.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/07/11/110711fa_fact_auletta?currentPage=all

18 Attributes of Highly Effective Liars

7/25/11. A research psychologist tells the truth about lying.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=18-attributes-of-highly-effective-l-2011-07-07&WT.mc_id=SA_20110721

Austerity in the U.K.

7/25/11. Psychiatrist Theodore Dalrymple writes that shrinking government is much harder than expanding it. People want to get what they don't pay for.

http://www.city-journal.org/2011/21_3_otbie-uk-govt-spending.html

Book Review: An Anatomy of an Addiction

7/24/11. Surgeon and writer ("How People Die") Sherwin Nuland reviews the perceptive new book by Howard Markel: "An Anatomy of an Addiction." Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug Cocaine."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/books/review/an-anatomy-of-addiction-by-howard-markel-book-review.html?_r=1&ref=books&pagewanted=all

Two New Book Reviews on the Life of Physicist Richard Feynman

7/18/11. Feynman was a remarkable human being who created effective explanatory surprises about the nature of reality.

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jul/14/dramatic-picture-richard-feynman/?pagination=false

Monday Quotations

7/11/11.

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred."

--- Woody Allen (1935 -   )


"The biggest argument against democracy is a five-minute discussion with the average voter."

---Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)


"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery."

--- Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)


"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

---Albert Einstein  (1879 - 1955)


"He is a [sane] man who can have tragedy in his heart and comedy in his head."

---G. K. Chesterton  (1874 - 1936)

The Divorce Generation

7/10/11. The powerful effects of divorce on Generation X.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576430341393583056.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

Thinking Away the Pain

7/10/11. We have not learned the limits of the conscious mind to ease physical pain, and much more.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304760604576428151831584880.html?KEYWORDS=lehrer

In Defense of Antidepressants

7/10/11. Psychiatrist Peter Kramer reports on research findings claiming that antidepressants are no more effective than placebos.

My clinical experience matches Kramer's review:  antidepressants are often very helpful for treating severe depression, chronic mild depression or dysthymia, and anxiety in children and adults. Antidepressants often contribute to significant benefits of psychological therapy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/10/opinion/sunday/10antidepressants.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Book Review: Inside Scientology

7/8/11. Father Hubbard and the will to deceive.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304803104576428223909501518.html?KEYWORDS=scientology

Alan Dershowitz. Casey Anthony: The System Worked

7/7/11.  Perhaps the meaning  of "reasonable doubt" has changed with all the crime shows where all criminals are guilty with indisputable forensic evidence generated by powerful computers.  I wonder if being in the court room and hearing all the evidence is ALWAYS a much different experience than watching the trial on TV.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303544604576429783247016492.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Rabinowitz: DSK and the District Attorney

7/6/11. There are some honorable men.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304760604576427592896119826.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

The Great Proselytizer of Orgasm

7/5/11. A new book explores the legacy of Wilhelm Reich.

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2011/06/the_great_proselytizer_of_orgasm.html

Stephens: DSK Lesson

7/4/11. Beliefs go one way - then reality intrudes.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304490004576422462548199624.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop