Essays and Opinions. Book Reviews. Noteworthy Articles. Humor. Quotations.
Monday, January 30, 2017
Coping with the Post-Election Blues
1/30/17. Three psychologists from the Michigan Psychological Association weigh in on the post-election blues.
My article on the psychology of political polarization is included.
http://michiganpsychologicalassociation.org/newsletter_article_5.php
My article on the psychology of political polarization is included.
http://michiganpsychologicalassociation.org/newsletter_article_5.php
Monday, January 23, 2017
Why I Cannot Fall In Line Behind Trump
1/23/17. Peter Wehner --- a smart conservative weighs in.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/opinion/sunday/why-i-cannot-fall-in-line-behind-trump.html?_r=0
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/21/opinion/sunday/why-i-cannot-fall-in-line-behind-trump.html?_r=0
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Shelby Steele: The Promise of President Trump
1/20/17. Wall Street Journal
The Promise of President Trump: Shelby Steele
‘Mr. Trump’s special charisma is that he seems to function entirely outside the framework of today’s cultural liberalism.’
By
Shelby Steele
23 COMMENTS
Shelby Steele. Photo: Rita Steele Perhaps the greatest problem with post-1960s liberalism is that, in the end, it is always driven by dreams. No matter the circumstances, it always sees the way ahead in idealisms that are static rather than dynamic: “equality” in which injustice is anything less than perfect parity between all people; “diversity” that is color-coded and optically correct; stressless “spaces” of social and moral perfection. This liberalism was born of the shame America came to feel after acknowledging in the 1960s its history of racism and sexism. The essence is a longing for innocence against the accusations of history. If the intentions were good, the actual practice has been disastrous. The War on Poverty, the Great Society, affirmative action, political correctness—all this failure reveals a stopgap liberalism of expedience that sought only the fastest route back to moral authority and thus to power. Beyond this it was all dreams and self-congratulation.Mr. Trump’s special charisma is that he seems to function entirely outside the framework of today’s cultural liberalism. I hope he will not be a “redemptive” president, as his predecessor longed to be. There should be no posture of contrition, no undercurrent of apology, when he discusses social inequities. Inequality is a fact, a problem that will—fairly or unfairly—require pragmatic solutions and something close to heroism in those who suffer it. No government can change this.
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Friday, January 20, 2017
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Sunday, January 15, 2017
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
Monday, January 2, 2017
Monday, December 26, 2016
The World Keeps Getting Better and Better
12/26/16. Says psychologist Steven Pinker.
http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/22/14042506/steven-pinker-optimistic-future-2016
http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/22/14042506/steven-pinker-optimistic-future-2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
How to Convince Someone When Facts Fail
12/22/16. Michael Shermer in Scientific American.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-convince-someone-when-facts-fail/?wt.mc=SA_Facebook-Share
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-convince-someone-when-facts-fail/?wt.mc=SA_Facebook-Share
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Addiction is Not a Disease
12/14/16. Tell me what disease you can make a choice to give up?
https://aeon.co/essays/why-its-high-time-that-attitudes-to-addiction-changed
https://aeon.co/essays/why-its-high-time-that-attitudes-to-addiction-changed
Two Friends Who Changed How We Think about How We Think
12/14/16. Don't believe everything you think.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-two-friends-who-changed-how-we-think-about-how-we-think
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-two-friends-who-changed-how-we-think-about-how-we-think
Monday, December 5, 2016
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Thomas Sowell: A Conflict of Visions
12/1/16. Conflict of Visions --- our political differences are based on unexamined beliefs about human nature. BRILLIANT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkCSbANBeuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkCSbANBeuI
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Jonathan Haidt, Ph.D. Political Polarization et al.
11/17/16. 2016 Keynote Address to the American Psychological Association.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-gxKs6gM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAE-gxKs6gM
1,000 years left on earth
11/17/16. Says Stephen Hawking...
http://www.sciencealert.com/humanity-only-has-around-1-000-years-left-on-earth-stephen-hawking-predicts
http://www.sciencealert.com/humanity-only-has-around-1-000-years-left-on-earth-stephen-hawking-predicts
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