Category Archives: Psychology

Nonfiction Notes: Adam Grant’s THINK AGAIN

Posted on Friday 26 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Adam Grant, THINK AGAIN: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know (2021) This is a recent book, still on the bestseller lists, by an author I had not previously encountered. He’s a professor and TED talker. The book seems … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Confessed Liars, Their Targets, Right-Wing Political Spin

Posted on Thursday 25 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Confessed liars Sidney Powell (and Tucker Carlson); gullibility for conspiracy theories; Right-wing misinformation campaigns.

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Confessed Liars, Their Targets, Right-Wing Political Spin

Link and Comments: Covid skeptics and critical thinking

Posted on Monday 15 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Slate, 11 March, Rebecca Onion: COVID Skeptics Don’t Just Need More Critical Thinking, subtitled, Without a shared approach to scientific expertise, “trusting the data” won’t lead us to the same conclusions. This entails the question, What is science? Not everyone … Continue reading →

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Link and Comments: How to Change the Minds of People Who Are Wrong

Posted on Friday 5 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

NYT, 3 March, Nicholas Kistoff: How to Reach People Who Are Wrong, subtitled, In the post-Trump era, research suggests the best ways to win people over. A fine essay, that keys off Adam Grant’s new book THINK AGAIN, which I … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: 2 March 2021

Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Too many choices; Republican deregulation; Free-market consequences in Texas; Conspiracy theory driven political parties.

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: 2 March 2021

Link and Comments: A Better Way to Think About Conspiracies

Posted on Tuesday 2 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Ross Douthat suggests a tool kit for discriminating among conspiracy theories, which have always been among us.

Posted in Psychology, Religion | Comments Off on Link and Comments: A Better Way to Think About Conspiracies

Links and Comments: Psychology; Texas; QAnon; Lying

Posted on Saturday 27 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

The psychology of Capitol rioters; Texas and Republicans; Climate change migration; QAnon as religion; The right to lie on the internet; The Big Lie and voter suppression.

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Links and Comments 19 Feb 2021

Posted on Friday 19 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Voter suppression; extremist behavior; “people are asking”; lack of predators; just world theory; covid revisionism; QAnon and Book of Revelations; radical women politicians; lousy tippers.

Posted in Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments 19 Feb 2021

Nonfiction Notes: Matthew Hutson’s The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking

Posted on Monday 15 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Matthew Hutson, The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking: How Irrational Beliefs Keep Us Happy, Healthy, and Sane (Penguin/Hudson Street Press, 2012) Yet another book about irrational beliefs and cognitive illusions! After the ones by Shermer, Duffy, and Rosenberg just discussed. … Continue reading →

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Links and Comments: Political Matters This Week: 11 Feb 2021

Posted on Thursday 11 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

This is the week Trump is being impeached for inciting a riot and invasion of the Capitol, and Republicans, supposedly the party of personal responsibility, are going to let him get away with it. Nothing to see here, they say. … Continue reading →

Posted in Lunacy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Links and Comments: Political Matters This Week: 11 Feb 2021