Search Results for: how the mind works

Ls&Cs: Other Ways of Knowing…What?

Posted on Monday 12 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

There have been debates for decades among scientists on the one hand and those with no interest in, or who are even hostile to, science, on the other. The latter insist that “other ways of knowing” are as valid as … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | Leave a comment

L&C: The New Yorker on Cults and Narratives

Posted on Saturday 10 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

As if I had cued it with yesterday’s post about Why People Believe, particularly the final item by David Brooks, as well as the last of my four new provisional conclusions, the new issue of The New Yorker has a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Changing One's Mind, Psychology | Leave a comment

Four More Provisional Conclusions

Posted on Friday 9 July 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Here’s a first draft of four more provisional conclusions I’ve drawn in recent years; they summarize themes I’ve invoked many times in these posts. I’ll revisit this post and refine, before I add them to a standing page on this … Continue reading →

Posted in Changing One's Mind, Narrative, Provisional Conclusions | Leave a comment

Thinking On Blog: Wise Men

Posted on Wednesday 17 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

(This is a blog post version of the process of “thinking out loud.”) In a book I read recently – it was Michael Shermer’s first book, WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE WEIRD THINGS, my comments posted here) — the author made the … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Religion | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Conservative Resistance, Psychology | Leave a comment

Links and Comments: Alternate Realities

Posted on Tuesday 9 March 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Marjorie Taylor Greene, evangelical minds, selective science, denying the truth.

Posted in Lunacy, Politics | Leave a comment

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 | Leave a comment

Nonfiction Notes: Michael Shermer’s HOW WE BELIEVE

Posted on Friday 26 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Michael Shermer, How We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science. Freeman, 2000 When I was writing up a post here about Shermer’s first book, Why People Believe Weird Things (post here), I realized Shermer in that … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Book Notes, Psychology | Leave a comment

Nonfiction Notes: Bobby Duffy, WHY WE’RE WRONG ABOUT NEARLY EVERYTHING

Posted on Sunday 7 February 2021 by Mark R. Kelly

Bobby Duffy, Why We’re Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding (2018) (US edition Nov 2019) Here’s another book on a seemingly familiar theme: why people so frequently misunderstand the world, and what we can do to correct … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Changing One's Mind, Culture, Social Progress | Leave a comment