Parenting May Matter: For Infants & the Economically Deprived

Several of my latest posts addressed evidence that challenged some of my long held beliefs about the relative value of parenting style on child outcomes such as mental ability and happiness.   In Ten Best Parenting Tips: But does it really matter? I challenged a recently published study in Scientific American: MIND touting the “ten …

Share

Schadenfreude

As I think back about my childhood there are a few dark memories that elicit some shame.  The specifics of these rare events are vague in my mind, but I do recall my reaction and the subsequent feelings aroused deep within.  Part of my shame stemmed from the certainty that I alone was so inclined …

Share

2010 – A Year in Review: How Do You Think?

Have you ever heard someone make an argument that leaves you shaking your head in disbelief?  Does it seem to you like some people are coming from a completely different reality than your own?  If so, then this blog is for you.  I have spent the last year trying to develop an understanding of the …

Share

Nature Versus Nurture: Really?

As I read Steven Pinker’s book The Blank Slate: Modern Denial of Human Nature I was, for lack of a better word, flabbergasted, about the extent of acrimony that seemingly persists regarding the nature versus nurture debate.  This parley, from my naive perspective, was over long ago.  Yet Pinker detailed the extensive history to which …

Share

The New Surprise Effects of Placebo

The human brain is a curious organ.  We are continually learning new and very exciting things about this incredibly complicated masterpiece of evolution.  But, every now and then, we learn something that shakes to the core our understanding of accepted concepts.  This has been the case recently with our understanding of placebos.   Placebos as …

Share

Ten Best Parenting Tips: But Does it Really Matter?

What makes a good parent?  Really?  What can we do to ensure that our children grow up happy, healthy and wise?  There is a lot of advice out there – some of which, on the surface seems quite sage.  But history is replete with really bad advice – some based in moral authority and some …

Share

Happiness: An Elusive Conundrum?

Are you Happy?  What makes you happy? These questions, although seemingly rudimentary, are more difficult to answer than you might think.  As it turns out, happiness, as a condition, eludes clear understanding.   Throughout history, mankind has grappled with a definition of this emotion.  Perhaps the most meaningful framing of happiness is rooted in the …

Share

Human Nature at the Core of the Political Divide

Are you as perplexed as I regarding the acrimony in American Politics?  The rift is peppered with claims of amorality and threats of calamity.  It’s almost as if the opposing parties come from entirely different realities.  Perhaps they do.  I have gained some insight into the liberal-conservative divide thanks to Jonathon Haidt’s work, particularly his …

Share