Although I did not make a substantial number of posts in 2013, the traffic to my site remained relatively vigorous. Throughout 2013 my blog had 24,007 hits from 21,042 unique visitors, accounting for nearly 30,000 page views. I had visitors from every state in the US and 158 nations around the world. Visitors from the …
Read more “2013 – A Year in Review: How Do You Think?”
Out to dinner recently, a friend and I were discussing an organization whose name implies one thing, when in actuality, what they promote is entirely the opposite. We both racked our brains to come up with the name of that organization with no success. Days later, without any recent thought of the elusive name – …
Read more “Mind Pops: Memories From Out of the Blue”
Although I did not make a substantial number of posts in 2012, the traffic to my site doubled. Throughout 2012 my blog had 35,819 hits from 31,960 unique visitors, accounting for over 46,720 page views. I had visitors from every state in the US and visits from people from 165 nations around the world. Visitors …
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The more I learn about the workings of the human brain – the more I am stirred by feelings that Freud may have been right. Although his theories have long since been discredited, he characterized the brain as a battle ground where three forces jockeyed for control over your decision making. There was the Id …
Read more “Freud: In Some Ways He Was Right.”
I have always said that there is a fine line between intelligence and fear. Some fear is adaptive and entirely reasonable: particularly when the catalyst truly involves danger. There are some anxieties however, that take hold and profoundly affect behavior in unreasonable ways. One personal example comes to mind to illustrate this. Last winter …
Read more “Irrational Fear: It’s Just an Alief”
The year 2011 proved to be a challenging year. A number of serious health issues in close family members took center stage. The frequency of my posts declined in part due to these important distractions but other factors also played a major role. Although I published fewer articles, the number of visits to my blog …
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I’ve been exploring the subtleties of human cognition for nearly two years now. The most amazing and persistent lesson I’ve learned is that our ability to understand the world is limited by the way our brains work. All of us are constrained by fundamentally flawed cognitive processes, and the advanced studies of human cognition, perception, …
Read more “The Brain’s False Idols”
You know the feeling, that intense rush that follows a perceived threat. The flushed face, the perspiration, and the increased heart rate: they are all signs of activation of the sympathetic nervous system. This system’s job is to ready you for a fight or fleeing when danger appears. This incredibly adaptive and automatic system has …
Read more “You Are Your Beliefs and Your Brands”
I recently heard a RadioLab story that was, well, moving. It touched upon a feeling that I have, a somewhat romantic notion of love, and I found it to be incredible. By incredible, I mean unbelievable, and by unbelievable, I also mean, “It cannot be true!” Of course, it is just a story. But, stories …
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When I hit the publish button for my last post Cognitive Conservatism, Moral Relativism, Bias, and Human Flourishing I felt a tinge of angst. It took a few days for my rational brain to figure out (or perhaps confabulate) a reason; but, I think I may have. Perhaps it should have been immediately obvious, but …
Read more “When Tribal Moral Communities Collide”