April 2009 Archives

Yes, Looks Do Matter - NYTimes.com

Scientists are finding that stereotypes are not simply stored and retrieved by the brain, but "are associated with general regions in the brain involved in memory and goal-planning," Professor Amodio said, suggesting that "people recruit stereotypes to kind of help them plan a world that's consistent with the goal they might have."

Professor Fiske's research suggests that those in low status register differently in the brain. "The part of the brain that normally activates when you are thinking about people is surprisingly silent when you're looking at homeless people," she said. "It's kind of a neural dehumanization. Maybe we can't bear the horrible situation they are in, or we don't want to get involved, or we're afraid we might get contaminated."

But, she said, the neural response is restored when people are asked to focus on what soup the homeless person might like to eat, something that makes one think about the person as someone with wants or goals.

International Men Of Immodesty

"We found a consistent difference in how intelligent men and women believe themselves to be; with men giving themselves significantly higher levels of intelligence in all 12 counties. Not only did men award themselves high scores in traditional male abilities like spatial and logical reasoning, they also gave themselves higher ratings in verbal ability....

"These results do not reflect any actual differences between men and women's levels of intelligence," added Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic. "Rather, our study shows that men like to have a high opinion of themselves and are prone to over-estimate their level of intelligence while women are more modest, and even under-estimate their own intelligence. "Interestingly, these patterns were universal across all 12 countries. This could be down to the different values placed on men and women in societies throughout the world. While attributes like modesty, tenderness and care are nurtured in girls, opposing qualities like assertiveness, strength and success are valued and nurtured in males."

Choice blindness: You don't know what you want - New Sceintist

As anyone who has ever been in a verbal disagreement can attest, people tend to give elaborate justifications for their decisions, which we have every reason to believe are nothing more than rationalisations after the event. To prove such people wrong, though, or even provide enough evidence to change their mind, is an entirely different matter: who are you to say what my reasons are?

Unconscious Thought Precedes Conscious Awareness -- The Economist


Evidence mounts that brains decide before their owners know about it EVERYONE has had the experience. You are confronted by a complex problem, with a not-so-obvious solution. You pore over it, engrossed, but still the answer will not come. Fearing you will be stuck for ever, you take a walk. Then suddenly, from nowhere, there it is. Eureka! But did it really come from nowhere?

A piece of research about to be published in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, by Joydeep Bhattacharya at Goldsmiths' College in London and Bhavin Sheth at the University of Houston, in Texas, suggests that although people are not consciously aware of it, their brains have to be in a certain state for an insight to take place. Moreover, that state can be detected electrically several seconds in advance of the "aha!" moment itself.

Guide to the Philosophy of Mind -Compiled by David Chalmers

Since 1997 I have been philosophy of mind editor for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. By now we have accumulated enough entries in the philosophy of mind that it's the equivalent of a pretty definitive reference work in the field. I have a certain pride in this, as I've put a lot of work into the editing of each entry, and many of the entries are superb guides to their topics. I thought it would make sense to gather all these in one place, as a useful reference for those who are especially interested in the philosophy of mind.

The first list below includes the entries classified under "philosophy of mind" in the encyclopedia. All of these were edited by me or by Daniel Stoljar, who came on board as co-editor in 2003. The second list includes some relevant entries from other areas, especially philosophy of cognitive science (edited by Barbra von Eckardt), but also metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of action. Note that the unlinked entries are still in progress. Most of these have already been through a draft and should appear before too long.

Why freedom of speech must include the right to "defame" religions -- The Economist

AT FIRST glance, the resolution on "religious defamation" adopted by the UN's Human Rights Council on March 26th, mainly at the behest of Islamic countries, reads like another piece of harmless verbiage churned out by a toothless international bureaucracy. What is wrong with saying, as the resolution does, that some Muslims faced prejudice in the aftermath of September 2001? But a closer look at the resolution's language, and the context in which it was adopted (with an unholy trio of Pakistan, Belarus and Venezuela acting as sponsors), makes clear that bigger issues are at stake.

When All You Have Left Is Your Pride - NYTimes.com

Researchers tend to split pride into at least two broad categories. So-called authentic pride flows from real accomplishments, like raising a difficult child, starting a company or rebuilding an engine. Hubristic pride, as Dr. Tracy calls it, is closer to arrogance or narcissism, pride without substantial foundation. The act of putting on a good face may draw on elements of both.

But no one can tell the difference from the outside. Expressions of pride, whatever their source, look the same. "So as long as you're a decent actor, and people don't know too much about your situation, all systems are go," said Lisa A. Williams, a doctoral candidate in psychology at Northeastern University.

The Little White Lie That Grew --BBC News Magazine

Finally, in a skein of inventions that we needn't bother to unravel, he managed to implicate his own mother, aged 94, when he claimed to have been using her Toyota Corolla that day, so he couldn't have been at the wheel of his silver Lexus.

Alas, there was security camera footage to prove that his mother's Toyota Corolla had not emerged from the garage of her apartment block between daylight and dusk. We were left with the thought picture of a team of trained investigators examining a whole day's worth of CCTV footage to establish that a Toyota Corolla had remained stationary throughout. With that thought picture, and with the thought picture of a man of true stature with his life in ruins.

The Famous 1948 BBC Radio Debate on the Existence of God

Bertrand Russell [hereafter R:] and F.C. Copleston [hereafter C:]

C: As we are going to discuss the existence of God, it might perhaps be as well to come to some provisional agreement as to what we understand by the term "God." I presume that we mean a supreme personal being -- distinct from the world and creator of the world. Would you agree -- provisionally at least -- to accept this statement as the meaning of the term "God"?

R: Yes, I accept this definition.

C: Well, my position is the affirmative position that such a being actually exists, and that His existence can be proved philosophically. Perhaps you would tell me if your position is that of agnosticism or of atheism. I mean, would you say that the non-existence of God can be proved?

R: No, I should not say that: my position is agnostic.

U.S. Divorce Rates For Various Faith Groups -- religioustolerance.org

Variation in divorce rates by religion [percentage that has been divorced]:

• Jews 30%
  
• Born-again Christians 27%
  
• Other Christians 24%
  
• Atheists, Agnostics 21%

Aiding is Abetting  -- Guerncia

Dambisa Moyo's prescription for economic sustainability in Africa--which includes cutting off all aid within five years--might seem insane if the statistics weren't so grim: despite one trillion dollars in western aid over the past sixty years, the economic lot of the average African has only gotten worse. Most Africans now live on one dollar per day, and sub-Saharan Africa remains the poorest region in the world. Despite a deluge of aid between the years of 1970 and 1998, poverty on the continent skyrocketed from 11 percent of the population to 66 percent, which means over six hundred million Africans are now impoverished.

Must We Always Cater To The Faithful When Teaching Science? By Jerry Coyne

As long as I have been a scientist, I have lived with my colleagues' view that one cannot promote the acceptance of evolution in this country without catering to the faithful. This comes from the idea that many religious people who would otherwise accept evolution won't do so if they think it undermines their faith, promoting atheism or immoral behavior. Thus various organizations promoting the teaching of evolution, including the National Academy of Sciences and the National Center for Science Education, have published booklets or websites that explicitly say that faith and science are compatible. In other words, that is their official position. The view of many other scientists that faith and science (or reason) are incompatible is ignored or disparaged. As evidence for the compatibility, the most frequent reason cited is that many scientists are religious and many of the faithful accept evolution. While this proves compatibility in the trivial sense, it doesn't show, as I've pointed out elsewhere, that the two views are philosophically compatible.