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Seeing What We Want To See?

11/13/2012

 
Sometimes two people watching the same video see it as supporting opposite points of view. We seem to be quick to pick up on elements that support our biases but sometimes miss elements that can be interpreted to oppose them. This is a phenomenon I have written on before. Recently, I encountered another example.

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Five Things Civility Is Not

11/13/2012

 
I just recently discovered this interesting tidbit and decided to share. Enjoy.

Are We All Autistic?

11/13/2012

 
I recently read Create Your Own Economy by Tyler Cowen. It is an interesting book touching on many subjects, including how the internet might be changing the culture, and on the neurological roots of aesthetic opinions. In it are two interesting quotes about autism-spectrum disorders on page thirty-three.

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What is Trickle-Down Economics?

11/13/2012

 
Some people hate trickle-down economics. They speak of its “failure,” its “victims,” and they claim that it “doesn’t work.” On the other hand, some people like and endorse it. Before we get into the arguments for and against it, the question is: what is it?

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Understanding Why People Voted For Obama Again

11/10/2012

 
After every election, the questions I usually hear from half of the electorate are: What is wrong with people? How can there be so many idiots? With everything that was going on, how was it not a landslide? There is a lot of mystery not only of what drives voting behavior, but how people think in the most basic ways. There is a huge lack of understanding between different groups of people. Not only do people not understand why more people don’t think like them, they find time and time again that predictions based on how they think others think are spectacularly wrong. The truth is none of us even knows how others think, let alone why. Unfortunately, I’m still working on the answers myself, but in this post I describe several theories I have heard. Discussing them ought to help point us in the right direction.

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The Two-Edged Sword

11/1/2012

 
Sometimes the arguments people make cut both ways. What is especially amusing is when they seem completely oblivious to the irony of it.

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The Nine-Tenths Gate

11/1/2012

 
I have a question today that I think boils down into the simplest terms most of the issues we face as a nation this century. To explain, I will use an analogy.

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I Just Bought Antifreeze

11/1/2012

 
Believe it or not, there is a political point to be made here. Keep reading.

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    Hi, I'm Dan. I like chocolate, hiking, and politics.

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