John Danzer
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John Danzer commented on What are the biggest issues in psychology today? on September 24, 2009, 12:36 AM
There have been useful insights that have been thrown out of mainstream psychological thinking. And there have been too many things that keep hanging around. As an example the average person wants psychology to help them discover their identity. There is this idea people have that when they talk to a "psychologist" that they can read their mind. Little do they (people in general) know how little psychologists really know. Psychology has not provided anything better than a pile of self-report tests that basically ask people to describe themselves one word at a time. Sure, people are interested in neurochemistry and endorphins and such, but they really want to know who they are and how they are different from others. So, how about it. Can they help me to "know myself". Self discovery makes an interesting novel but more often in real life the journey is futile. Where are the big ideas that can help people avoid a few dead ends? It is no wonder that there is no Nobel Prize for psychology. Although a couple of psychologists have won Nobel prizes for economics.
John Danzer commented on The Twenty-First Century Brain on September 24, 2009, 12:48 AM
In defense of google...that's how I got here. That is to say- that's how I came upon this website. Google is not an extension of our brain. It is an extension of our sensory system. Our brains are good at keeping us going in one direction. But an organism needs to be able to change direction based on information. The vast amount of material available today doesn't always change "minds" but it at least makes it possible.