Words of Wisdom — June 27, 2014

Bertrand Russell on Certainty

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” – Bertrand Russell

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.” – Bertrand Russell

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Starts With A Bang

4 pervasive myths that cause us to abandon science

It’s not a gambit. It’s not fraud. It’s not driven by opinion, prejudice, or bias. It’s not unchallengeable. And it’s more than facts alone.

A man in a suit is holding a pipe, presenting an air of sophistication.

The Learning Curve

“Russell conjugation”: A rhetorical trick that loads words with emotion

Bertrand Russell shows us how to recognize emotional arguments smuggled into presumed statements of fact.

a man standing in front of a blackboard with writing on it.

Neuropsych

The man who tried to redeem the world with logic

Walter Pitts rose from the streets to MIT, but couldn’t escape himself.

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Neuropsych

How to tell if you’re a jerk

If you think everyone around you is terrible, the joke may be on you.

Thinking

5 philosophers Bertrand Russell didn’t like

In “The History of Western Philosophy,” Bertrand Russell made it clear whose thinking he admired — and whose thinking he didn’t.

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