The urge to predict is understandable. We forecast the future, and continue to do so even after repeated mistakes, because of the deep psychological need for a sense of control, to keep ourselves safe.
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“Oops.” We haven’t even reached the peak of the 2012 election campaign and already two leading presidential candidates – Rick Perry and Herman Cain – have experienced sensational lapses on […]
The crowd surges around you, lurching forward in one overpowering swell. There’s panting and shoving, sharp elbows and raised voices, clawing and tearing, frenzied looks and frazzled nerves. Light blaring […]
The most sterling truth standard in marriage is that you’re both monogamous for life, if you vowed that you would be. You don’t flirt with intent; you don’t have boozy […]
As it sheds the notion that people are rational pursuers of their own self-interest, society is slowly but surely reconfiguring itself. The changes usually fall below the radar of daily […]
What happens when the complexity and magnitude of the problems facing our civilization “simply exceed our biological capabilities”?
50/50 is a pretty profound movie. It’s also as perfectly cast as MONEYBALL, apparently because they were cast by the same person. MONEYBALL, of course, is about the attempt to […]
Today, I don’t want to write about Kahneman’s work or his invaluable contribution to the study of decision making and the workings of the human mind, but rather, about something much more general: his approach to research.
— Guest post by Luis Hestres, American University doctoral student. Ever since the financial crisis hit the U.S. in late 2008, many political commentators (mostly on the Left) have wondered […]
Over the past few days a “scandal” has emerged from a leaked email regarding AirBnB’s new round of financing. Potential investor Chamath Palihapitiya (former head of growth at Facebook and now […]
The other day commenter Cotdail took issue with a tossed-off aside in my post about religion and happiness. I said the hostility of militant atheists to religion borders on madness, […]
So I saw MONEYBALL. It’s a fine movie. Brad Pitt has exceeded Robert Redford in his capacity to convey brooding and ironic depth—while adding envy, resentment, and parental love. Jonah […]
Two articles have appeared recently on the topic of sperm snatching. The first is a new blog here at Big Think and the second is an article in yesterday’s Daily […]
There are a number of issues at stake in the way Americans choose to think of their heritage and celebrate their creation story on Thanksgiving. After all, creation stories serve as a guide for how we function as a society today.
Don’t just kill that guy, says Paul Rubens in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. “Kill him a lot.“ It’s a funny line (a great line, really) because it plays with the […]
In his book Blind Spots, Professor Max Bazerman of Harvard Business School argues that the Challenger fiasco exploited inconsistencies in the decision-making mechanisms of the brain.
Lower college tuition fees can reduce risky sexual behavior in teens as students will have more to lose when things go wrong.
Dream of bashing in Michelle Bachmann’s ferocious grin? Ripping open the capacious gut of Gingrich? Frying that execution-lovin’ Rick Perry? Dissecting Mitt Romney to see if he’s as weird on […]
It’s been raining and gloomy since Saturday night. I think the change of weather is nice. I don’t mind. But my brain does. And whether or not I know it, […]
To Cornel West, Tavis Smiley, and all other African American pundits who want to own the conversation about the black community—President Barack Obama is not Captain Save-A-Negro. He is the […]
I’m hungry. I head to the fridge—but first, I shake my head and say mournfully to myself, there’s nothing to eat. I’m not looking forward to the process of choosing […]
However you feel about the right way out of the U.S. government’s struggles over its debt ceiling, I think we can all agree that the week past has not been […]
A potentially serious hurricane bears down on tens of millions of people in the Northeast. How will they respond? The psychology of risk perception suggests that some might be at risk not just from the weather itself but also from the danger that arises when our fears don’t match the facts.
Presuming we can be über rational about risk denies the reality of the risks that arise because we CAN’T be.
Carl Scott is probably the blogworld’s leading expert on the content of rock music (both words and music). He calls that content, once in a while, its ideological dimension. Carl both is […]
This semester I am teaching a doctoral seminar on the important questions and trends related to media, technology and democracy. In this post, I introduce several major topics and provide […]
Step One: Buy a truckload of 55 gallon drums of red, white and blue paint from a “job creator/big-time political donor” who has several manufacturing plants located in China. Step […]
It is not overstating it to say that the world will be watching Washington these next couple weeks, nervously, since the global economy relies on the full faith and […]
Funny thing about fear. By the time you feel it, your body is already quite busy keeping you safe.
Friday’s New York Times touts the health benefits of good posture: it helps avoid the pain (both physical and financial) of back and neck problems, improves muscle tone and breathing, […]