Category Archives: Psychology

I Believe I Can Fly

Posted on September 29, 2011 by vorjack

Back in April, Pamela Gerloff posted something on her Psychology Today blog that was pure secular New Thought: You Mean Anything Is Possible? Subtitle: “How to radically expand beyond the limits of your mind.” She starts, naturally, with an anecdote: … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Weird | 35 Comments

Top Ten Underapreciated Aspects of Human Nature

Posted on October 6, 2010 by vorjack

Kevin Drum is trying to list the top ten aspects of human nature that are important but that most people don’t recognize or don’t think about. He’s starting with two: 1. Loss aversion: people really, really hate to lose something … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Questions | 21 Comments

Myth of Monogomy

Posted on July 7, 2010 by vorjack

by VorJack Psychiatrists Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá have a new book out entitled Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality. Ryan blogs about its thesis over at Psychology Today: Biologists distinguish sexual monogamy from social monogamy. As … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Psychology, Sexuality | 45 Comments

Quote of the Moment: Religious Cheesecake

Posted on May 26, 2010 by vorjack

From this perspective, religion is not innate, but rather a cultural development that we might call “cognitive-emotional cheesecake”. I adapt this metaphor from Steven Pinker’s claim that music is not innate, but rather amounts to “auditory cheesecake”. A preference for … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Quotes, Religion | 5 Comments

Help Yourself

Posted on February 19, 2010 by vorjack

by VorJack … to these books about self-help. Self-help is a multi billion dollar industry in America, selling millions of books. Here are a few that take a look at the movement from the outside. Legacy of the Occult Pullquote: … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History, Psychology | 3 Comments

How to Be Lucky

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Daniel Florien

It’s said that we make our own luck. I believe that, at least most of the time. We can’t always control our circumstances, but we don’t have to have our circumstances control us. (Do you like that? Just call me … Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology, Science | 24 Comments

Would I Still Be an Atheist?

Posted on February 8, 2010 by kruthar

by Jesse Galef – Overcoming personal bias can be one of the most difficult tasks in searching for the truth. The particular experiences and influences in our lives are – to a large degree – out of our control and … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologetics, Atheism, Psychology | 80 Comments

On the Origin of Superstitions

Posted on November 16, 2009 by kruthar

by Jesse Galef Why are dirty underwear, mutant clover, and amputated mammal appendages associated with good fortune?  How did humans develop our “lucky” rituals? And why are they usually gross when you think about them? I hope to address two … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Myth, Psychology, Superstition | 26 Comments

How Observant Are You?

Posted on November 14, 2009 by kruthar

by Jesse Galef I’m always astounded at how poor data-gathering devices we humans are.  Forget all the hallucinations and misinterpretations, we simply don’t notice or retain most of what happens around us.  Here’s a great demonstration (via Richard Wiseman’s blog) … Continue reading →

Posted in Evidence, Psychology, Science, Videos | 21 Comments

Aliens vs Demons

Posted on November 13, 2009 by kruthar

by Jesse Galef Can you tell the difference between Aliens and Demons?  If you were visited in the night by an intelligent, non-human entity, could you really distinguish between them?  (In a sidenote I’m not addressing right now, how would … Continue reading →

Posted in Myth, Paranormal, Psychology, Science | 31 Comments