Don’t Be Fooled This Giving Season: Give Wisely!

Last updated on: December 1, 2016 at 12:28 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Facepalm by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (AJ Cann, Flickr) ___________________________________________________________________ There are millions of charities out there. Some charities are hundreds of times better than others at doing good by addressing suffering and increasing flourishing around the world. So what does that mean for your donations? Well, every time you donate, you make a choice of how much good you want to do with your money. By making a donation, you are using your money to produce a certain amount... Read more

4 Questions to Ask Before Wearing a Safety Pin

Last updated on: December 1, 2016 at 12:26 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Image of safety pin with words superimposed “You are safe with me. I stand beside you.” (Safety Pin, Snopes) Are you among the many Americans who are considering wearing a safety pin after this election? This simple object has quickly emerged as a sign that the wearer is willing to offer a safe space for women, immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ, people of color, and other groups marginalized by the rhetoric of President-elect Donald Trump. Members of marginalized groups have... Read more

The Worst Problem In American Politics?

Last updated on: November 19, 2016 at 3:32 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Source: Cara Masto, Used with permission Like many Americans, I was left with a heavy heart after the election. While I was shocked by the outcome, much of the heaviness came from observing the whole election cycle. The outcome was just the icing on the cake of the most irrational presidential race in recent history. Now that the initial shock is passing, we can take stock and reflect on how to deal with what this election cycle demonstrated is perhaps... Read more

Applying The Scientific Method To Charity

Last updated on: November 15, 2016 at 6:42 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Hands touching world (image credit) Written by Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Intentional Insights Co-Founder and President ____________________________________________________________________________ “Thank you. I never thought of applying the scientific method to charity. My giving will never be the same.” I was delighted to hear this feedback from a participant in a Giving Game workshop I ran for a group at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, which I attend, in late July 2016. Participants in a Giving Game learn about a couple... Read more

The Power of Religion and the Secular

Last updated on: November 7, 2016 at 4:28 pm By Guest Contributor

Atheists have served as scapegoats in America since earliest colonial times. Guest post by Petra Klug. Read more

The Myth of the Irrational Voter

Last updated on: November 6, 2016 at 6:37 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Voting rights advocates (Michael Fleshman, Flickr) Voters are inherently irrational. They are moved by emotions, not facts. Their biases cause them to make bad political decisions. We need to shape our political process around their irrationality, and manipulate them to get them to make more rational choices. Or so claim many pundits, politicians, and scholars. Are they right? These analysts make some valid points. Still, their overall depiction of the “irrational voter” is a myth. Yes, research in psychology,... Read more

Your Vote May Be Worth Millions!

Last updated on: November 2, 2016 at 4:03 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Surprised Woman (Ohiane Abriteska, Flickr) Is it worth your time to vote? You might be surprised to learn that your vote may be worth millions of dollars! This goes against our intuitive assumptions. Indeed, many claim that voting is an irrational act. The chance of actually influencing an election is very small. Why should you spend your valuable time doing something that has very little impact? Unfortunately, those making such claims are not looking at the math of... Read more

Life’s Most Incredible Events Explained (Just a Coincidence?)

Last updated on: November 1, 2016 at 1:05 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Shocked Man (image credit) By Hunter Glenn _______________________________________________________________________ Roy Cleveland Sullivan was struck by lightning seven times. Eight, actually (if you believe him)—seven are documented. Later in life, people began to shun him during thunderstorms, for obvious reasons. Or better said, perhaps, for obvious feelings. Anyone can understand why people felt the way they did, but were they being reasonable? Would you stand next to Roy during a thunderstorm? Imagine how you would feel if your alarm only failed... Read more

What our Fractured Civic Spaces Teach

Last updated on: October 30, 2016 at 6:21 pm By Fr. Carl Chudy

How will you treat the hangover of this presidential election? What is it teaching us? Is it about changing the landscape, which seems daunting, but so necessary, or is it also about changing how we all see things? In the downward spiral of this election cycle and the cacophony of shrill voices from the religious right, progressive faith, secular left and right, map points have driven wedges between us all in the name of an America we are all still... Read more

How Our Thinking Errors Cause Us To Misinterpret Politics

Last updated on: October 27, 2016 at 2:40 pm By Gleb Tsipursky

Caption: Image of Trump and Clinton (Wikimedia Commons) Debate checkers usually focus on evaluating the facts of what each candidate said. While it is important to get the facts straight, focusing on the truth content of their words is not nearly enough to evaluate the actual impact of the debate on the audience. It often matters much more how candidates say things, or what they choose to leave out, than whether they stuck to the facts or not. This results... Read more