Top 10 Thinking Traps Exposed Our minds set up many traps for us. Unless we’re aware of them, these traps can seriously hinder our ability to think rationally, leading us to bad reasoning and making stupid decisions. Features of our minds that are meant to help us may, eventually, get us into trouble. Here are the first 5 of the most harmful of these traps and how to avoid each one of them. 1. “Is the population of Turkey greater than 35 million? Lesson: Your starting point can heavily bias your thinking: initial impressions, ideas, estimates or data “anchor” subsequent thoughts. This trap is particularly dangerous as it’s deliberately used in many occasions, such as by experienced salesmen, who will show you a higher-priced item first, “anchoring” that price in your mind, for example. What can you do about it? Always view a problem from different perspectives. 2. In one experiment a group of people were randomly given one of two gifts — half received a decorated mug, the other half a large Swiss chocolate bar. 3. 4.
Why men are more intelligent than women The answer is: They aren’t. The orthodoxy in intelligence research for the second half of the 20th century had been that men and women had the same average intelligence, but men had greater variance in their distribution than women. Most geniuses were men, and most imbeciles were men, they said, while most women were in the normal range. More recently, however, especially since the turn of the millennium, there have been an increasing number of studies that cast doubt on this politically correct conclusion. However, these studies do not answer the ultimate evolutionary question of why men should be more intelligent than women. My LSE colleague, Diane J. Our analysis of a large representative American sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health shows that this is indeed the case. So it is not that men are more intelligent than women, but that taller people are more intelligent than shorter people, but net of height women are more intelligent than men.
A good reason to ban a book. (xpost from r/buddhism) 30 Signs That The United States Of America Is Being Turned Into A Giant Prison If you live in the United States of America, you live in a giant prison where liberty and freedom are slowly being strangled to death. In this country, the control freaks that run things are obsessed with watching, tracking, monitoring and recording virtually everything that we do. Nothing is private anymore. Everything that you do on the Internet is being monitored. All of your phone calls are being monitored. The sad thing is that this used to be “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. So what in the world happened? A fundamental shift in our culture has taken place. Our country is now run by total control freaks and paranoia has become standard operating procedure. We were told that the terrorists hate our liberties and our freedoms, and that we needed to fight the terrorists so that we could keep our liberties and our freedoms. But instead, the government keeps taking away all of our liberties and our freedoms. How in the world does that make any sense? Have the terrorists won?
Frequently Asked Questions about the Catholic Church Brought to you by The Augustine Club at Columbia University Up to the Apologetics Toolkit THE CATHOLIC CHURCH is the world's largest, and Christianity's oldest, religious body. Her 860 million members inhabit the width and breadth of the earth, comprising almost one-fifth of the total human population. She is far and away the most popular religious concept the world has ever known. The right place to go for information about Catholic belief--in fact the only place to go for complete and authoritative information--is the Catholic Church herself. Contents God Why do Catholics believe that the universe and all life in it was created by, and is governed by, an all-powerful Spirit Being called God? The Catholic Church Why do Catholics believe that their Church is the one true Church of Jesus Christ? The Pope Why do Catholics believe that Peter the Apostle was the first Pope, when the word ``Pope'' doesn't even appear in Catholic Bibles? Sacraments Scripture and Tradition Salvation Mary Purgatory
Untitled Document Masculine, feminine or human? posted on SleptOn.com, June 2, 2008. by Robert Jensen In a guest lecture about masculinity to a college class, I ask the students to generate two lists that might help clarify the concept. For the first, I tell them to imagine themselves as parents whose 12-year-old son asks, “Mommy/daddy, what does is mean to be a man?” When that list is complete, I ask the women to observe while the men answer a second question: When you are in all-male spaces, such as the locker room or a night out with the guys, what do you say to each other about what it means to be a man? The students, both men and women, laugh nervously, knowing the second list will be different from the first. From there, the second list expands to other descriptions: To be a man is to be a p layer, a guy who can attract women and get sex; someone who doesn’t take shit from people, who can stand down another guy if challenged, who doesn’t let anyone else get in his face.
Hydroelectricity Efficiency It may be surprising, but hydroelectricity is not only one of the oldest known methods of generating power, but it is also one of the most efficient. A typical, modern hydroelectric plant produces at a 90% efficiency rate 24 hours a day, completely unmonitored. The larger your plant is, the more efficient it is likely to be. Large dams, like the Three Gorges Dam in China or the Hoover Dam in the US can consistently produce power at between 85% and 90% annually. There are many smaller dams which produce power at only a 50% efficiency rate. However, the hydroelectricity efficiency is far better than that of other alternative energy sources, like wind power, which has only about a 30% efficiency rate (this number varies widely each year, from 20% to 34% and everywhere in between).
Scraps From the Table Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” One of Jesus’ rare excursions into Gentile territory took place near Tyre, a city which is now in Lebanon. When people are afflicted with persistent illness, they often try anything to get rid of it. So in many cases when desperate people come to Jesus for help, He makes them examine their motives: in effect, He asks them, “Do you really believe that I can do this, or am I just another copper bracelet?” So Jesus asks the Canaanite woman if it is really proper for a Jewish rabbi to give Jewish things to a gentile; in other words, is it proper to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs? So Jesus cast the demon out of her daughter.
George Carlin -"Who Really Controls America" To Our Faithful Current.com Users: Current's run has ended after eight exciting years on air and online. The Current TV staff has appreciated your interest, support, participation and unflagging loyalty over the years. Your contributions helped make Current.com a vibrant place for discussing thousands of interesting stories, and your continued viewership motivated us to keep innovating and find new ways to reflect the voice of the people. We now welcome the on-air and digital presence of Al Jazeera America, a new news network committed to reporting on and investigating real stories affecting the lives of everyday Americans in every corner of the country. Thank you for inspiring and challenging us. – The Current TV Staff
Richard Dawkins: "Illusionen om Gud" Tuff match med Gud. Den stridbare ateisten Richard Dawkins går möjligen segrande ur sin boxningsmatch med Gud - men bara om man bortser från mer än femhundra år av bibeltolkning. Ronny Ambjörnsson undrar om religion kan bekämpas med intellektuella medel. Den Gud som framträder i Bibeln är utan tvekan ett brutalt monster. En sådan Gud förtjänar inte att existera, kan man tycka. Men samtidigt är det också en ökande skara tvivlare som förnekar hans existens. Dawkins tillbakavisar i Illusionen om Gud" de vanligaste "gudsbevisen", inte bara de gamla ärevördiga från Anselm och Thomas från Aquino utan också mer moderna varianter. Befrielseteologer som Gutiérrez, Alan Boesak och Bonhoeffer nämns knappast, det är bokstavstron som står i centrum. Mot en sådan invändning kan emellertid Dawkins med viss rätt hävda, att det inte alltid är de mest subtila teologerna som hörs i mediebruset. Men saken är inte alldeles enkel.
40 Belief-Shaking Remarks From a Ruthless Nonconformist | Raptitude.com If there’s one thing Friedrich Nietzsche did well, it’s obliterate feel-good beliefs people have about themselves. He has been criticized for being a misanthrope, a subvert, a cynic and a pessimist, but I think these assessments are off the mark. I believe he only wanted human beings to be more honest with themselves. He did have a remarkable gift for aphorism — he once declared, “It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.” Even today his words remain controversial. Here are 40 unsympathetic statements from the man himself. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. More of Nietzsche’s genius here. Have a lot on your mind? Everyday mindfulness has transformed my life, and the lives of many others.
Did Jesus make mistakes? undefined Did Jesus make mistakes? In Jesus' defense, at the very outset, I must point out that the Gospels were not written until many decades after his death. He might not have said and done any of the things people said he did. This page has been visited times. Contact Information If you feel a need to tell me what an idiot I am or how this webpage changed your whole life, you can e-mail me at: tonisoapostatis@yahoo.com
How to Get a Copy of Your FBI File The Freedom of Information Act is a powerful thing. If you've ever wanted to know just what those guvmint bastards have on you, anyway, here's your chance. Just fill in the italics in this form letter with the appropriate information, get your signature notarized, send it off, and you're in business! This should be free, though if your search returns reams of information, you may be charged 5 cents per page in duplication fees. Your Name Today's Date Your Address Line 2 of Your Address Federal Bureau of Investigation Records Resources Division - Attn.: FOIA/PA Office J. This is a request for records under both the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act. My full name is: Your Name. FOIA/PA statutes provide that even if some of the requested material is properly exempt from mandatory disclosure, all segregable portions must be released. I hereby agree to pay reasonable costs associated with this request up to a maximum of $30. Sincerely,Your Signature Your Printed Name
Skapelse och Utveckling Och Gud sade: Må vattnet frambringa ett vimmel av levande varelser. Må också fåglar flyga över jorden under himmelens stora fäste. /.../ Och Gud sade: Må jorden frambringa levande varelser, efter deras arter, boskapsdjur och kräldjur och vilda djur, efter deras arter. Och det skedde så /.../ Och Gud såg att det var gott. I USA förekommer det att läroböckerna i biologi innehåller varningstexter som säger att Charles Darwins teorier faktiskt är omdebatterade och omstridda. Darwin hade kommit fram till att alla arter i naturen förändras med tiden på grund av medfödda egenskaper och förmåga att anpassa sig till den omgivande miljön. De individer, som har de mest fördelaktiga egenskaperna, har störst chans att överleva menade Darwin. Enligt den moderna utvecklingsläran krävs också mutationer (förändringar i arvsmassan) för att förklara att komplicerade organ, som t.ex. hjärtat, skulle kunna utvecklas. Motståndare till evolutionsläran kallas kreationister. - att Gud är livets skapare 1. 2.