Nobody wants to be told their views are oversimplified. So, when thinking about issues, we tend to try to include as many factors as possible. The more nuanced our views become, the less likely they can be attacked for missing something important. But are more nuanced ways of thinking about a problem actually more useful? […]
Genes and Free Will
How important are your genes? If your genes determined most of your life outcomes, would that mean you have more or less control over your life? The answer to the first question, at least with respect to a lot of traits, seems to be fairly important. Researchers using various techniques (such as identical twins separated […]
Is Rationality Overrated? What an 18th Century Medical Mystery Can Tell Us About the Power of Blind Copying
By the 1730s a new type of disease was starting to pop up across Europe. Sufferers would lose their hair, develop lesions all over their body, lose their mental faculties and eventually die. The disease seemed to be linked to corn consumption. Corn was a new crop imported from the Americas only two centuries earlier. […]
Bias is Inescapable
Confirmation bias is the human tendency to seek out and remember examples which support our existing beliefs. It’s easiest to see this with controversial issues. Your friend who doesn’t believe evolution will point to the gap in the fossil record, but not apply the same rigor to the authenticity of religious texts. Another who believes […]