Big fish in little ponds

I recently came across the following quote by Noam Chomsky:

The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.
It occurs to me that the scope of the quote can be expanded beyond public opinion and media if you make a small substitution:
The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the their meaningful choices at election time, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum.

Continue ReadingBig fish in little ponds

Child Brides

I've often extolled the writing and images produced by National Geographic. This recent article stands out, even among the usual excellent work of NG: "Too Young to Wed: The Secret World of Child Brides." The gallery of photos included at the website really brings the point of the article home. This topic leaves a huge pit in my stomach. I'm having a difficult time not thinking about the little girls featured in the article, in that they are being sexually abused, and otherwise treated as property, and that's what child marriage comes down to. And many of them are being beaten, as well. That's about what one should expect when the relationship is so incredibly lopsided with regard to money and power. It's incredibly shocking and it makes me appreciate that our culture does not tolerate this type of behavior.

Continue ReadingChild Brides

The Truth Hurts: People acting like lawyers rather than scientists

When emotion takes hold, humans tend to act like lawyers, furiously working to justify their beliefs, cherry picking their evidence. This tends to be exacerbated by the echo-chamber of the internet media, but this tendency existed long before modern times. Chis Mooney suggests that we are wired this way, because we have evolved to act quickly. The following PBS video uses the examples of global warming and the purported end of the world to explore the way many people are wired:

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

I agree with many of the points made in the above video, but I there is also a well-documented social component to "motivated reasoning." If trusted others are believing X, you will be tempted to do likewise.

Continue ReadingThe Truth Hurts: People acting like lawyers rather than scientists

Passed by the biggest church in St. Louis last night

I decided to upgrade my trusty camera to a Canon S95 (retail about $400), because I often find myself shooting in low existing light conditions, and I sought a larger aperture and higher ISO. One of the first shots of the box, hand-held, was the one below. It's pretty amazing to see the detail in this photo, which was taken about 9pm, just outside of the biggest church in St. Louis. I'm impressed with the detail, which you can also see if you click for the "full" image, which is actually a less than full-res shot. The 2.3 mb image on my hard drive shows even more detail.

Continue ReadingPassed by the biggest church in St. Louis last night