Women priests, the death penalty, and the status of Adam

[OneSheep]

Hi Fellow Forumers,

What on Earth do these topics have in common? Controversy. People take sides. Here is a very interesting article on why and how people take sides, and how we process “facts” related to any issue especially issues with a “following”:

therotarianmagazine.com/culture-lets-get-logical/

excerpt:

“Scientific evidence shows that rational thinking doesn’t come naturally to people. We have to struggle to overcome built-in defenses in our brains that reject logic like antibodies attacking a deadly virus.”

Here is a back-up, an article on the original study:

“Once partisans had come to completely biased conclusions — essentially finding ways to ignore information that could not be rationally discounted — not only did circuits that mediate negative emotions like sadness and disgust turn off, but subjects got a blast of activation in circuits involved in reward — similar to what addicts receive when they get their fix, Westen explains.”

emory.edu/news/Releases/PoliticalBrain1138113163.html

Now, are you rejecting the science outright? If so, did it feel good to do so?

Enjoy.

 

[Joe_5859]

Am I reading this correctly that the article was written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!?

What do basketball players know about logic and science?

In all seriousness, though, this reminds me of an article I read awhile back on The Backfire Effect. It says, basically, that when we are challenged on our deeply held beliefs with evidence to the contrary, we tend to believe in them even more strongly.

I definitely see this at work on the internet in all manner of places. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it, too.

 

[Book_Worm]

While I’ve seen similar studies about entrenched but erroneous beliefs, I think the author chose a poor example to begin the article.

I’m going to disagree with his contention about self-service gas stations. Anyone who lives in NJ knows that an 8-cent-a-gallon decrease in the cost of gas will, more likely than not, not result in a commensurate drop in the price of gas. Motorists will see very small savings, if any, and for this minuscule saving, they’ll be standing outside in the snow, sleet, rain, or scorching sun to refuel. And when the credit card readers don’t work properly, they’ll waste more time going into the “convenience” store connected to the gas station, and stand on line to pay for their purchase.

It seems to me that the author didn’t follow his own advice to consider all opinions before formulating his own.

 

[OneSheep]

Am I reading this correctly that the article was written by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar!?

What do basketball players know about logic and science?

In all seriousness, though, this reminds me of an article I read awhile back on The Backfire Effect. It says, basically, that when we are challenged on our deeply held beliefs with evidence to the contrary, we tend to believe in them even more strongly.

I definitely see this at work on the internet in all manner of places. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of it, too.

Yeah, I’m guilty too!

Are you dissing basketball players? Actually, though, I’m pretty sure that was probably the reaction from those parents who were distributed facts about vaccinations. They saw the material from the “medical field” And then their minds went immediately to all the reasons to ignore those blankety-blanks. This triggered a sense of righteousness, “I and my group are right, and they are wrong” which is also a known stimulus for the neurological reward: a shot of feel-good from the brain!

Thanks for the link! The study quoted by Kareem adds a neurological confirmation of this “backfire effect”.

Thanks for responding.

While I’ve seen similar studies about entrenched but erroneous beliefs, I think the author chose a poor example to begin the article.

I’m going to disagree with his contention about self-service gas stations. Anyone who lives in NJ knows that an 8-cent-a-gallon decrease in the cost of gas will, more likely than not, not result in a commensurate drop in the price of gas. Motorists will see very small savings, if any, and for this minuscule saving, they’ll be standing outside in the snow, sleet, rain, or scorching sun to refuel. And when the credit card readers don’t work properly, they’ll waste more time going into the “convenience” store connected to the gas station, and stand on line to pay for their purchase.

It seems to me that the author didn’t follow his own advice to consider all opinions before formulating his own.

Yes, I thought that the example was a little weak also, because I thought he hadn’t really covered all the pros and cons. I am neutral on it the issue: what do I care if people in New Jersey don’t want to pump their own gas?

The studies he mentioned were fascinating, though…

 

[Ignatius]

Women priests, the death penalty, and the status of Adam

What on Earth do these topics have in common?

Hmm, what is the relationship between them? Well maybe women priestesses may receive the death penalty because of the concupiscence inherited from Adam?