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POPSMultiple intelligences People think in different ways, have different talents, learn differently,and understand things in different ways. The education system is biased towards linguistic, thinking, and logical thinking to a lesser degree. People with strengths in other fields, could be taught in a way more suited to their talents
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POPSRepetition Makes False Beliefs Permanent Politicians and other unscrupulous types have long exploited what psychological studies are now confirming: due to the neurophysiology of the learning process, simple repetitive association between two concepts is enough to make false propositions "feel" true and well-supported. Worse, after enough exposure to such associations, subsequent denials can strengthen the perception of the falsehood instead of weakening it. (This is a major reason why the stigma of a false accusation can persist even after innocence is proven.) Indeed, repetition seems to be a key culprit. Things that are repeated often become more accessible in memory, and one of the brain's subconscious rules of thumb is that easily recalled things are true.
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POPSTen Ways to Make Sure That Peace Stays Dead Too many people on each side see the other as wholly culpable. Too many people on each side see themselves as wholly innocent, wholly victimized, ill-served by the well-meaning, abandoned by former allies, betrayed by the media, misunderstood by people who should know better, forgotten by the world. Too many people on each side see only the suffering that has been caused them. Too many people have learned to wall themselves off from the suffering that they have caused.
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POPSOh yeah, and don't trust yourself either! The Chinese philosopher Xun Zi said that human nature is not particularly good, but he went on to argue that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to make it better. Too many people resign themselves to say "that's just the way things are" because that's easier than challenging their own beliefs. Before we can be an agent for change, our ideas must be relentlessly refined in the furnace of critical introspection. Follow the link to read all these cognitive hazards, and see where you find them in your life!
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POPS26 Ways We Decieve Ourselves Pretty good list with links defining each of the different ways we deceive ourselves. We are all probably guilty of quite a few of these. Interesting read.
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POPSPolitical Junkies: Why it Feels Good to Be an Extremist In The Political Brain , psychologist Drew Western summarizes fMRI experiments exploring the neuro-psychology of systematic bias and rationalization in the brains of political extremists. Finding ways to dismiss contradictory evidence triggers pleasant emotional releases in partisans' brains, eventually becoming a pleasurable, learned behavior. Once partisans had found a way to reason to false conclusions, not only did neural circuits involved in negative emotions turn off, but circuits involved in positive emotions turned on. The partisan brain didn't seem satisfied in just feeling better. It worked overtime to feel good, activating reward circuits that give partisans a jolt of positive reinforcement for their biased "reasoning." These reward circuits overlap substantially with those activated when drug addicts get their "fix," giving new meaning to the term political junkie.
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POPS'Mind's eye' influences visual perception The new findings offer an objective tool to assess the often-slippery concept of imagination. This is an interesting and fascinating experiment. It is perhaps a far shot but this may point towards the roots of human's ability and inclination to envision a future reality and than change the world around to fit this reality.
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POPSUSA: Lies In, Truth Out in rush to more WAR
"States do not pursue weapons systems as ends in themselves; and states are hardwired to ensure their own survival. It is to that end that they acquire weapons systems, to protect, enhance or advance their own strategic position and even up the odds against more powerful rivals. As everything from the Cold War to the current deal with North Korea demonstrate, the only way to avoid nuclear conflict is to address the concerns and fears on both sides that might spark such a conflict. Weapons systems are dangerous, but not as dangerous as the conflicts that might result in them being used. And we should also get used to the idea that the globalization of technology on the current strategic landscape makes nuclear weapons likely to become the norm among states — after all, the existing eight nuclear weapons states have no intention of relinquishing theirs, so why would any states that anticipate being in conflict with any of them refrain from pursuing those weapons when the opportun
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POPSBest Documentary EVER: Never shown in USA !!! Amnesty International has publicly confirmed that a fear of violence directed at their staff forced the organisation to withdraw 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' from their recent film festival in Vancouver, Canada. In an article in the Guardian newspaper (http://www.guardian.co.uk/venezuela/story/0,12716,1090788,00.html), an Amnesty spokesman said the organisation had been forced to pull the film after staff at their Venezuelan office expressed fears for their safety if the film was screened. Prior to this, Amnesty has received a series of representations alleging that the film had distorted key events. These representations were rejected. The film was only pulled after the safety fears were raised. The Guardian confirmed that the campaign to halt screenings of the film is connected to opponents of the Venezuelan government.
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POPSWhy doing nothing may sometimes be the best action of all
By taking action — even if it’s neither rational nor likely to be successful — they can at least be seen to have done something.If they stand and wait until the ball is kicked and then fail to stop it, they feel worse because of their inaction; and others are far more likely to criticize them for not appearing even to try. It’s better to try a poor action than try a better — but seemingly passive — response if both fail; even though the “inactive” response is more rational and based on a better likelihood of success. In today’s business world, action is preferred over the alternatives and is more likely to result in forgiveness when a mistake is made. You can always say that you tried. The person who does nothing is doubly damned: once for the mistake and again for not “doing something.”This urge to action — to get things done — is more emotional than rational. “Wait and see” risks your credibility and reputation, even where it can be shown to be the optimal course.
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POPSDo You Love This Face? Evolutionary biology holds that in any given population, extreme characteristics tend to fall away in favor of average ones. Birds with unusually long or short wings die more often "in storms. Human babies who are born larger or smaller than average are less likely to survive. The ability to form an average-mate template would have conveyed a singular survival advantage."
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POPSMcCain's plan to kill the UN The article is hilarious in it's bias, though in fairness I do not think the writer pretends to be neutral. Still, it is so petty and outlandish in it's assertions. That said, I think this dude his given me a reason to vote for John McCain.
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POPSFOX forced to apologise for THIRD TIME in TWO Weeks The apology comes just over a week after one of Fox's anchormen expressed regret for a comment on the night that Obama won the Democratic nomination. Obama, in a show of affection, lightly touched his fist against Michelle's and the anchorwoman referred to it as a "terrorist fist jab". Previously, a Fox contributor Liz Trotta had to apologise after making a joke about Obama being assassinated. The trio of apologies is embarrassing for Fox. Murdoch last month praised Obama but stopped short of endorsing him, though his New York Post came out for Obama in January.
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POPSThe way we twist reality-Cognitive bias Knowing where I can be biased, can help me find mistakes when I make them. It can also help me spot mistakes before I make them. It's a big list but it helps to be able to clear a few out, by asking for other opinions, and compare both the similarities, and the differences
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POPSSexuality Bias Seen "Banks said she believed the rumors were started by other attorneys in the Grand Rapids office who eventually landed jobs at the Justice Department in Washington. She declined to identify them. Monday's report also said that Goodling used an Internet search that included the words "gay" and "homosexual" to screen candidates and their backgrounds." Well now! We used to play a game in school called "Gossip". We'd line up several people and start a sentence and everyone changed it a little while whispering into each other's ear. Of course it was unrecognizable at the end and we would all laugh. The point of the game was to show the social implications of pettiness. So why would anyone care about sexual orientation at the Justice Department in the first place? Ah, back to that wicked game of gossip and backstabbing to get ahead eh? No better way than to call them lesbians.
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POPSOldest Iraq Casualty: Americas SHAME After years of being away from hosting that daily, national discussion, Donahue returned to TV in 2002 as the host of a nightly debate-style program on MSNBC. For many people, the show was a much-needed breath of fresh air on the cable networks, increasingly dominated by right-wing pundits and media personalities. Antiwar voices long kept off these cable news channels were suddenly given a seat in the forbidden studios to take part in a national debate about the so-called war on terror. Donahue was on in the same time slot as Fox’s Bill O"Reilly. But the show didn’t last long. In fact, it didn’t even last a year, even though it was MSNBC"s top-rated program. When Donahue was fired, the network moved to hire a string of right-wing hosts. ...DN! I loved him. Replaced by... crap. How? Who owns the media in America?
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POPSFinding A husband gender bias charges, the stores owner opens a New Wives store just across the street. The 1st first floor has wives that love sex. The 2nd floor has wives that love sex and have money. The 3rd,4th, 5th and 6th floors have never been visited
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POPSPrediction: More alarmism in 2008 “In the last few months,” Mr. Gore said, “it has been harder and harder to misinterpret the signs that our world is spinning out of kilter.” But he was being too modest. Thanks to availability entrepreneurs like him, misinterpreting the weather is getting easier and easier.
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POPSZogby Survey Uncovers American Bias, Hypocrisy Detailed results worth viewing at source. Pollster John Zogby said, “Over my years of polling, I’ve learned that Americans tend to offer socially acceptable responses when questioned on their own views about race and prejudice. That’s why in this poll we predominantly asked people about “most Americans’” views on race and prejudice. We believe this provides a far more accurate window into how people really think about these issues. Americans are more forthcoming when discussing the problem in the context of their neighbors’ lives than in the context of their own lives.”
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POPSAljazeera Code of Ethics Residing in and covering such a controversial, war-torn place as the Middle East (and with a worldwide audience rivaling the BBC), the Aljazeera news department bends over backwards to adhere to the strictest possible objectivity in their coverage. Out of all the journalism sites I visited, Aljazeera had the clearest, most concise, and practical code of ethics in place for its contributors.
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POPSNovel Tools for collaborative Data Visualizations “When analyzing information, no single person knows it all,” he said. “When you have a group look at data, you protect against bias. You get more perspectives, and this can lead to more reliable decisions.” Those who register at the site can comment on one another’s work, perhaps visualizing the same information with different tools and discovering unexpected patterns in the data.
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