Critical Thinking as a Teachable Skill
The world is changing rapidly – politically, socially, technologically – and progress requires us to pursue critical thinking, and to resist authority.
Knowledge
Knowledge, Wisdom & Curiosity
Scientific Fundamentalism
It is interesting that scientists rail against Christian fundamentalists, because so many scientists are equally fundamentalist about their own disciplines. Let us begin with examples, data; let us use science against the scientist. I have previously mentioned Bernard Barber’s paper, ‘Resistance by Scientists to Scientific Discovery‘, and Thomas Kuhn’s slender but essential – and largely … [Read more…]
Cajun Juggling & Univariate Thinking
In Cajun culture, where joy and improvisation shape daily life, cognitive flexibility isn’t just a survival skill—it’s a kind of local wisdom, passed down like a good recipe or a sharp joke. Cultural Surprise: A Cajun Childhood Misreads America In high school it was a great surprise for me to discover that the United States … [Read more…]
Fuzziness: Oak Trees, Hypertension & Education
Part of the eerie beauty of south Louisiana are the trees, particularly the live oaks which can achieve breathtaking size. If you are in Lafayette, it is worth a visit St. John’s Cathedral just to see the 470 year old Cathedral Oak. The Cathedral is located on what was originally the site of the parish … [Read more…]
Greater Love: Teachers are Heroes
“Greater love hath no man than this…” Teachers are heroes. They dedicate and even give their lives for their students. So why don’t we trust them more?
How Many Brains Do We Have?
If you live in Acadiana, you should check out a current-events talk show on KRVS, ‘Bayou to Beltway‘. The host, Pearson Cross, was the Department Head of Political Science here at the University for some years, and if you keep up with Louisiana politics you have seen him quoted in papers nationwide. He has become … [Read more…]
Woolly Wolves
It is the rare film adaptation of a novel or short story that equals the quality of the original; those that are better than the original are particularly scarce. To my mind, one of the few in that latter category is Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. I was so impressed with the movie that I went … [Read more…]
The New US Founders
In one of the recent presidential debates, a panelist asked Ben Carson what he would do about ‘grey’ drugs, life-saving medicines that have recently seen astronomical price inflation. My ears perked up. For some time I have wondered about how we might resolve the tension, and where the balance point lies, between the considerations of … [Read more…]
On Prejudice
The real problem with prejudice is closed-mindedness: too often our first impression – our prejudice – remains our only impression.
The Raving Liberal Military
It would be hard to think of a more conservative culture than the military. There are strict rules, rigid protocols, and inflexible generic clothes. In addition, there is a prescribed, if unwritten, code for personal behavior that approaches the robotic, and is often a lampoon of conservative stereotypes: brusque, business-only, stoic, humorless, and unemotional. Perhaps … [Read more…]