psychology

How not to communicate … even if you are right?

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Getting into somebody’s face and telling them that they are being a F***ing idiot and that they are doing/believing something very stupid is highly effective. This consistently works every time, they always step back and comment, “Yep, you are right“, and then immediately change their position. You have seen that happen all the time … right? … Read more

Why did Jerry Taylor change his stance on Climate Change?

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Jerry Taylor was once a very vocal active Climate Change denier. As staff director of the energy and environment task force at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and vice president of the Cato Institute, it was his job be take this stance, but he did this, not because it was simply a job, but because … Read more

How many people actually believe in God?

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belief in god

Belief in God sounds like a simple question to address, and is one that you would expect is well understood. Simply conduct a poll, and if concerned about people being pressured by friends or relatives, then make it anonymous. That should yield a reasonable answer … right? There are of course polls like this that are run on a … Read more

Testing Poe’s Law: Can Trump supporters detect BS?

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Back in 2005, a chap called Nathan Poe made an observation within an on-line discussion group as follows … Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is utterly impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won’t mistake for the genuine article. This has in turn led to a generic … Read more

Why do so many people ignore facts?

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We are awash with people who reject facts and embrace myths … Creationism Rejection of the scientific consensus that humans are the cause of climate change The assertion that 9/11 was an inside job The claim that vaccines cause autism etc… We are wholly familiar with much of this. This is because the realisation that … Read more