A couple of fun posts about research. (Did I really just write that?) First, Tyler Cowen reviews a widely cited study: In 1991 Halpern and Coren published a famous study in the New England Journal of Medicine which appears to show that left handed people die at much younger ages than right-handed people. Halpern and … Continue reading Consuming research
Category: Random
Sentences to ponder
Chantal Pierrat: Does community help with the work of vulnerability? Does it help us to become more vulnerable? Brené Brown: I can’t even think of the right word, but it’s not “help.” It’s more like a prerequisite. I think connection is why we’re here, it’s what gives purpose and meaning to our lives, and belonging … Continue reading Sentences to ponder
The memory disease
Authors Michael W. Clune and Tao Lin discussed their recent books for Believer magazine. Tao Lin points out a theme of seeking to get outside oneself as a response to "internal malfunctioning or uncontrollable-seeming, undesirable behavior." He points to this passage from book, White Out: The only way to recover from the memory disease is … Continue reading The memory disease
Faith is given in sufficient quantities to communities
I recently listened to an interview with Nadia Bolz-Weber. There were a lot of keepers in the interview (even for a non-believer). She's described as a recovering drug addict. Her recovery shines through in this, "fake it till you make it" discussion: Ms. Tippett: So a sermon of yours I wish I could have heard is … Continue reading Faith is given in sufficient quantities to communities
Is Dawn Farm indie?
Okay, this post is a stretch. I tend to make a lot of loose associations that sometimes leave others scratching their head. Here comes one. I'm reading Our Band Could Be Your Life and I'm finding that the introduction to the DIY/indie music scene sounds a lot like Dawn Farm. Here are a few examples. We … Continue reading Is Dawn Farm indie?
Kako-what?
I read this recently and wondered if it explains a lot of what's wrong with much of the treatment provided in the U.S. Kakonomics is the strange — yet widespread — preference for mediocre exchanges insofar as nobody complains about. Kakonomic worlds are worlds in which people not only live with each other's laxness, but … Continue reading Kako-what?
Tribes of the recovering community
In Pathways: From the culture of addiction to the culture of recovery, Bill White shared the concept of tribes within the culture of recovery. One tribe of the recovering community is the Wharf Rats. They started as a group of recovering Dead-Heads and currently describe themselves as "a group of concert-goers who have chosen to … Continue reading Tribes of the recovering community
Top Five Jam Band Jams to Get Clean and Sober To
"I f***ing hate drugs. I really do"
Known unknowns and unknown unknowns
John Horgan challenges scientism embraced by Stephen Pinker. He explains what Pinker said and where they agree: Pinker faults Humists for accusing scientists of “scientism,” which could be defined as excessive trust in science. Attempting rhetorical jujitsu, Pinker suggests that science, because it is such a uniquely self-critical and successful generator of knowledge, deserves all … Continue reading Known unknowns and unknown unknowns
Umwelt
Yesterday, I was reading This Will Make You Smarter and thought that the concept of umwelt could be enormously helpful for my social work students and Dawn Farm's counseling staff: In 1909, the biologist Jakob von Uexküll introduced the concept of the umwelt. He wanted a word to express a simple (but often overlooked) observation: different … Continue reading Umwelt
Recovery Review 