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Psychology of Delusions: Why We Cling to False Beliefs

Delusions aren’t just quirky thoughts; they’re deeply held beliefs that defy logic and evidence. They’re like stubborn weeds in the garden of the mind, refusing to budge even when confronted with the most compelling counterarguments. But why do they take root in the first place? Often, it’s because they serve a purpose, acting as a psychological shield against the harsh realities of life. Think of them as a mental coping mechanism, a way to cushion the blow of painful truths or overwhelming anxieties. The DSM-5, the psychiatrist’s bible, defines them as fixed beliefs resistant to change, often arising from complex emotional and cognitive landscapes. They’re not mere whims, but rather a reflection of a deep-seated psychological need.

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My SimCity Review: Even Though I Have Yet to Play the Game

I enjoy playing online games, even though finding just the right game that suits my style can be a challenge.  I have loved SuperPoke Pets in the past, and now, this week, I have a whole new endearment to endorse — SimCity — even though I have yet to play the game!

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Feeling the Mallet of Ralph Lauren's Big Pony Line

My childhood years took place, if you consider that to mean toddler to teenager, mostly in the nineteen eighties. This was a big time for logo shirts — I so badly wanted to have a polo style shirt with either the classic tiny little Polo Pony from Ralph Lauren or the Lacoste alligator or even the tiger from the Le Tigre line. What I loved about the shirt was that the bulk of the shirt was focused on the design of the shirt and it took being up close to the shirt to actually recognize the logo.

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Did the Business School Ruin the University?

Society is materialistic.  The university used to be a safe haven where ideas mattered and thoughts were given greater standing than finding ways to make more money.  Peter Thiel believes higher education is a bubble ready for the bursting — but you can only agree with Thiel’s thesis if you also believe students attend university to get a job.  I don’t happen to purchase his premise.  I believe students should attend university in order to learn what they do not know.

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The Ansel Adams Con Job

When a team of “experts” manage to get something wrong — especially when that team decides that they have decisively come to the only correct conclusion possible — it confounds us and makes us wonder how we can ever trust people that call themselves experts.

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The Broken University

Is the university system broken?

Do we care more about making money than mending minds?

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Black Friday Dawns into Cyber Monday

First we had Black Friday, and the death that ensued. That just wasn’t enough for retailers, though. They wanted another opportunity to get in some hype and so Shop.org invented the term “Cyber Monday” for the shopping on the Monday following Black Friday. Business Week emphatically states that all is not as it seems:

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Don't Drink Bleach

A friend of mine, who also happens to be my learning partner in Jewish studies, pointed out what appeared to be an absurdity on a street sign one Friday evening as we were walking home from the local synagogue. There were a few signs on the street that said that parking was prohibited due to construction for a couple of weeks during certain hours of the day.

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Violence as Commerce in the Urban Core

Based Violence for Profiton our conversation yesterday in the comments thread for my Red in Tooth and Claw: The Language of Killing article, I am curious to know your thoughts on the following matter.

Do you believe violence — as framed in the context of yesterday’s article — creates or serves as commerce in the urban core?

Is the infliction of physical suffering a necessary city commodity from which secular humanism rises?

Or does violence only eat itself by gnawing and clawing away at its inborn behavior until red is all that’s left?

Violence for Profit

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The Day After Valentine's Day

This year, for Valentine’s Day, I spent a lot of time napping. This is not unusual for me – napping during the holy Sabbath, that is. The Sabbath is, indeed, a day of rest for many. Religious Jews will tell you that for a Jew, it is meritorious even to take a catnap during the Sabbath. For six days, it is said, we toil and work to earn our sustenance. On the seventh day, we rest. This article, however, is not about the holy Sabbath (which in some circles is known as Shabbat, or Shabbos). It is, however, about Valentine’s Day – and the day after Valentine’s Day.

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