19 JAN 2013 by ideonexus

 Post Modernism Leads to Totalitarianism

There is objective truth to be learned by observation, and the knowledge gained gives power that other "ways of knowing" have not. But the more dangerous problem with postmodernist thinking is its a priori nature. Not truth, but a political goal has to be served—in this particular case the goal of openness, or tolerance without judgment. But without acknowledgi objective truth, all arguments become rhetorical and therefore can go on forever—and we are either paralyzed by it or we must resort ...
  1  notes

When facts are relative and belief makes reality, then the best strategy is to hold to your belief uncompromisingly.

29 JUN 2011 by ideonexus

 The Cultural Bias of the "Growth Curve"

A more flexible construct of normality also has practical applications. As all parents in Western culture know, there is a "normal growth curve" against which all infants are compared when they are brought in for visits to the pediatrician. This standard is used to evaluate babies' growth, and if die baby falls drastically below die curve, pediatricians recommend intervention. But pediatrician Glen Flores, who codirects the Pediatric Latino Clinic at the Boston University School of Medicine, ...
  1  notes

Infants are compared to a growth average, but this average is based on on white, Western infants, other breeds of humans fall beneath or above the curve, resulting in their being considered "abnormal" when they are not.