18 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
The Nurture View of Human Nature Spawned Social Programs
Spitz showed that early nurturing and stimulation are essential to child development, and he was not alone in this view. At the time, the field of psychology was dominated by the theory of "behaviorism," which proposed that all our actions, from the simplest smile to the most sophisticated chess move, are learned through reward and punishment, trial-and-error interactions with other people and objects in the world. Babies, according to this view. are born as "blank slates," without predisposi...Child welfare was probably inspired by the idea the nurture was the defining element in human development.
04 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Tolerance for Ambiguity
I have a tolerance for ambiguity. It's clear to me that there's some questions that humans don't have the answers to and what arrogance to imagine we have answers to all questions. Science is sometimes, I know, attacked for supposed arogance, but I think it's the most humble occupation and discipline around. Because, instead of trying to impose our preconceptions, our predispositions on the Universe, we are open before the Universe to see what the Universe has to offer. Science is in the busi...Carl Sagan on the humility of science in not imposing its preconceptions on reality.