27 JUL 2018 by ideonexus
The Enlightenment Needs Vigorous Defense
The ideals of the Enlightenment are products of human reason, but they always struggle with other strands of human nature: loyalty to tribe, deference to authority, magical thinking, the blaming of misfortune on evildoers. The second decade of the 21st century has seen the rise of political movements that depict their countries as being pulled into a hellish dystopia by malign factions that can be resisted only by a strong leader who wrenches the country backward to make it “great again.”... 1 
notes
notes20 JUN 2017 by ideonexus
Category Practice
Students appear to use a different kind of thinking when they create original patterns following rules they create (Grabowski, Damasio, & Damasio, 1998). Activities that engage students in building categories can start as early as preschool. Building category practice can be done with a bag of mixed buttons. After first modeling the procedure, you can have students work on their own or in pairs to sketch the categories they discover. Th is would also work as a language arts learning cente... 1 notes
notesThis would work great with dice. Sort by color or number of sides.
30 DEC 2016 by ideonexus
Magnus Speaks on Knowledge
Magnus turned from Mortarion and walked to the centre of the amphitheatre, lifting his hands out to his sides and slowly turning on the spot as he spoke.
“Imagine the Imperium of the future, a golden Utopia of enlightenment and progress, where the scientist and the philosopher are equal partners with the warrior in crafting a bounteous future. Now imagine the people of that glorious age looking back through the mists of time to this moment. Think what they will know and what they would mak...Folksonomies: enlightenment knowledge
Folksonomies: enlightenment knowledge
1 notes
notes27 DEC 2013 by ideonexus
Connect to a Child's Left-Brain Before the Right
when a child is upset, logic often won’t work until we have responded to the right brain’s emotional needs. We call this emotional connection “attunement,” which is how we connect deeply with another person and allow them to “feel felt.” When parent and child are tuned in to each other, they experience a sense of joining together.
[...]
It’s also crucial to keep in mind that no matter how nonsensical and frustrating our child’s feelings may seem to us, they are real and imp...A strategy for dealing with chidren, who lack the emotional regulation for logical thinking. Calm them by connecting to their feelings, and then attempt to rationalize with them.
18 NOV 2013 by ideonexus
Gender is Not Binary
he gender binary is the artificial division of the world into things that are "masculine" or "for men" and things that are "feminine" or "for women". One of the starkest ways to think of this is to consider the phrase "opposite sexes/genders" (as opposed to "different sexes/genders"), when both men and women are human beings with fundamentally many more commonalities than differences.
The division is artificial in several ways:
much of it is very clearly socially constructed. For example,...
1 Interesting concept from feminist and homosexual literature. The scientific point of view on this is that human males and females are dimorphic to various degrees.
11 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
The Dinosaur: A Poem
Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his power and strength
But for his intellectual length.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains—
One in his head (the usual place),
The other at his spinal base.
Thus he could reason 'A priori'
As well as 'A posteriori'.
No problem bothered him a bit
He made both head and tail of it.
So wise was he, so wise and solemn,
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure s...About how dinosaurs have two brains, one in the rear (don't know if this is true or not, but I remember hearing this).
23 MAR 2012 by ideonexus
The Earth Buries Older Forms with More Beautiful Ones
As buds give rise by growth to fresh buds, and these, if vigorous, branch out and overtop on all sides many a feebler branch, so by generation I believe it has been with the great Tree of Life, which fills with its dead and broken branches the crust of the earth, and covers the surface with its ever branching and beautiful ramifications. 1 notes
notesLike vines growing over a decaying tree.
14 DEC 2011 by ideonexus
The False Dichotomy of Mind and Body
The arguments for the two substances [mind and body] have, we believe, entirely lost their validity; they are no longer compatible with ascertained science and clear thinking. The one substance, with two sets of properties, two sides, the physical and the mental—a double-faced unity—would appear to comply with all the exigencies of the case. 1 notes
notesIt is silly to have two substances, where there is actually one substance with two properties.
27 JUL 2011 by ideonexus
Science Takes No Sides--and No Prisoners
The great thing about science is that it takes no sides—and no prisoners. Once you know which research to trust, the big picture emerges and myths fade away. To gain my trust, research must pass my “grump factor.” To make it into this book, studies must first have been published in the refereed literature and then successfully replicated. Some results have been confirmed dozens of times. Where I make an exception for cutting-edge research, reliable but not yet fully vetted by the passag...Folksonomies: scientific method peer review
Folksonomies: scientific method peer review
1 notes
notesA good summary of what research to take seriously.
20 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Poem: Behold the Mighty Dinosaur
Behold the mighty dinosaur,
Famous in prehistoric lore,
Not only for his power and strength
But for his intellectual length.
You will observe by these remains
The creature had two sets of brains -
One in his head (the usual place),
The other at his spinal base,
Thus he could reason A priori
As well as A posteriori.
No problem bothered him a bit
He made both head and tail of it.
So wise was he, so wise and solemn,
Each thought filled just a spinal column.
If one brain found the pressure strong...1 
notes
notesBy Bert Leston Taylor (1866-1921).
