But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. — George Orwell, 1984 Language is powerful. Probably more powerful than you think. For although “sticks and stones can break bones,” words can topple nations. It is language that provides the basis for record keeping. It is language that allows us to have laws that govern…
Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin. —Charles Darwin Today, I left for San Antonio to attend the annual conference for the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, where I (my mouth still speckled with BBQ sauce I’m sure) will engage with the research of thousands who are…
Intelligence is what intelligence tests measure — E. G. Boring Have you ever wondered what is intelligence? When we call someone intelligent, what do we mean? Are you intelligent? Am I? Would you even want to be? Numerous studies report that greater intelligence is associated with greater success in life. Yet at the same time, greater intelligence is also…
In the past, men created witches; now they create mental patients. — Thomas Szasz As we discussed last week, under certain circumstances or through certain disorders, people can experience some true, nighttime terrors—literal hallucinations where the evil doer is not dreamed but seen in front of the perceiver. And although these phantasms were short-lasting, with the…
There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we are born and the day we discover why. — William Barclay As you may know, today is internationally hailed as one of the most important days of the year: National Star Wars Day (i.e., because the date, May 4th, can be turned…
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. — Richard Armour Over the past two weeks, this blog has discussed the psychology of charisma: first some of the premises about it, and then subsequently, what influences perceptions of it. And…