The gods too are fond of a joke. — Aristotle A little over 30 years ago, residents of Sitka, Alaska, a small city with just over 9,000 people, thought their dormant volcano, Mount Edgecumbe, was erupting. As black smoke billowed from the crest, the city went into a panic, eventually notifying the National Coast Guard…
There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus. — Bob Phillips With Christmas just tomorrow, I decided to give you, dear reader, a present. That is, today’s bit of psychophilosophy comes to you in the form of a holiday poem. Enjoy!…
We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us. — Francois de La Rochefoucauld A foundational part of being a psychophilosopher is skepticism. Doubt. Mistrust in your senses, your thoughts, the two-week old chicken in the fridge that doesn’t look that moldy. I’ve shown you how you can be wrong about probability estimates, about…
If you believe everything you read, better not read. — Japanese Proverb Spring, how glorious thou art. Birds all a flutter. Trees of blooming pink. Warmth and breeze and gaiety and love. But behind every flitting bird is an animal ready to poop on your car. And all those blossoming trees? Just little white flowers…
Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man. — Zhuangzi Today I’m going to talk about two of my favorite things: psychology and butterflies. Now, this first part may be a little boring, but it’s…
Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes. — Voltaire I don’t know if I’ve ever used this blog to broadcast inflammatory ideas, so today’s post may be the first. Sometimes, though, sometimes you believe in an idea so deeply, so passionately, that to keep from expressing it is to melt…