tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post665749663742916678..comments2023-11-10T09:15:40.084-08:00Comments on The Friends of Jake: Religiosity by stateDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10124314924693077453noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-64003374563887062822012-03-30T10:27:26.265-07:002012-03-30T10:27:26.265-07:00There's an interesting book recently out, &quo...There's an interesting book recently out, "The Righteous Mind" by William Saletan. According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/books/review/the-righteous-mind-by-jonathan-haidt.html?pagewanted=all" rel="nofollow">last Sunday's review in the N.Y. Times Book Review</a>, the human brain is designed to make quick decisions on instinct and come up with the reasons supporting that decision later. Perhaps that has something to do with it -- people making quick, ideological decisions and, if the science doesn't support those decisions, then pseudo-science will work just as well.dr.primrosenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-13059672607066531542012-03-30T07:41:54.345-07:002012-03-30T07:41:54.345-07:00Primrose, given that I spend the early part of thi...Primrose, given that I spend the early part of this week in Washington discussing science funding, that is depressingly timely.<br /><br />JCF, I think that's <b>exactly</b> so. <br /><br />Gotta find time for another meaty post....IThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09605163506396013904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-17908472040072756232012-03-29T13:53:16.862-07:002012-03-29T13:53:16.862-07:00dr.primrose: I think we're witnessing a profou...dr.primrose: I think we're witnessing a profound <b>crisis of epistemology</b>. Facts are not determined by empirical evidence, but <i>by the political perspectives of the observers</i>. Ergo, if you trust the observer, you'll trust their observations. If you don't, you won't. <br /><br />To wit: before you tell me the # of widgets in wonkets in Wankovia, tell me: do you oppose gay "marriage"? Is abortion the murder of an unborn baby? Is global warming a myth invented by the Liberal Media? Do we need to cut taxes on the job-creators? Yes, to all 4? OK, NOW tell me about those widgets...JCFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-6304698445454358172012-03-29T07:19:21.426-07:002012-03-29T07:19:21.426-07:00LA Times article today - Conservatives' trust ...LA Times article today - <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-conservatives-science-20120329,0,2248977.story" rel="nofollow">Conservatives' trust in science has declined sharply</a>. And the more so, the more education they have.<br /><br />"A study released Thursday in the American Sociological Review concludes that trust in science among conservatives and frequent churchgoers has declined precipitously since 1974, when a national survey first asked people how much confidence they had in the scientific community. At that time, conservatives had the highest level of trust in scientists.<br /><br />"Confidence in scientists has declined the most among the most educated conservatives, the peer-reviewed research paper found, concluding: 'These results are quite profound because they imply that conservative discontent with science was not attributable to the uneducated but to rising distrust among educated conservatives.'"dr.primrosenoreply@blogger.com