Psychology
"It occurred to me, that something might
perhaps be made out on this question,
by patiently accumulating and reflecting
on all sorts of facts which can possibly
have any bearing on it."
— Charles Darwin
Psychology
"It occurred to me, that something might
perhaps be made out on this question,
by patiently accumulating and reflecting
on all sorts of facts which can possibly
have any bearing on it."
— Charles Darwin
Categories
Posted 2007 March 22 @ 13:00 - filed under Rubbish.
Homeopathy – the rubbish idea that "like cures like" and that diluting something makes it more potent – is still being taught at several universities in the UK, where one can "earn" a B.Sc. degree in this drivel. Now, there's a move to put a stop to it, as a Nature Special Report (free access) explains.
In South Africa (and elsewhere) homeopathy and herbalism are often confused. A herbalist, also sometimes called a naturopath, uses knowledge of the medicinal value of plants to cure illness. The challenge to analytical scientists is to discover the physiologically active components in the plant in order to better understand the curative effects.
On the other hand, homeopathy is founded on magical thinking: if you dilute something over and over and over and over, it becomes more effective. Honestly, this is what they believe. Only, homeopaths don't call it "diluting". They use cool words like "potentizing" and "seccussion". No matter what they call it, it is a dilution.
Oh, and a homeopath also believes that "like cures like", the law of simalia they grandly inform you. And how do you know when something can be used for a cure? Well, says the homeopath, if it causes an effect that is similar to the symptom of the illness, then that's your ticket. So, if you have a cold, and you have a runny nose and teary eyes, hearken to the onion, because an onion, also, makes your eyes water. So onions are the cure. You simply crush an onion, mix it up in thousands of liters of water or more, and that's the magical cure for the cold. Onion extract, only there's almost not a molecule of it to be found. Amazing.
You probably don't believe me, right? "He's making it all up, that crazy psycho-historian!" Well, here's the what the University of Westminster has to say in their BSc (Hons) Health Sciences: Homoeopathy course description:
"It works on the principle that whatever the symptoms a substance causes in a healthy person, minute doses of the same substance will cure those symptoms when they occur as illness."
What kinda principle is that?! "According to the principle of 1+1=3, I have 8 limbs"? NO! That's just STUPID!
Despite the fact that there is not a single bit of evidence to support their deluded claims, they are allowed to practice medicine in South Africa, and may claim that they can cure you. Amazing.
Homeopaths claim their treatments work – insist that they prove it. And no word of mouth, here-say or anecdotal stories – just reasonably convincing objective evidence, please.
Of course, homeopaths in general aren't interested in proving anything – because their rubbish makes a great deal of money. So what if they lie to the consumers! Caveat emptor! Meanwhile, the patient either gets better because they would have got better anyway, or their condition worsens as they postpone other, legitimate, evidence-based, treatment.
My favourite homeopathic "cure" is the delightful product called "Rescue". You can buy it in a little bottle at various shops, and just a drop or two will solve your problems. Despair, anxiety, depression – all gone with a drop of Rescue. Amazing.
I'm off to go and lick my empty coffee cup for a super homeopathic dose of caffeine. I can already feel the rush...
Posted 2007 January 14 @ 19:15 - filed under Psychology.
This thing I speak of – without it, we wouldn't have the XBox 360, rugby, the Heimlich manoeuvre, hot sex and opera singers. What it is? find out here...
Posted 2005 February 07 @ 11:33 - filed under Psychology
Don't get me started on the treatment psychologists get at the hands of Hollywood script writers, who invariably portray them as insane and twisted. I'm ranting about the standard citizen, the "reasonable man", the guy next door. Let's say his name is Cliff. more
Posted 2007 January 07 @ 11:48 - filed under Psychology
"I've never had a humble opinion in my life. If you're going to have one, why bother to be humble about it?"
— International Herald Tribune, 1992 Dec 02
US singer; prominent in the American folk revival of the early 1960s, she was also associated with the protest movement, performing frequently at rallies and festivals.
Updated 2006 November 23 @ 10:15 - filed under Psychology
BBC4's Melvyn Bragg, on his show In Our Time, discusses altruism this evening. One of his guests will be Richard Dawkins. Going to be a good one :-) After the broadcast, the MP3 can be downloaded from the In Our Time website.
Posted 2006 November 23 @ 12:00, via Krynauw - filed under Psychology
From The Language of Hypothesis by George Kelly:
"A good deal is said these days about being oneself. It is supposed to be healthy to be oneself. While it is a little hard for me to understand how one could be anything else, I suppose what is meant is that one should not strive to become anything other than what he is. This strikes me as a very dull way of living ... more
Update 2007 January 24 @ 11:10.
George Kelly's writing challenges one to think about what it means to say "be yourself". Krynauw's comments posted today drives the point home.
Posted 2006 November 21 @ 11:00 - filed under Psychology.
There's a buzz about the "Unity of Psychology" discussion that is going on at Jeremy Dean's PsyBlog. Specifically, Gregg Henriques' "Tree of Knowledge System" is receiving some attention. Not everyone is convinced, however, that we're anywhere near building a psyGUT (grand unified theory) – Chris at Mixed Memory expresses his dissent. Food for thought.
Posted 2007 February 11 @ 10:48 - filed under Psychology.
The anomalous PEAR lab at Princeton University is set to close, according to this report in the New York Times. About time.
Posted October 10 @ 21:45 - filed under Psychology
The Theology Faculty (Univ.Stellenbosch) hosted a discussion session on October 10 during which two recently published books were discussed, first by their respective authors, and then by a commentator. The works were Anton van Niekerk's "Faith without Certainty" and Jaap Durand's "Dead-ends of Faith". more
September 01 @ 01:32 - filed under Psychology
The Centre for Christian Spirituality hosted a public discussion on “The search for a post-church spirituality” on August 24. I attended the event and came away with a bunch of notes and some considered opinions. more
Posted 2005 December 03 - filed under Psychology
Currently, two of the most significant religions are Islam and Christianity. Many Muslims identify Jesus (Isa) as the ultimate prophet, with Muhammed as the culminating prophet. Yet, within the Qur'aan, Jesus is ranked fourth, in terms of name counts; Moses would appear to be most famous Islamic prophet. more
Posted 2005 November 24 - filed under Psychology & Atheism.
Speaking in tongues has been practised for many centuries – is it sent from God? Is it of the devil? Need it be a religious experience at all? Or is it the babble of insane people? I researched and present a literature review of the psychology of glossolalia, and also a personal testimony, by Denise M., of what it's like to speak in tongues.
Posted 2005 August - filed under Psychology.
A bibliography of articles from the main psychology journals of interest to students of the psychology of religion. more
Posted 2005 August 10 - filed under Psychology, & Atheism.
Who are you? What are you? Do you have a soul? If you're like me, a philosophical kinda guy, you've no doubt thought deeply about life, the universe, and such.
I've found a very useful tool that's helped me to straighten out my thinking, and I'd like to share it around. Take the Personal Beliefs Scale and see for yourself. more
Posted September 01 @ 01:32 - filed under Psychology
The Centre for Christian Spirituality hosted a public discussion on “The search for a post-church spirituality” on August 24. I attended the event and came away with a bunch of notes and some considered opinions. more
Posted 2006 October 12 @ 00:27 - filed under Psychology
A recent study of the computer-use habits of American undergraduate students found that the use of eBay was more common amongst those students who were more active on the Internet, more proficient in computer use, and who were in senior years. Interestingly, age did not predict eBay use. The only correlation with sex was for buying (and not selling) on eBay – men where the biggest online-shoppers.
The sample consisted of 386 students (237 studying psychology & 149 doing a business course; median age of 22.0 years (SD=4.2); 213 female & 173 male). Details appear in Psychological Reports, 2006 (June), vol 98, pp 819-820.
Posted 2006 Dec 03 @ 12:13, via Francolas - filed under Psychology.
A handful of amazing colour-perception illusions, and a demonstration of levitation by a street magician will have you second-guessing your eyes.
Three really great collections of optical illusions and visual phenomena are maintained by: Michael Bach, Akiyoshi Kitaoka and Eric Weisstein.
Posted September 30 @ 22:15 - filed under Psychology.
Two squares, A & B, are marked in the illustration. How much darker is the one compared to the other? Click the image to find out.
Posted 2007 January 07 @ 10:13 - filed under Diets.
All you ever wanted to know about sword swallowing appeared in the December 23 edition of the British Medical Journal. Much of it came from the horse's mouth, so to speak, as the second author on the paper is Dan Meyer, executive director of Sword Swallowers' Association International. They analyzed the doings of 46 sword swallowers and reveal their freaky secrets. These are real swords by the way – solid steel blades at least two centimetres wide and 38 centimetres long. Only two cases of injury resulting from sword swallowing are on record. Download the PDF (Sword swallowing and its side effects, BMJ, 2006, 333:1285-1287 ) if you're contemplating a new hobby.
Posted 2006 Dec 15 @ 06:15 - filed under Profiling.
Psychometry is the branch of psychology that studies assessment – how to measure stuff about people – and I have a particular interest in questionnaire design and evaluation.
With my trained eye for these things, I can highly recommend the highly accurate, free quick online assessment opportunity offered by "Rum and Monkey", where you can find out which Historical Lunatic *you* are. While there, you can "Meet people you hate, Blog about crap, and Pollute the Internet", amongst other things.
Keywords: Psychology
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