http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/04/09/the-thinking-liberal/
Now... I don't see any "political bias" when I look at the Freakanomics guys. I see them getting in plenty of hot water with both Liberals and Conservatives, and there is very little that "politically correct" about them, no matter how you slice it. Also, it should be mentioned that while I don't always agree with their conclusions, there is no denying that they'll give you something to think about, and a perspective that, regardless of your ideology, you likely hadn't considered before. And I like that sort of thing no matter where it's coming from.
But that post really made me laugh out loud. Particularly the summary/brief that was posted about the paper (my favorite parts in bold.):
The authors test the hypothesis that low-effort thought promotes political conservatism. In Study 1, alcohol intoxication was measured among bar patrons; as blood alcohol level increased, so did political conservatism (controlling for sex, education, and political identification). In Study 2, participants under cognitive load reported more conservative attitudes than their no-load counterparts. In Study 3, time pressure increased participants’ endorsement of conservative terms. In Study 4, participants considering political terms in a cursory manner endorsed conservative terms more than those asked to cogitate; an indicator of effortful thought (recognition memory) partially mediated the relationship between processing effort and conservatism. Together these data suggest that political conservatism may be a process consequence of low-effort thought; when effortful, deliberate thought is disengaged, endorsement of conservative ideology increases.Yeah... Ain't that the truth!
Another book recommendation, from Professor Carroll, which I'll definitely be checking out myself:
The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science--and Reality by Chris Mooney
Should be a fascinating read!
LOL
Often when I pin people on my idiots board, I later forget the reason. I had to track down that the freakonomics people screwed up climate change royally.
ReplyDeleteThey can say interesting things. But do I wade through tooth-grinding bilge to find them? A quandary.
Ed Zachary. And stuff like that is why, no matter how many conservatives they might piss off (and it's a LOT) it does NOT make them Liberal. Or RIGHT. And yeah, they're definitely not always RIGHT, far from it. But... they're still generally INTERESTING.
DeleteHERE is a link related to that Chris Mooney book.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read "The Republican Brain..." and may not.
The above link is a hoot in the section where the author starts riffing on imagining "what it must be like to be a true-blue Rush Limbaugh fan, or someone who thinks Michele Bachmann is a serious lawmaker with a grasp of the issues – put yourself into that person’s shoes for a moment, and consider what a nightmarish landscape the world around them must represent..."