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Tales From the Bizzaro World
Tales From the Bizzaro World
Back in the 1960s, DC Comics introduced a parallel Earth called Bizarro, where everything is inverted and everyone is insane. They even have their own wacky Superman, which ends up being a formidable foe of his sane counterpart in our world.
Or not in our world perhaps. Some events make us question in which of the two we might actually be living in: what if it was some version of Bizarro?
Over the last decades scientists have been researching certain quirks in our brain, or cognitive biases, that make us act in rather illogical and peculiar ways under certain circumstances. Since Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman first introduced this notion in 1972, a growing body of evidence suggests that we may not be as rational as we once thought. And this impacts many areas of our lives, including our beliefs, attitudes towards certain events, political affiliations and so forth.
A less scientific explanation for our illogical behaviors is that they may simply be the result of our imperfect human condition. That, or something in our environments could be poisoning our reasoning (we would argue, quite acutely in the case of Keynesian economists) similar to what happened to the Romans after they started using led in everyday life artifacts.
Whatever the reason, consider the examples presented below, drawn from the fields of economics, politics, health, society and even religion. Now, to be clear, we don’t mean to pick on any country or anyone in particular, much less on their beliefs (except for those Keynesians). Remember, in the Bizarro World everyone is mad so presumably we are all in this together.
Let’s proceed…
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Who’s Crazy Now? American Psychological Association Supported Torture “At Every Critical Juncture”
Who’s Crazy Now? American Psychological Association Supported Torture “At Every Critical Juncture”
Like Nazi and Soviet Psychologists, American Psychologists Aided Abuse
While most psychologists are good people, tyrannies have always deployed corrupt psychologists to punish dissenters, and label them “crazy”.
The Nazi government substantially supported psychologists … many of whom, in turn, espoused extermination of the people they considered to be “racially and cognitively compromised”.
Soviet psychiatrists famously aided Stalin in applying fake insanity diagnoses to political dissenters. The official explanation was that no sane person would declaim the Soviet government and Communism.
And authoritarian American psychologists are eager to label anyone “taking a cynical stance toward politics, mistrusting authority, endorsing democratic practices, … and displaying an inquisitive, imaginative outlook” as worthy of a trip to the insane asylum. (Those traits may also get one labeled as a potential terrorist.) Indeed, Americans are literally beingthrown in the loony bin after they question those in power.
As prominent forensic psychiatrist James Knoll – psychiatry professor at SUNY-Syracuse and director of a forensic fellowship program – writes in the Psychiatric Times:
When psychiatric science becomes co-opted by a political agenda, an unhealthy alliance may be created. It is science that will always be the host organism, to be taken over by political viruses…. [P]sychiatry may come to resemble a new organism entirely — one that serves the ends of the criminal justice system.
Indeed, American psychologists created the American program of torture which was specially-crafted to produce false confessions to justify U.S. military policy.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
How to Survive Anything in 3 Easy Steps
How to Survive Anything in 3 Easy Steps
You can have enough food to ride out 15 years of Armageddon. You can have a fully stocked retreat or a bunker. You can have so much ammo stashed that your floorboards are groaning. You may have followed your favorite preparedness book’s 
But regardless of this, you may not be fully prepared.
Because surprisingly enough, none of these is an indication of “the prepper mindset.” Those items are a great start, but until your head is fully involved in the game, you’re not actually prepared.
To me, the pinnacle of preparedness is a way of thinking about pretty much everything you encounter. It’s a unique way of looking at a situation, assessing the options, and acting that defines the prepper mindset. Think about any stressful situation that has ever happened to you. Once you accepted the fact that it had happened you were able to set a course of action. Once you had definitive steps to take, you probably felt much calmer. You took control of the things you could, and you executed your plan. Only by taking that first step – accepting that this mishap had indeed occurred – could you take the next two.
There are 3 steps to handling any crisis with aplomb. While the execution isn’t always easy, making these steps second nature will greatly increase your chances of survival, no matter what kind of disaster you are facing.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
John Arden: The Science Behind Emotional Resilience
John Arden: The Science Behind Emotional Resilience
We often break the topic of “Resilience” down into 3 categories: financial, physical and emotional. The first two are much more tangible and more frequently and easily discussed. But it’s the last that likely matters most.
No matter how large your bank account or how well-stocked your homestead, no one can be completely prepared for every potential eventuality. And nothing ever goes 100% according to plan. In the times when it doesn’t, it’s our emotional fortitude that determines how well we fare.
As we often observe: it’s not the specific insult that determines our fate. It’s our reaction to it.
So how does one go about cultivating a higher degree of emotional resilience? To address that important question, Chris welcomes psychologist, mental health specialist and author John Arden to the program, for a neuroscience-heavy exploration of how to do just that.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
WAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
WAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
Do you remember when you first woke up, that point when it all became frighteningly clear to you? I certainly don’t, and if rigorous honesty is employed I doubt you do as well.
I make this statement with a high degree of certainty based not just upon my own personal experience, but from countless conversations over the years. Stated simply, ‘waking up’ is not an on/off switched event, but rather a process of slowly clearing away the fog of self deception and comforting illusion. Just as we do not instantly wake from our overnight slumber fully aware and properly functioning, so too do we fail to shake off decades of deep social conditioning and propaganda in an instant.
Sure, during this awakening process there are lightening strikes of clarity and revelation that stop us dead in our tracks while sickening the stomach and weakening the legs. The most devastating of these bolts from the blue are usually self revelatory and rarely joyful events. In fact I still suffer from these ‘First Light’ events to this day. The only thing worse than being caught naked to the world is to be exposed to our ‘self’ devoid of comforting emotional cover.
It is the height of childish thinking, something I am guilty far too often of, to believe we can wipe away in days, weeks or even months what has been carefully and painstakingly crafted within our psyche (what we think of as our ‘self’) over decades; our entire lifetime in fact. The ego does not easily concede its manipulative techniques nor lift its concealing veils willingly and without a ferocious fight.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
George Marshall’s DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
George Marshall’s DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change
Reviewed by Frank Kaminski
That this book is categorized as psychology rather than environmental science is significant. It’s a measure of how intent the author and publisher are on distinguishing it from other books about climate change. The way they make it different is by turning the usual mode of climate change education on its head. Unlike most books on the subject, which try to convince people using science, Don’t Even Think About It examines why the science doesn’t convince people. It delves into psychological processes and even brain architecture that underlie humans’ compulsion to disregard, refute and skew evidence of difficult facts. Drawing on research across many disciplines and presenting it entertainingly, author George Marshall argues that these insights are critical to mobilizing public opinion on climate change.
Marshall says he’s seen a disconnect when it comes to public perceptions about the issue. He’s noticed that many people will agree it’s a serious threat when asked, but won’t mention it when prompted for a list of world crises. Another telling example of this disconnect is the way the Cato and Heartland institutes invest heavily in campaigns to deny climate change while also embracing geo-engineering as a solution to this allegedly nonexistent problem. For Marshall, the key to understanding such contradictions lies in a cognitive psychology phenomenon known as framing. Framing describes how we apply preexisting schemas of interpretation–or “frames” composed of our values, life experiences and social cues–to new information we encounter. This involuntary process gives us selective snapshots of phenomena, which we compartmentalize in ways that allow for much contradiction and dissonance.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Study Suggests Conspiracy Theorists Are More Positive & Reasonable Compared To Conventional Thinkers | Collective-Evolution.
A case study examining online commenting trends was performed by psychologists Michael J. Wood and Karen M. Douglas of the University of Kent that revealed so called “conspiracy theorists” are actually more reasonable & sensible than those who are considered conventionalists.
Not that long ago, practically anyone who thought outside of the box, questioned the official stories, or did any type of investigation into certain subjects was labeled a “conspiracy theorist.” In fact, many of these people, including the majority of the writers here at Collective Evolution, are still considered conspiracy theorists by many even though the goal is simply to examine or verify the truth of something.
It is interesting how many of the people who are labeled as conspiracy theorists spend a lot of time with research and critical thinking. Sure there are always going to be more extreme people who lend a “bad name” to those who are legitimately assessing evidence, but it doesn’t mean the entire idea of conspiracy is invalid.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
How To Be As Prepared On The Inside As On The Outside, by A.K. – SurvivalBlog.com
How To Be As Prepared On The Inside As On The Outside, by A.K. – SurvivalBlog.com.
So, you have made your basement bomb-proof, installed solar panels, dug a well, and canned enough food to last ten years. You’ve engineered, on your own, a heating system that is not reliant on electricity, and you’ve rigged a longer-lasting septic system. You’ve stocked up on guns and ammo, bought night vision goggles, mapped all your exits, created an EMP-proof shelter for your electronics, stocked up on medicine and herbs, planted a garden, invested in silver, got a gas mask, and bought enough nutella and coffee for trading value.
But…are you ready?
Most prepers would reply, “More ready than that.” It may be so. That is, to say, in material needs. However, the question is: what are you preparing for? A short burst of chaos? A season of trials? A period of transition? Perhaps you’ve been preparing with the thought, just in case, while continuing to make plans for your future. Or, maybe there’s the thought in your mind that you are so well prepared that even if things go drastically bad, you’ll hardly even notice. There will be no ripples in your pond.
However, have you prepared your mind or more importantly your spirit? A season of change is upon us, and most people can feel the vibe in the air, like the static before a big storm. We all know it’s coming. It will rip through our comfortable lives and change the world we have become accustomed to; a world that has been shifting and moving through the ages but always seems to get itself upright in the end.
So, you’re ready, right?
RESOURCE CRISIS: First, thou shalt not scare them
RESOURCE CRISIS: First, thou shalt not scare them.
A fundamental tenet of scientists and climate concerned people is that “you must not scare people about the climate threat”. Sure: we all know that. It is reasonable, it makes sense, it is even obvious: if you say how bad you think the situation is, if you even mention the worst case hypothesis, they will close their ears singing to themselves “la-la-la!” while they run away. If you are not careful, they will not want to hear what you are telling them, and if they don’t hear you they will do nothing. And if they do nothing, the problem will not be solved. It is standard practice in risk management.
So, we have always been careful to follow the instructions: avoid scaring people, avoid looking like scaremongers, avoid even hinting that things may be worse, much worse than anyone could imagine. We have been careful to end all warnings with a list of solutions; saying that, sure, it looks bad, but the problem will go away if you just insulate your home, buy a smaller car, and turn off the lights when you leave a room. What we need is just a little bit of good will.
To no avail: the climate problem is still there, bigger and more fearsome everyday. Nothing changes, nothing moves, nothing is being done. Nothing even remotely comparable to the scale of the threat. And, sometimes, you feel that you have had enough; you feel like screaming that this is NOT a problem you can solve with double-paned windows and smaller cars; it is NOT a problem for the next century; it is NOT a problem for another generation, It is here, it is now, it is big, it is damn big, and it is out of control. You feel like screaming that aloud.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Skyception – Chapter One | Two Ice Floes
Skyception – Chapter One | Two Ice Floes.
Morpheus
Chapter One
The Levels of Deception and How Psychological Operations are Used Against Us
When was the last time you looked up at the daytime sky and really examined it for several minutes? Does it seem different to you in some way, but you just are not sure what it is? Increasingly, people from all walks of life are beginning to realize that at times our skies look quite different from the way they were a few decades ago. While just a few years ago these people would have been laughed out of the room if they expressed their views in public, more and more these days this subject is beginning to be taken seriously by the general public…..and even some ‘officials’ as well.
While some call this phenomenon Geoengineering or Climate Engineering, it is more commonly known in the alternative community as ‘Chemtrails’, where persistent vapor trails (supposedly of water vapor) are visible after a plane passes high overhead. There are many theories offered in the alternative media about what is happening, and we will examine nearly all. However, before we can address any of them we must first ask a more basic question: Why is it so difficult to discover the reasons behind what is going on and why is this observable phenomenon occurring at all? This chapter, the first of three, will describe some of the methods used to intentionally prevent us from knowing and understanding the truth.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
The psychological dimension to sustainability | Feasta
The psychological dimension to sustainability | Feasta.
As the 21st century unfolds it is increasingly clear that we are entering more deeply into times of travail. The symptoms, both personal and social, of systemic stress are all about. At the political level we see the re-emergence of various fundamentalisms, nationalisms, far-right politics and the normalisation of the Orwellian permanent ‘war on terror’ and subsequent justification for constant state surveillance of citizens. Authoritarian government in the East and post-democracy in the West now exist side by side. Politics is contracted to a regime of technocratric management of the global economy. The capitalist economic system lurches into continual instability kept afloat only by measures such as quantitative easing and the imposed socialisation of elite debts. At the social level inequality, insecurity, new forms of apartheid and social exclusion, slavery and trafficking, and vast enforced movements of people in search of economic security further accentuate the instability of the world. Hovering above all of this disorder ecological crisis grows. The term Climate Change may suggest that only the weather is in question but climate is everything – food, water, temperature, nature itself. Half of all vertebrate life-forms have become extinct in the last forty years.
What is all of this doing to us today? These interlocking problems are not just ‘out there’. We are also being affected at a deep personal level. Not only are we now in the age of social and ecological unsustainability; we must also acknowledge that we are in the age of psychological unsustainability. We must acknowledge the pain and distress of this. All of this social and natural dis-order is taking a toll on our human well-being. Our emotions are picking up this systemic collapse long before our rational minds can. Symptoms of stress and distress are all about us – the exponential rise of labelled ‘mental illnesses’ (fuelled by pharmaceutical companies), of addiction, of despair. Many of us are anxious or depressed.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
BBC – Future – How to debunk falsehoods
BBC – Future – How to debunk falsehoods.
We all resist changing our beliefs about the world, but what happens when some of those beliefs are based on misinformation? Is there a right way to correct someone when they believe something that’s wrong?
Stephen Lewandowsky and John Cook set out to review the science on this topic, and even carried out a few experiments of their own. This effort led to their “Debunker’s Handbook“, which gives practical, evidence-based techniques for correcting misinformation about, say, climate change or evolution. Yet the findings apply to any situation where you find the facts are falling on deaf ears.
The first thing their review turned up is the importance of “backfire effects” – when telling people that they are wrong only strengthens their belief. In one experiment, for example, researchers gave people newspaper corrections that contradicted their views and politics, on topics ranging from tax reform to the existence of weapons of mass destruction. The corrections were not only ignored – they entrenched people’s pre-existing positions.
…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…
Top way to be happier and more effective — Transition Voice
Top way to be happier and more effective — Transition Voice.
When you get out of bed in the morning, what gets your motor running? Are you full of creative good ideas about what you hope to experience that day? Or, are you more focused on what you need to do in order to fulfill the day’s obligations?
The question confronts the issue of motivation — that which energizes, directs and sustains our behaviors. Psychologists remind us that there are two distinctly different types of motivation.
Intrinsic motivation stems from an innate, internal desire to perform particular tasks. Intrinsically motivated people do certain activities because it gives them pleasure, develops a skill, or brings them personal satisfaction.
Extrinsic motivation stems from factors that are external to the individual and sometimes even unrelated to the task that they are performing. Examples include money, good grades and other rewards.
– See more at: http://transitionvoice.com/2014/10/how-to-think-and-live-for-yourself/#sthash.0YO7EP9x.dpuf
