Regarding Steven Pinker's book: For the record, I'm not a scholar. Have had an eclectic education–formal and informal–and 40+ years of experience as a workplace trainer and management consultant. Also, my opinions reflect how I was raised (brainwashed?) in my immigrant family. I've been influenced by Viktor Frankl, Nathaniel Branden, Aaron Beck, Virginia Satir, among others, and the philosophy of Austrian School of Economics.
So, I believe in nature, nurture, AND choice, which includes personal responsibility. I don't hold the opinion that we can change everything about ourselves with enough gumption. That's a recipe for despair when we fail to meet the expectations of the theory. However, I do believe that most people can, to a certain extent, shed destructive influences, learn to mitigate inherited characteristics and physical challenges, and make choices that are better, making them happier and more productive - regardless of DNA and environment.
Also, I believe that human behavior is a mystery, full of surprises, more complicated than any theory. Theories provide us with questions we can ask about ourselves. Each theory frames the world, including data from surveys and tests, differently. So, I wanted my clients and students to learn to apply the theories and models to their situation, and see if the ideas could help them.
I have not read the book, but I hope it does help readers move beyond the nature/nurture dichotomy. Thanks for your book and author suggestions.
This is an egregious misrepresentation of the Trump case against Selzer, which essentially accuses her of deliberately committing fraud with the intent of election interference. IF TRUE, that's not a "Free Speech" case at all. You can argue whether it's true or not, but that's a dispute over the underlying facts, it's NOT an attack on "Free Speech" or against honest mistakes in polling.
This is like saying that IF it is shown that withdrawing money from a bank is like robbing that bank, well then we must prosecute! But of course we know that the two things are not the same, never have been and never will be. FIRE's intervention is appropriate.
Regarding Steven Pinker's book: For the record, I'm not a scholar. Have had an eclectic education–formal and informal–and 40+ years of experience as a workplace trainer and management consultant. Also, my opinions reflect how I was raised (brainwashed?) in my immigrant family. I've been influenced by Viktor Frankl, Nathaniel Branden, Aaron Beck, Virginia Satir, among others, and the philosophy of Austrian School of Economics.
So, I believe in nature, nurture, AND choice, which includes personal responsibility. I don't hold the opinion that we can change everything about ourselves with enough gumption. That's a recipe for despair when we fail to meet the expectations of the theory. However, I do believe that most people can, to a certain extent, shed destructive influences, learn to mitigate inherited characteristics and physical challenges, and make choices that are better, making them happier and more productive - regardless of DNA and environment.
Also, I believe that human behavior is a mystery, full of surprises, more complicated than any theory. Theories provide us with questions we can ask about ourselves. Each theory frames the world, including data from surveys and tests, differently. So, I wanted my clients and students to learn to apply the theories and models to their situation, and see if the ideas could help them.
I have not read the book, but I hope it does help readers move beyond the nature/nurture dichotomy. Thanks for your book and author suggestions.
This is an egregious misrepresentation of the Trump case against Selzer, which essentially accuses her of deliberately committing fraud with the intent of election interference. IF TRUE, that's not a "Free Speech" case at all. You can argue whether it's true or not, but that's a dispute over the underlying facts, it's NOT an attack on "Free Speech" or against honest mistakes in polling.
This is like saying that IF it is shown that withdrawing money from a bank is like robbing that bank, well then we must prosecute! But of course we know that the two things are not the same, never have been and never will be. FIRE's intervention is appropriate.