http://www.atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/fort-lauderdale-man-arrested-on-child-porn-charges-for-second

How dangerous is it to ask the government for psychological help?  Atheist see the government as a place that is presently over run with religious dogma and having lack of real evidence based thinkers.  At least if there is any they seem to be in the minority.  The debate over guns in America begs the question, "What will Americas position be on help for the people who are in need for psychological help"?  Will there be enough knowledge about psychology to trickle out of the corners of…

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19297373



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19297373?print=true



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17 August 2012 Last updated at 13:46 ET

Pussy Riot members jailed for two years for hooliganism

Three members of Russian punk band Pussy Riot have been jailed for two years after staging an anti-Vladimir Putin…

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http://freeinternetpress.com/story/Interview-With-Jerome-Kagan-What-About-Tutoring-Instead-Of-Pills-35590.html



curious if 'belief' or influence comes up...



Kagan has been studying developmental psychology at Harvard University for his entire professional career. He has spent decades observing how babies and small children grow, measuring them, testing…

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i was serachin' goog and found this too
http://www.atheistscholar.org/WhatisAtheism.aspx

but this is a great man imho:

"A continuum of communication or atheists in the culture wars: Who's right?"
May 2010 issue of American Atheists journal

i gotta get the digital version or make my own it's top notch!

I had a thought the other morning after some random and unimportant dream. Our ancient ancestors no doubt had dreams just as we do. I remember reading about a study that we can only see faces in our dreams of faces we have already seen, ie we cannot create fictional people in our minds and just recycle others. For us this is hardly significant since we see thousands of people throughout our lives, but imagine what it would be like for a small band or tribe when at most you'll ever see is a… Continue

This is worth reading about. There are not links provided to many of those publications, but I suspect you can find some of them if you Google the titles.   - Dallas

 

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This clip comes to us from Dave Grubin, who is in fact not an 80's tv action/adventure beefcake personality. He is a Vinyl Preacher, for all intents and purposes. He makes Christianity all mystical and New-Agey, while retaining that Ol' Time Religion. Who else can do that?



UPDATE!



Another way to listen to Mondo Diablo is to go to… Continue

Running to catch the sun

We are all heading for the grave in an indifferent universe. How do we cope with such existential concerns?





So you run and you run to catch up

with the sun but it's sinking,

Racing around to come up behind you

again.

The sun is the same in a relative way,

but you're older,

Shorter of breath, and one day closer

to…

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http://www.doctorofdisbelief.com/blog/psychology-of-belief-video-series-parts-1-8.html

Richard McCargar
Dean of the College of Heresy
Logidea University

Working to develop some useful links between memetics and cognitive psychology. The intersection of these seems rich with potential but I haven't seen much written in this area. Any one have a favorite article or book that explores this?

I wrote a book called "Belief in Science and the Science of Belief." Here's a blurb about it:

"Our selective abandonment of reason to belief compromises our fundamental decision-making capacity, both in small personal matters and in critical public policy. This book will give you the insights and techniques you need to apply scientific rigor to your everyday decision-making. It will help you to understand how to verify facts, avoid logical pitfalls and belief-driven biases,…

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PROJECT IMPLICIT: The Implicit Association Test for Religion



It is well known that people don't always ‘speak their minds’, and it is suspected that people don’t always ‘know their minds’. Understanding such divergences is important to scientific psychology. This web site presents a method that demonstrates the conscious-unconscious divergences much more convincingly than has been possible with… Continue

Why You Can’t Help Believing Everything You Read



What is the mind's default position: are we naturally critical or naturally gullible? As a species do we have a tendency to behave like Agent Mulder from the X-Files who always wanted to believe in mythical monsters and alien abductions? Or are we like his partner Agent Scully who was the critical scientist, generating alternative explanations, trying to understand and evaluate the… Continue

I am doing a psych degree and have a great interest in the construction of world views. We all construct our own, religious or not. Love the post on personalsing everything. All gods are created in our own image and there are 6 billion of those. Likewise we all 'hear' the words of the gods through our own noise so there are also 6 billion versions of the religious text. How's that for debunking the idea of absolute truth!



I think your study would have to include the early development… Continue

Say there’s a young child, 4 or 5, who believes in Santa Claus. Her parents cultivate the belief, provide the props and stories, and the kid’s friends support the myth. Then the parents drop the bomb – there’s no Santa! The magical reindeer, Rudolph, the elves, all of it, it’s all a made-up story! The kid might be crushed, but their honest revelation is a vital step toward the child’s separation from her parents and their authority. It’s a step that moves her toward the dismissal of childhood… Continue

[apologies to Kristy - I assumed she took this stuff more seriously than she actually does]



This thread -



Any useful help on hypnosis and past life therapy?



reminded me of an anecdote from the formative years of my cynicism. Some of it refers to posts in the thread.



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Let me give you an… Continue

I was thinking of a thought experiment to try and teach my child when she comes of age about the very basics of religion and atheism and why I stand where I do. This is what came to me as I lay trying to fall asleep last night.



Take two cups, one clear and one opaque, fill the clear one up with stones, beads, etc.. or a wide range of colors, have the opaque cup upside-down on a table. Tell the person that under this cup there may or may not be a stone under the cup and then ask them… Continue