The idea that a trance or special state of consciousness occurs during hypnosis traces its origins to the earliest attempts to understand hypnosis. The word “mesmerized” has a resemblance to the word “hypnotized.” There’s a reason for that. “Mesmerized” comes from the Viennese physician Franz Anton Mezmer (1734-1815), who gave powerful evidence of the power … Read more

What if it was a trilemma? The Matrix metaphor that has been abused is the dilemma that Morpheus gave to Neo in the form of a choice between the red pill and the blue pill. Pop culture has embraced the metaphor. The red pill is now synonymous with the cold hard truth, while the blue … Read more

Strange Rites by Tara Burton is about the new religions of the internet age. Burton starts the book with a description of Sleep No More, an immersive theatre show which developed a cult-like following. She describes the experience of attending one of these shows as a multi-sensory ritual that satisfies man’s proclivity for the religious … Read more

The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. —Archilochus The Hedgehog and The Fox – Isaiah Berlin Inspired by a sentence he had heard from an Oxford undergraduate in a common-room parlour game in the 1930’s, Isaiah Berlin turned the phrase (originally Greek) into a great essay on Tolstoy named “The … Read more

The liar must have an understanding of the truth. That is why lying requires sharp focus. The liar is inescapably aware of the truth – otherwise, it would be impossible for him to deceive. He must design his falsehood, and decorate it with precision, so that it is mistaken for the truth.  The bullshitter, on … Read more

On Bullshit Title: On Bullshit Author(s): Harry Frankfurt First Published: 1986 One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted Summary Calling Bullshit Title: Calling Bullshit Author(s): Carl T. Bergstrom, … Read more

Emily was a 9-year-old working on an idea for her fourth-grade science fair project. She was just 11 years old when her research was published, making her the youngest person ever to have research published in the prestigious medical journal and perhaps the youngest in any major, peer-reviewed scientific journal. How to Measure Anything, Douglas … Read more

“The narrative fallacy addresses our limited ability to look at sequences of facts without weaving an explanation into them, or, equivalently, forcing a logical link, an arrow of relationship upon them. Explanations bind facts together.” Nassim Nicholas Taleb Underlying each identity is an attractive story, that is represented in media, or by people you know. … Read more