A Collage of Facebook Reels Pertinent To The Intent Of This Blog

Is the USA the greatest country?  https://www.facebook.com/reel/612897647841485

What would Heaven be like?  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?mibextid=wwXIfr&v=2863457223831381&rdid=MXqxZCIuOQdr3KOZ

How are people manipulated?  https://www.facebook.com/reel/988493846481564

Do you understand privilege?  https://www.facebook.com/watch/?mibextid=wwXIfr&v=635880572605857&rdid=rMypdcKHnz7USzf9

Do you understand peer pressure?  https://www.facebook.com/reel/483410001372828

Do you understand how intellectualism collapsed?  https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1LTKpMmLZs/

What is the greatest threat to humanity?  https://www.facebook.com/reel/1187752976688900

The Underlying Problem With MAGA: Childish/Magical Thinking

One major trait of Trumpers/MAGA is childish/magical thinking. Everything is black and white. There is no room for understanding that reality can be much more than good or bad/right or wrong in many serious topics/circumstances. Unsupported certainty can be the enemy of nuance, humility, and understanding

There is a reason why fear works so well on them: they are easily blocked from considering that they may be incorrect in their opinions. The majority probably were raised within a religion and that religion poisoned their brains from challenging the dogma to which they were exposed.

Below is an emblematic of this problem: 

• "I am afraid of the 'other' that I was taught to hate. Those immigrants will harm me and take my job. I must support deporting them as fast as we can, to Hell with due process/the Rule of Law."

"Stupid": The Need For Critical Thinking

"Stupidity isn’t just a lack of intelligence—it’s the refusal to think critically, and it’s everywhere. In this video, we dive into The Stupidity Epidemic, exploring why people ignore facts, how social media fuels misinformation, and why Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed stupidity is more dangerous than evil. From blind groupthink to misplaced confidence, we break down how ignorance spreads, why it thrives in positions of power, and what we can do about it. If you've ever wondered why smart people make bad decisions—or why the loudest voices are often the least informed—this video is for you. Let’s talk about it. And if you find this conversation valuable, hit subscribe—it really helps the channel!"

The Stupidity Epidemic: Why Critical Thinking is Dying

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Trump's IQ? How About His Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. It's also known as emotional quotient (EQ).

Key elements of EI: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.

Benefits of EI:

• Better relationships: EI can help you build stronger relationships with others.
• Better communication: EI can help you communicate effectively with others.
• Better decision making: EI can help you make informed decisions.
• Better conflict management: EI can help you resolve conflict effectively.
• Better stress management: EI can help you relieve stress.

How to improve EI:

• Name your feelings
• Understand how your feelings impact your behavior
• Pause and reconsider your response before acting
• Develop your social skills
• Practice active listening
• Use open body language
• Develop rapport with others
• Express leadership
• History of EI

The term EI was coined in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey. Psychologist Daniel Goleman later popularized the term in his 1995 book Emotional Intelligence.

(Generative AI)

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Click here for a video describing how the above applies to Donald J Trump.  

Understanding The Introverted Personality

"Why do highly intelligent individuals often seem detached from social life? Is it arrogance, introversion, or something deeper? In this video, we explore the profound insights of Arthur Schopenhauer, one of the most brilliant and unconventional philosophers of the 19th century, to understand why intelligence and solitude often go hand in hand. 

"Schopenhauer believed that the more intelligent a person is, the less they feel the need for social validation. Their minds are rich with thoughts and ideas, making external distractions unnecessary. But does this mean social life has no value at all? Or is it simply a societal illusion we have been conditioned to believe? 

"Through historical examples and philosophical analysis, we will uncover the difference between solitude and loneliness, why superficial social interactions feel draining to deep thinkers, and how embracing solitude can lead to greater intellectual and personal fulfillment. 

"By the end of this video, you may start to question everything you've been taught about social life, relationships, and what it truly means to be fulfilled."

Click on the link below for the video:

Why Smart People Don’t Care About Social Life – Schopenhauer

What Everyone Gets Wrong About Gambling on Sports

"Do you think it still counts as gambling if you're guaranteed to win? Do you think it would be a net positive to society if 100% of sports bettors used tools to gain an edge? Do you think I should have kept this story to myself? Do you ever get nervous?"

Yes, NOW, one can win by understanding mathematics. However, If you score big, you will be banned from further sports betting. Good luck, math geeks, click here if you think you can make a living at it.

Repeating Anything Enough Will Create The Illusion Of Truth

"If you repeat something enough times, it comes to feel good and true." (link)

Geniuses Are Different (And That's Not Bad)

"In this thought-provoking video, we dive into the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer and explore why smart people often don’t care about being social. Schopenhauer, known for his pessimistic worldview, argued that solitude is not only necessary for deep thought but also a form of liberation from the superficiality of social interactions. We’ll break down his ideas about human nature, the burden of social expectations, and why intelligent individuals often prefer the peace and introspection of their own company. If you’ve ever felt out of place in social situations or wondered why some people seem indifferent to socializing, this video is for you. Join us as we discuss how Schopenhauer’s insights can help us better understand the nature of social interaction and personal fulfillment."

Click on the link below for the video:

Why Smart People Don't Care About Being Social | Schopenhauer

 

History Is At Least Rhyming

"In the episode we’re about to share, Sean Illing and his guest, historian Edward Watts, discuss how America today feels like ancient Rome…right before its empire collapsed."

Click on the link below for a podcast that examines the psychological and historical aspects of the present and potential future of the USA.

The Gray Area: Is America collapsing like ancient Rome? 

Happiness: It's Not What Conservatives Think

"What does it take to be happy? Dr. Laurie Santos is the Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology and Head of Silliman College at Yale University, where she teaches 'Psychology and the Good Life.' She’s also host of the podcast, “The Happiness Lab.” Dr. Santos joins Preet to discuss: The definition of happiness and how to maximize it:

 
The parenting paradox

 
How job crafting can bring purpose to any career

Self-care vs caring for others
Practicing gratitude

 
The health effects of loneliness and the importance of social connection

The relationship between religion and happiness

Why negative emotions are necessary"

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Click on the link below for the details:

The Formula for Happiness

Understanding Scams 101

"In this 2022 episode, host Bob Sullivan welcomes special guest Alexis Conran. Conran’s insight into the mind of a con man comes from acting as one on the popular BBC show The Real Hustle. On the series, Conran, an actual trained magician, and his team perpetrate scams on unsuspecting consumers and then reveal the crimes to the victims (now in the hundreds), all in the name of educating the public. Conran discusses what he’s learned about the criminal mindset and what he has identified as the elements of deception."

Click on this link for the podcast.

To Fight Health Disinformation, Focus On Low Expertise

"Disinformation is false information spread intentionally, and it is particularly harmful for public health. We conducted three preregistered experiments (N = 1,568) investigating how to discredit dubious health sources and disinformation attributed to them. Experiments 1 and 2 used cancer information and recruited representative U.S. samples. Participants read a vignette about a seemingly reputable source and rated their credibility. Participants were randomly assigned to a control condition or interventions that (a) corrected the source’s disinformation, (b) highlighted the source’s low expertise, or (c) corrected disinformation and highlighted low expertise (Experiment 2). Next, participants rated their belief in the source’s disinformation claims and rerated their credibility. We found that highlighting low expertise was equivalent to (or more effective than) other interventions for reducing belief in disinformation. Highlighting low expertise was also more effective than correcting disinformation for reducing source credibility, although combining it with correcting disinformation outperformed low expertise alone (Experiment 2). Experiment 3 extended this paradigm to vaccine information in vaccinated and unvaccinated subgroups. A conflict-of-interest intervention and 1-week retention interval were also added. Highlighting low expertise was the most effective intervention in both vaccinated and unvaccinated participants for reducing belief in disinformation and source credibility. It was also the only condition where belief change was sustained over 1 week, but only in the vaccinated subgroup. In sum, *highlighting a source’s lack of expertise is a promising option for fact-checkers and health practitioners to reduce belief in disinformation and perceived credibility."

https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2025-19881-005.html

*The US Republican Party is a major source of disinformation on MANY topics. (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/11/trump-disinformation-immigrants-storm-00183378)

Anxiety And Elections

"Evan Osnos is a staff writer at the New Yorker, where his work spans everything from national politics to foreign affairs. Just days before the election, Osnos joins Preet to talk about the big questions in American political culture: What does patriotism mean in a divided country? How should we confront cruelty? And is there still room for empathy in our politics?"

Click on the link below for a thoughtful, evidence-based podcast on what is stressing and dividing the US:

Election Anxiety, Anyone?

Dependence On Fossil Fuels Is An Addiction

"In this episode, I’m venturing into new territory by discussing the environmental crisis with Dr. Roger Gottlieb, author of “The Sacrifice Zone.” Dr. Gottlieb offers a powerful perspective, arguing that avoidance and denial are the greatest environmental threats we face. He draws a compelling comparison between humanity’s dependence on fossil fuels and addiction, highlighting the challenges of inspiring action on climate change and overcoming feelings of powerlessness."

Click on the link below for more:

What would an environmental saint look like?

Why Humanity Must Overcome Religion | Carl Sagan

"In this video, Carl Sagan explores the vastness of the universe, the power of science, and the limitations of religious belief. He emphasizes the importance of skepticism, evidence, and the scientific method in shaping humanity’s future while questioning the role of faith and mythology in understanding our place in the cosmos."

 

Click on this link for a video compilation of some of Carl Sagan's more famous quotes, leading to the conclusion that humanity's most common and dangerous false belief must be marginalized for humanity to survive.

Herd Mentality: Humanity's Achilles Heel

Herd Mentality: a psychological phenomenon that describes the tendency of people to conform to the beliefs or behaviors of a group they are part of. It can be seen in many aspects of life. (AI Overview)

Identity Politics And Chimpanzees

Cooperation is better than domination - - -

"The dark side of identity politics occurs when the dominant race/religion/gender (in today’s America that’s white Christian men) identifies people who aren’t part of their group as an 'other' and uses this otherness as a rallying cry to enlist members of the powerful in-group against the 'outsiders.' 

"This is what the GOP has been doing for years! Ever since 1968, when Richard Nixon picked up the white racist vote that Democrats abandoned in 1964/1965 when LBJ pushed the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act through Congress."

Click on the link below to understand that MAGA equals Chimpanzee behavior:

How Republicans Get You To Cheer For Murder 

A Reminder: "Wellness" Is Bait Used By Pseudoscience

"The world of mental healthcare is very much caveat emptor: buyer beware. Today, people looking to care for their mental health face a market with at least 600 “brands” of psychotherapy—and counting. Most are ineffective, and many could be harmful. The $5.6 trillion dollar wellness industry includes countless unregulated providers of mental health services looking to exploit people’s financial and emotional vulnerabilities. 

"Jonathan Stea, a clinical psychologist who regularly deals with some of society’s most vulnerable people. Having seen so many of his patients hurt by pseudoscience, Stea is on a mission to expose its harm and protect the public from mental health misinformation. He’ll discuss and debunk the predatory pseudoscience and grift of the multi-trillion-dollar wellness industry and point us toward a better way to take care of our mental health."

Click on the link below for an expose of the poorly regulated mental health industry:

Saving Your Mental Health from the Wellness Industry

Memory And The Bible

"Did this psych student from the University of Wilmington prove Frank Turek to be 'patently false' about impact events? Watch me watch Frank to unpack the heart of Frank's argument and the importance of identifying the distinction between major and minor details."

Click on the link below to understand that our memories of "Impact Events" are flawed:

Psych Student Tells Christian Apologist He's Wrong

The Disease Of Anti-Immigration Continues To Spread

"Border security around the world continues to take turns for the dark and dystopian as right-wing sentiment against migrants and refugees continues to escalate to the extreme."

Click on the link below for a 2-hour in-depth podcast addressing the rational and irrational fear of "The Other."

Migrants and Refugees on Fortress Earth: Our politicized, fortified, industrialized borders in the US and Europe.