Showing posts with label Social Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Science. Show all posts

Saturday, February 3, 2024

A Different Look At Sociology

"Bernard Lahire has dropped a bombshell with the publication of Structures Fondamentales des Sociétés Humaines (“Fundamental Structures of Human Societies”, La Découverte, 2023). In nearly 1,000 pages, the CNRS research professor at the Centre Max-Weber in Lyon (southeastern France)1 re-examines some 150 years of sociological practice that in his view has strayed too far into hyperspecialisation and become isolated from the life sciences. In the past 30 years, his research has focused on various topics ranging from school dropout rates to political action, illiteracy, and artistic creation. But he has long felt the temptation, dating back to his doctoral dissertation, to expand his field of investigation to other disciplines like history, psychology, and linguistics, along with a need to reconsider the status of the social sciences, a subject broached in his most recent work2. His proposals to revolutionize sociology are the fruit of these years of reflection."

Click on the link below for the details of this novel view of sociology:


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While on the subject, there's a reason why conservatives don't like sociology (link).

Saturday, March 4, 2023

What Is Your Role In Promoting A Better Society?

Anyone attuned to reality and who cares about humanity can see that our society is on the brink of ruin. The Overton Window is the range of policies voters will find acceptable. There is no doubt that society MUST change the content of what is acceptable, and each of us individually and in small groups need to do our part. Click on the link below for a video reinforcing this idea:

Let's talk about our roles - - -

Sunday, June 5, 2022

The History Of Replacement Theory

"Today we take a look at the current conspiracy theory known as "The Great Replacement" which posits that a cabal of elites is conspiring to eradicate Whiteness as a culture and as a people in Europe, North America, and other countries colonized by White Europeans. We also look at the history of the cabal of elites that conspired to eradicate Native peoples and culture from colonized lands in a pattern of genocide and dispossession."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting an in-depth analysis of the evil and dogma:


Thursday, May 5, 2022

The Evidence Is Clear Regarding The Social Effects Of Abortion

The research supporting Roe v. Wade was clear: "Possibly there is no social measure with a higher benefit-to-cost ratio than the legalization of abortion, and therefore none more qualified to be given number one priority on the agenda of needed domestic social reforms." (American Journal of Public Health, 1972)

The latest research continues to support the social benefits of abortion. (The State of Abortion Rights Around the World)

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Handling The Drug Overdose Problem With What Works

"John Oliver discusses why overdoses in the U.S. have been on the rise and what we should, and shouldn’t, be doing to prevent them."

Drug overdoses are a major blight on society and history shows the utter ineffectiveness of most programs. Click on the link below for some science-based approaches to the problem:

Sunday, January 24, 2021

A Science-Based Look At Economics

Economics is known as "The Dismal Science" for many reasons. It is a social science and, thus, there is less consensus of opinion among its experts than in the "Hard" sciences of physics, chemistry, geology, paleontology, archeology, et al (link). While there are many opinions on the economic spectrum, the two philosophies most visible in US economics presently are called Keynesian and Austrian (link):
  • Keynesian: more government involvement (favored by the Democrats)
  • Austrian: less government involvement (favored by the Republicans)
Please note: both of these views do not include extreme right-wing laissez faire capitalism (no limits on private enterprise) or left-wing socialism/communism (total control by the government of the means of production).

Now, which of these simple, basic binary views has been the most successful? I offer the following links that, on balance, seem to be more in support of the Keynesian view. If you disagree, please respond with evidence. Thanks.








Inflation:







Thursday, September 10, 2020

Watch What They Do, Not What They Say

Hypocrisybehavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel.

As humans, most of us have a tendency to preach what is moral but to actually act in such a manner can be another story. The 8-minute video below presents some science behind this social phenomenon.


Friday, July 24, 2020

Inequality: Politics Over Science

Trump and the rest of the Republican party are tone-deaf regarding what is needed to improve the enormous gap between the rich and poor in the USA. The two articles below present the issue from a scientific/evidence perspective:

Click on the links below:

Tax Cuts for the Rich Will Exacerbate Inequality

The marginal propensity of consumption


Thursday, July 23, 2020

10 Myths About The Racial Wealth Gap

"— evidenced by decades of reporting from the Federal Reserve System, U.S. Department of Labor, Department of Commerce and various academic and professional studies — is that the wealth gap is the product of centuries of inequality and racism that has grown too large to be impacted significantly by individual actions, achievements or choices."

Click on the link below:

Evidence over ideology regarding the racial wealth gap

Sunday, July 5, 2020

Saturday, July 4, 2020

Were Jane Elliott"s "Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes" Lessons Successful?

Jane Elliott was an early pioneer in "Diversity Training" in the mid-to-latter 20th Century. There have been "diverse" opinions regarding the ethics of her initially using elementary school children for her lessons and generally how effective they have been. My main take-away is that the lessons exposed how hard it is to change people's attitudes toward "The Other." The link below gives details on what she did and the results.  This link is the result of a general Google search on her.

Jane Elliott - Wikipedia

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Why Can't This Work In The USA

The Nordic countries are known for being the happiest people on Earth while also being very highly taxed. What do they know and what are they doing to achieve their outstanding quality of life?

As you listen to the podcast below note the importance of "the people" and how they strongly challenged the non-partisan reason for the problems for which they corrected: excessive corporate power.

https://podbay.fm/podcast/124960485/e/1578070800


Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Time To Look Deeper Into Why Our Divide Persists

This article is gut-wrenching regarding the divide within the USA. However, there is not one word talking about why this persists: the rural, poor, and uneducated areas are shackled by conservative Christianity. When people are told nothing about reality and all they hear from the religious leaders is hate for the non-believers and scientific findings, as well as social pressure to believe in autocratic leaders, this will not change. NO, "both sides are at fault" is fake news. It is more than time to change the environment of the rural poor from magical thinking to science-based thinking. Yes, it will be difficult, but it MUST happen or the USA and the planet will never significantly improve in its overall well-being.

The Places Where The Recession Never Ended

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Science-Based Thinking On The Past And Future

The latest podcast on Sam Harris' "Making Sense" was an interview with Andrew McAfee discussing his new book "More from LessThe Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources―and What Happens Next." Below is the link to the interview.


Sunday, July 22, 2018

The Psychological Differences Between Liberals And Conservatives

Whether you are a liberal or conservative, we all know it is difficult to persuade a liberal to become more conservative and vise versa. Brain function research can explain at least some of the resistance, and also suggest ways of persuading conservatives to adopt more liberal views. Perhaps liberals can keep these factors in mind when interacting with conservatives. Just talking about science-based thinking usually is not enough.

These key psychological differences can determine whether you're liberal or conservative

(Patheos)

Monday, July 2, 2018

Addressing The Problems In Larger Cities

My adopted home town of Charlotte, NC has a good reputation in some areas but in other areas, not so much. Thus, I would say it is a typical growing community in the USA.  The following article is enlightening regarding how one larger community is dealing with its challenges.


Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Here's Whose Advice We Need To Follow This Graduation Season

"We, the adults, have not earned the right to deliver your commencement addresses for we have created a mess of polarization, demonization, environmental damage and gun violence. Rather than letting us shatter your dreams for our world, please shatter our complacency and cynicism. Demand that our country work toward your ideals and ours. Rather than offering you advice, we are ready to follow yours."

High School Class of 2018, be nonconforming.


Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article212566359.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article212566359.html#storylink=c

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The Land Mines of Addressing The Role of Genes In Intelligence

"'I’m afraid that this will be a distraction for society,' he said. An obsession with slippery genetic predictions could turn people’s attention away from other things that influence how children do in school and beyond—things like their family’s wealth, the stress in their neighborhoods, the quality of the schools themselves."



Thursday, May 24, 2018

The Great Depression Gives Us Evidence Of What To Avoid

Economics is known as "The Dismal Science", however, experts can't even agree on what that means. In other words, it is a discipline with many more disagreements than agreements. That said, The Great Depression does have some lessons we should understand to avoid another one. For example:
  • "1928 and 1929 were the times in the 20th century that the wealth gap reached such skewed extremes;[185] half the unemployed had been out of work for over six months, something that was not repeated until the late-2000s recession. 2007 and 2008 eventually saw the world reach new levels of wealth gap inequality that rivaled the years of 1928 and 1929."
Open-minded folks who care about the welfare of people would benefit from reading this in detail:

Great Depression - Wikipedia

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Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.

Choose how you look at reality wisely. Yes, it is a binary choice.
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