Over the decades, state and local governments have passed environmental laws that enjoy widespread support. Studies show that most people use their intuition to determine whether to vote for a law, rather than looking at answers from science. Is this always a good policy?
Skeptical investigator, Brian Dunning, has done a deep dive into one of these: Plastic Bag Bans. In his investigation, Brian compares the carbon footprint and overall effect of disposable plastic bags, paper bags, and other alternatives.
As mentioned in class, the word "transgender" is an umbrella term that covers any individual who expresses (through behavior, mode of dress, etc.) the opposite sex from the one assigned by biology. This includes transsexuals, who are different from the other transgender categories in that the sex they were assigned by nature is the wrong one. In other words, their "brain sex" is truly who they are, while their bodies represent an incorrect assignment by nature.
Some transsexual men and women choose surgery to alter their bodies in ways that match their true gender, while others don't (for various reasons). As a society, it is our ethical responsibility to learn the proper terminology, to accept trans men and women for who they really are, and I think, to fight for equal protection and respect under the law.
And click the link below to download a one-page description to learn how to speak of, and to, trans people with the proper terminology.
CLICK HERE to read about the lack of legal protections for people in the Trans Community.
CLICK HERE to learn what you can do to help end discrimination against trans men and women.
I'm happy to announce that my friend, Cassandra Cass, is one of the stars of a new reality series called "Strut" on the Oxygen Network. Producer Whoopi Goldberg brings us behind the scenes at the world's first Transgender modeling agency. Check the trailer below.
Please CLICK HEREto be taken to the home page of The Kinsey Institute for Sex, Gender and Reproduction. Once there, you can learn about the institute, its founder, and the ongoing research being conducted.
If you're interested in so-called "gay conversion therapies," which purport to change people's sexual orientations, you might want to watch a talk I gave for the Center for Inquiry's (CSI) national conference in 2018.
In it, you'll learn about the dismal failure of such programs, and how they only succeed in occasionally creating short-term changes in people's behavior, not in their sexual orientation (eroticism). The APA recently issued a rare statement, warning therapists that they would be sanctioned and could face losing their APA affiliation if they participate in such programs, showing how seriously damaging they can be.
For more information on this pseudo-science, CLICK HERE to visit Wayne R. Besens' excellent "TruthWinsOut" web site.
The life story of David Reimer is a fact that reads like fiction. It regards one of the most personal and mysterious aspects of human life: gender. The detailes of the story were recently released in a book by John Colapinto, "As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As a Girl."
A recent discussion in some of my classes led me to look further for sources to answer some questions my students brought up. In the search, I was reminded of V. S. Ramachandran's amazing works (which see). Although Dr Ramachandran specializes in neurology, don't let that put you off. He writes in the style of Oliver Sacks (one of his biggest fans!), and Richard Dawkins (who wrote the forward in one of his books), making the information accessible to the professional and layperson, alike. My advice is to purchase only ONE of these books. They have a great deal of similar content, so you won't get much more if you buy them both.
To follow up on our recent discussion about States of Consciousness, please see the information below.
CLICK HERE to read a terrific article about sleep and dreams. In it, you'll learn more about the sleep stages we discussed, and be introduced to some cutting edge scientific findings on the brain's functioning during sleep, the relationship between body size and sleep, and WHY we need REM sleep to function normally.
CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Wikipedia.org page on Psychoactive Drugs where you can read about the categories of drugs, their effects, as well as a brief history of the use of such drugs by humans.
Because our text book is lacking a bit in its coverage of Daydreaming and Meditation, I decided to find a couple of resources to give you more information.
Download Daydreaming - Price-Mitchell (2016) to read research on the creative benefits of daydreaming. Although most of us think of daydreaming as a sign that a person is unfocused and unruly, this research seems to suggest that there can be a purpose for this altered state of consciousness.
CLICK HERE to visit a website that discusses research on meditation, and how scientists are beginning to unlock the emotional and even physical benefits of this altered state of consciousness.
In 2010, I was honored to receive an invitation to become part of a collaborative effort to educate the public about the importance of sleep. This group, now called the Stanford Sleepwell Society, operates under the auspices of one of the biggest names in sleep research, Stanford University professor/researcher William C. Dement, MD, PhD.
In a previous semester, several members of the Ohlone Psychology Club and some of my other students attended a talk by Dr Dement.
Since insomnia is often discussed as a possible cause of poor sleep hygiene, I offer the fact sheet below to help you understand the various diagnoses, effects, and possible treatments for this serious problem.
As we will discuss, one of the world's leading researchers in Memory is a psychologist namedElizabeth Loftus. Professor Loftus has published hundreds of articles, reporting the results of work with tens of thousands of subjects' memories. The big lesson from this research is that memory production is "constructive" and malleable. It is not a perfect reproduction of the experience, as many people assume.
Dr. Loftus has been a consultant, or testified, in hundreds of criminal cases that involve memory-based testimony, leading to a great interest in her work, but also a good deal of backlash and hate because she stands up for the truth, even with unpopular defendants (e.g., Harvey Weinstein).
CLICK HERE to listen to my ShelShocked Podcast episode on memory, which includes an interview with Elizabeth Loftus!
Over the past 100 years, American football has grown from a little known sport played on ivy league campuses, to a multi-billion dollar industry with thousands of employees. The NFL is one of the largest employers in the nation, and carries with it a terrible secret that has only recently come to light. Concussions. And the picture is far worse than you ever imagined.
CLICK HERE to watch an important PBS documentary entitled "League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis." In it, doctors, former sports reporters, and former NFL players, and the wives of former players dicuss the toll the sport has taken on the health and safety of thousands of young men, sending many to an early grave. Until recently the NFL has taken great pains, and spent millions in payoffs and lawyer fees, in an attempt to deny and/or conver up just how bad the problem is.
Here's hoping the scientific information will continue to be discussed so that measures can be taken to at least make the sport less dangerous for those who choose to play it.
One of my favorite topics in the field of psychology is the true story of an attempt by neurologist Oliver Sacks to help people suffering from a never-before-seen disease called Encephalitis Lethargica (Sleepy Sickness).
As discussed, a woman named Dorthea Dix is almost single-handedly responsible for sparking a movement that resulted in revolutionizing the treatment of those with mental illness in this country. The fact that she was a woman living in the 19th-century Southern U.S. makes her story all the more astonishing and impressive.
CLICK HERE to read more about this remarkable woman.
If this sort of history piques your interest, please contact Heather McCarty ([email protected]) and ask about taking her new course entitled "History 119B: Bad Girls: Women in America from 1890."
CLICK HERE to read about another incredible woman, Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Jane Cochran), and her incredible ordeal spending 10 days in an asylum with the express purpose of studying it from the inside and reporting on her experiences.
As you already know, your Course Paper is to be constructed using peer-reviewed journal articles only as your scientific source material. To that end, please use the Ohlone Library's databases to find these. Click the link below to open this blog post and follow the instructions:
Have you ever wished for a better memory? I think it's a very common (perhaps ubiquitous) human desire. Many might even go so far as to envy those who have "perfect recall," the ability to store and retrieve nearly every experience, fact, thought, etc.
As with many such cases, however, the reality of perfect recall, often a result of Hyperthymesia, is far from the rosy picture many of us imagine. The case of Jill Price (The Woman Who Can't Forget) illustrates this quite well. Studied by researchers for years, always under a pseudonym, Price has marveled memory specialists with her ability to recite dates and facts down to the smallest detail, with little or no error. She even corrects entries in encyclopedias and other authoritative sources.
CLICK HERE to read a report about this fascinating woman, and watch the embedded video for additional details about how this "gift" can also carry a "curse."
Click the video below to watch a short documentary about Jill and her life history.
Berkeley professor Dr. Fred Crews has written what some consider to be the ultimate biography on the most famous (and infamous) figure in the history of psychology, Sigmund Freud.
Crews' book, "Freud: The Making of an Illusion," sheds light on little-known backstories and historical truths about Freud as a man, the etiology of his ideas about psychology and the human mind, and his surprisingly non-scientific methods in both.
CLICK HERE to read an NY Times review of Crews' book which I think you'll find interesting.
James Randi is not only one of the greatest magicians and entertainers of all time, he's also a wonderful critical thinker and a decent human being. He has devoted most of his adult life to protecting the public from those he sees as charlatans and swindlers, while also teaching us some important lessons about the power of rationality and the scientific method.
In Spring of 2015, I hosted a screening of the documentary film about Randi's life, called "An Honest Liar." At the time, it was only being shown in theaters and our screening was the only one approved for release on a college campus. I'm happy to say that the film has now been released on DVD and Blu-Ray, and is available to watch online via Amazon Prime (with ads).
I strongly encourage you to watch it. You'll not only be entertained, but also informed and better prepared to protect yourself against the many scam artists and con criminals you'll encounter in life.
Information about required textbooks for your classes is available on the Ohlone College Bookstore website, with classes organized in the store by department, instructor, and course. To assist you, however, I have included the information below.
Nota bene: It doesn't much matter to me how you get these books (from the campus bookstore, online, through a friend, etc.), but I cannot hold lectures or tests because you're still awaiting your book's arrival, so plan ahead.
Although it seems bizarre, many people believe strongly in the promise of acupuncture, an ancient Eastern technique in which small needles are inserted into the skin at specific points with the purpose of eliminating diesease, pain, emotional problems, etc.
In the video below, psychologist and author Michael Shermer investigates this mystical form of Eastern "Medicine" to determine 1) whether there is any scientific basis for acupuncture, and 2) whether any benefits beyond the placebo effect.
Please click below and download the Welcome Letter and the instructions for accessing our Canvas shell. Let me know if you have any difficulties, and I'll do my best to help you resolve them.
Please click the link below to download a one-page of tips from a former student that may provide you with some insight about how to study better.
As I said in class, these are tips from one student who found them helpful for herself. They may, or may not, all apply to your own learning patterns. But, it probably won't hurt to consider some of them. Michelle took all of my courses, and proved herself an exceptional student. Some of that may have been due to things other than her study habits, but who knows?
As I mention in each of my classes, I do not allow video or audio recording of my lectures. This has apparently been confusing for some, so I wanted to be very clear about it.
The lectures that I give are extemporaneous and, although they may seem to be "off the top of my head" at times, I can assure you that that is an illusion. Each of my lectures contains a great deal of carefully planned information and is "performed" as much as recited. Therefore, my lectures and those performances constitute my Intellectual Property. Without ownership of this property, a faculty member can become somewhat obsolete, as well as having her/his property disseminated without consent.
I hope this clarifies my policy; let me know if you have any questions.
California Education Code 78907 prohibits students taping a class, and violation is a misdemeanor:
78907. The use by any person, including a student, of any electronic listening or recording device in any classroom without the prior consent of the instructor is prohibited, except as necessary to provide reasonable auxiliary aids and academic adjustments to disabled students. Any person, other than a student, who willfully violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Any student violating this section shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
James Randi's reputation as a magician and escape artist is a matter of world renown. Although he occasionally still performs small feats, most of his current efforts involve his work as a tireless investigator and demystifier of paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Utilizing a keen scientific mind, Randi - as he prefers to be called - examines claims of paranormal powers and activities all over the world.
Since everyone and his brother is playing amateur scientist or psychologist these days, I've hesitated to chime in. But I've also received a good number of messages from people who've asked me to advise them about how to cope with the Shelter-In-Place order, and all the other craziness that we're currently faced with. To that end, here's my advice for dealing with Cabin Fever. --------------------------------
A few years ago, I was asked by the James Randi Educational Foundation to contribute to part of their educational efforts. The result of this collaboration was three chapters in their e-book, "Magic in the Classroom." In it, I wrote chapters on the following topics:
Your Nervous System Can Fool You (Chapter 25)
Your Common Sense Can Fail You (Chapter 26)
Your Beliefs are Malleable (Chapter 28)
Click here to visit the download page where you can get a FREE copy in multiple formats.
Many of you laughed when I mentioned the Flat Earth Society in class (and it is, indeed, laughable). But believe me, I'm not kidding. There are litereally thousands of otherwise normal, everyday folks around the world who believe that our planet is flat.
This view of the world is ancient, and derives from staggering ignorance. Even Christopher Columbus knew that the world was a sphere (regardless of the children's tale that says otherwise). To find people who believed this, you'd have to go back much further than the 1400s. In fact, it was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras who first proposed a spherical Earth in the 6th century (the 500s)!
CLICK HERE to read a report about the Flat Earthers and their ridiculous beliefs. Then, consider what other beliefs people hold (homophobia, Creationism, sexism, anti-GMO, racial superiority, vaccine denial), as well as any that you yourself may hold that aren't supported by the facts.
I'm pleased to announce that my long-awaited podcast has finally aired. Each week, my co-host Amanda DeVaus (from the Australian Skeptics) will cover a different topic from science or skepticism, and feature interviews from famous scientists, authors, critical thinkers, etc.
NOW AVAILABLE in the iTunes store! Just search for "ShelShocked," then subscribe so that episodes will download automatically each week FREE.
CLICK HERE to join our Facebook fan page where each new episode will post, and related information can be found.
In addition, you can listen to (or download) episodes directly from my website HERE.
I'm happy to report that Operation Bumblebee (San Jose) was a rousing success. Several of us to took part have written up articles about the experience, and some are already taking part in podcast interviews to spread the word. In addition to tricking self-described psychic Chip Coffey into connecting with our fake dead relatives, we also hoped to spark skeptical activism in our community. When you have a moment, click the link below to read (or listen to) my take on the evening. It was an emotionally exhausting experience, but very gratifying, nonetheless.
CLICK HERE to read a report of the evening's events (also available in audio format on that page). We have some interest from several major publications and a TV show, and I'll keep you posted about those as they develop.
