Why do some conspiracy theories seem to have so much evidence to support them? Well, that’s because if you look hard enough at any event, and you don’t have any particular theory before you start looking, you’re eventually going to find something. And you’ll probably think that thing is AMAZING. This is what careful thinkers […]
Have you seen the musical The Fantasticks? Not only does it have wonderful music but it also has pearls of wisdom. Oh yea, and gender issues. In this episode I talk about the psychology inside this great show. Resources The Fantasticks Teaching skepticism It turns out money can kind of buy happiness after all German […]
In this episode I talk about whether there really is a bible code, anti-vaccination beliefs and whether jellybeans cause acne. It’s all part of how we humans love to find patterns in the world and the amount of wiggle room we’re willing to give ourselves to find them. Too often we make the Look […]
Most of us have heard of Anton Mesmer and Jean Charcot. They were some of the first to dabble in the “mind cure” using hypnosis and the power of suggestion. But what role did syphilis play in the development of psychology? You’d be surprised. Join me and authors Dr. Allan Ropper and Brian David Burrell […]
There are too many knee-jerk, brief (and incorrect) explanations for why the US is experiencing such a rise in hatred and violence. Claiming that violent perpetrators are “mentally ill” is wrong. We have research and we understand the dangerous path that some young men get involved in and which ultimately leads them to violence. The […]
I haven’t talked about sleep problems yet here on the Psych Files so I brought in the perfect person to talk to us about sleep and insomnia. Dr. Shelby Harris has written the Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia and I learned a lot about how Cognitive Behavioral therapy is applied to this specific problem. Dr. […]
Have you ever wondered if you’re really being true to some inner person of yours? Wondered if there isn’t someone else inside that you that you’re supposed to be actualizing? Guess what? Maybe not. What is authenticity anyway? That’s what we’ll explore in this episode. Resources Authenticity under Fire by Scott Barry Kaufman
In the last episode I talked about the potential downside to having most of our digital assistants speak to us using a female voice. “Q” – will give us an option. Here’s my interview with Emil Rasmussen, who will give you some of the background behind Q and his hopes for the future of Q. […]
Why do our digital assistants such as Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Cortana have “feminized” voices and what are the effects of this trend? That’s what I explore in this episode. Are there negative effects of using female voices in the devices we talk to and who talk to us? Are there alternatives? Turns out […]
