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31. Affect Heuristic:
Emotions evolved to guide us in a low-data world, so are useful in times of uncertainty, as long as you treat them as advisors not masters, and understand their advice: fear for caution, envy for ambition, regret for wisdom, and hatred for motivation.
Everyone, a New MEGATHRE...
@G_S_Bhogal on Twitter
But in their recent article “Why People Prefer Unequal Societies,” the psychologists Christina Starmans, Mark Sheskin, and Paul Bloom took another look at the studies and found that people prefer unequal distributions, both among fellow participants in the lab and among citizens in their country, as long as they sense that the allocation is fair: that the bonuses go to harder workers, more generous helpers, or even the lucky winners of an impartial lottery.17 “There is no evidence so far,” the authors conclude, “that children or adults possess any general aversion to inequality.” People are content with economic inequality as long as they feel that the country is meritocratic, and they get angry when they feel it isn’t. Narratives about the causes of inequality loom larger in people’s minds than the existence of inequality. That creates an opening for politicians to rouse the rabble by singling out cheaters who take more than their fair share: welfare queens, immigrants, foreign countries, bankers, or the rich, sometimes identified with ethnic minorities.18
Enlightenment Now
Steven Pinker
Traditional mystics do not seek an enlightenment that helps them in daily life or provides them with an unusual experience. They seek to understand ultimate reality in a way that goes beyond personal gain, pain, curiosity, individuality, or even otherworldly joy.
The Spiritual Brain
Mario Beauregard, Denyse O'Leary
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