Robert Sapolsky: “Maybe” is Addictive Like Nothing Else Out There

Robert Sapolsky talks about dopamine: It is to drive us toward goals and it has little to do with those moments when we are enjoying our already-achieved goals. Dopamine especially pours out when the reward is uncertain. This fact that a potential reward is not certain, but only "maybe," highly motivates us.

Makes total sense. For many things, it seems like we are getting most of the pleasure as we are getting ready to acquire the thing, not after we already own it. Perhaps this is a Christmas tale . . .

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What is a “Mourner’s Veto”?

In his article at Quillette, "Resisting the Mourner’s Veto," Christopher J. Ferguson describes a series of attempts by Woke activists to cancel speech they consider unpopular. This includes Joe Rogan, Abigail Shrier, Jordan Peterson and University of Chicago Professor Dorian Abbot. Each of these attempts has used what Ferguson terms a "Mourner's Veto":

These emotional attempts to suppress controversial or unpopular speech have increasingly made use of what I call the “Mourner’s Veto”—individuals will say that a speaker or a piece of writing has caused them to become distressed or sad or angry or frightened, and they will support these claims with allegations of “harm” or even threats to their “right to exist.” Reasonable debate and discussion then becomes impossible as activists make unfalsifiable but furiously emotive claims about alleged threats to their safety and wellbeing amid much weeping and claims of exhaustion and mental fragility. It is not healthy for the limits of permissible speech to be dictated by the most sensitive person in the room, nor to allow emotional appeals to supplant robust argument as the most effective strategy in a debate.

Ferguson points out three potential problems with the "mourner's veto":

First, the reliance on “lived experience” conflicts with a wealth of psychological research indicating that we routinely misremember, misattribute, selectively interpret, and/or distort (consciously or unconsciously) information to fit our personal narratives. This by no means invalidates the sincerity of every emotional outcry, but it is hopelessly naive to assume that they represent a more authentic or authoritative kind of truth. Second, to the extent that such strategies enhance social capital and power, it is inevitable that bad actors will exploit them, simply making stuff up in support of their agendas. People like this may be a tiny minority, but they can cause a disproportionate amount of havoc and it is not always easy to tell who is cynical and who is not. Third, by their nature, emotional appeals are often aggressive, daring opponents to question the veracity of claims and risk inevitable blowback.

The remainder of Ferguson's article focuses on corporate strategies for dealing with mourner's vetos. These suggestions include a lessened reliance on social media.

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Three Woke Disconnects

This, from a powerful essay by Edie Wyatt at Quillette titled "My White Privilege Didn’t Save Me. But God Did."

The postmodern re-engineering of left-wing political theory has included the redefinition of “privilege” in a way that is separate from economics, a definition of “sex” that is separate from biology, and a definition of “violence” that does not involve actual violence. It’s a language and a narrative that completely abandons the working class, while erroneously taking for granted our loyalty.

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Camille Paglia on the the Far Left (the Woke)

Click through to hear Camille Paglia's brutal, deserved and succinct take-down of the far Left. She, Peterson and many others who describe themselves as classical liberals (this includes me) are finding themselves homeless in light of the deep entrenchment of Wokeness in our meaning-making institutions:

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Cute Owlet Photos at an Owl Cafe in Tokyo Japan

I'm aggravated that so many people keep getting such cheap attention by posting photos of puppies. Therefore, I'm posting photos of five owlets that Jen McKnight and I visited at an "Owl Cafe" in Tokyo a few years ago.

Take THAT, puppy-image-posters!

There were dozens of grown-up owls too . . .

Look at those eyes!  No, I'm talking about the owl's eyes!

Tokyo is known for its many animal cafes, including cat cafes and other cafes offering a chance to mingle with capybaras (extremely large rodents), hedgehogs and rabbits.

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