One of the most famous examples of gullibility in fiction is Mark Twain’s fence-paining scene in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In that scene, Tom’s guardian, Aunt Polly, orders him to whitewash a stretch of wooden fence (30 feet long, 9 feet high). Tom sees Jim the slave and offers to switch chores […]
There is an idea in literature about gullibility in machined (A.I by Spielberg, Pinocchio by Collodi). Both works deal with artificial boys. The underlying message of these movies is that a machine, if it has any chance of survival, must learn to see through the double dealing of humans. Behavioral deception exists even in non-primate […]
All blogs on the internet operate, more or less, under the same business model. The revenue a blog makes equals price per page-view x number of page-views. And since blogs don’t determine the price of their page views, they try to maximize the number of readers. And since, like any marketplace, blogs are subjected to […]
Nostradamus The Prince of Humbugs Oscar Hartzell Elena’s Resume Kennedy’s Dictum Diagnosis Deception Faking Insanity
Two men on a plane were talking. One man looks at the other, after being told about the problems of capitalism.. “Your criticism of capitalism is that it is 1) deceitful 2) hides truth. 1) Deceptive? Yeah, so is everything, including you. Self deception is necessary for survival, even for basic functioning. Herbert Fingarette did […]
As the biggest library if it is in disorder is not as useful as a small but well-arranged one, so you may accumulate a vast amount of knowledge but it will be of far less value to you than a much smaller amount. if you have not thought it over for yourself; because only through […]
In The 48 Laws of Power, Greene tells us to be careful about the impression we give others of ourselves. Most people, because they are vain, insecure, and needy, will want to prove to others that they are very clever. But this is a mistake. When people think you are smart, they will have their […]
In Liar’s Poker, Michael Lewis recalls his experience while working for Solomon Brothers. An interesting dialogue that he details is one that took place between him (Michael) and Alexander (his colleague). Alexander taught Michael an important life lesson – to always ask: what if? When the Chernobyl disaster hit, for example, Alexander reasoned to Michael […]
“The ends justify the means” is a phrase that is originally attributed to Ovid. But Machiavelli did hint that the ends excused the means. The ultimate message of Machiavelli, that can be applied to any time in history, is that reality is more important than illusion. The thoughts that we have about how one must […]
ONEitis is insecurity run amok while a person is single, and potentially paralyzing when coupled with the object of that ONEitis in an LTR. The same neurotic desperation that drives a person to settle for their ONE whether healthy or unhealthy is the same insecurity that paralyzes them from abandoning a damaging relationship – This […]
