I’ve seen the incident several times and from many different angles. What happened seems clear to me: two cars are trying to pull out from an area Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is operating in. A silver SUV goes first, successfully exiting to the right. A burgundy Honda Pilot tries to exit left. It inches… Continue reading On Renee Good’s Killing, ICE and Polarization
Tag: Psychology & Cognition
We Have Never Been Woke: pre-orders now live
I am pleased to report that my first book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, now has an official release date: October 8, 2024. Even better, hardcover editions are now available for preorder on Bookshop.org, Thriftbooks, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and through most other major retailers. You can also… Continue reading We Have Never Been Woke: pre-orders now live
New paper explores censorship and self-censorship in science
In a new paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, my co-authors and I explore the prevalence, causes and impacts of censorship and self-censorship in science. We find that censorship is driven heavily by scientists themselves and, although the consequences of censorship are often pernicious in practice, censors tend to be… Continue reading New paper explores censorship and self-censorship in science
One Lesson To Learn From Ted Kaczynski
Ted Kaczynski was recognized as a genius at an early age. He graduated high school at age 15, began attending Harvard at 16, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at 20. Five years later, he had attained a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Michigan. The next fall, he began teaching at the University of… Continue reading One Lesson To Learn From Ted Kaczynski
Contextualizing Ideological Gaps in Mental Illness and Well-Being
In a recent essay for Social Science & Medicine – Mental Health, epidemiologist Catherine Gimbrone and co-authors identified a significant gap in depressive attitudes between liberal and conservative teens. This gap was present in all years observed in the study (2005-2018). However, it grew significantly starting in 2012, as depressive affect unilaterally spiked among liberals.… Continue reading Contextualizing Ideological Gaps in Mental Illness and Well-Being
Some Awkward Truths About the ‘Big Lie’
According to a number of polls and surveys, significant majorities of GOP-aligned voters seem to believe the ‘Big Lie’ that Trump was the rightful winner of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election and, consequently, the Biden Administration is illegitimate. Taking these data at face value, a growing chorus insists that we’re living in a ‘post-truth’… Continue reading Some Awkward Truths About the ‘Big Lie’
Book Announcement: We Have Never Been Woke
I am thrilled to be able to officially announce that my book, We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite has been acquired by Princeton University Press and is slated for release on October 8, 2024. Huge shoutout to my agent, Andrew Stuart. Much love to PUP Executive Editor Meagan Levinson, who was… Continue reading Book Announcement: We Have Never Been Woke
On the January 6 Capitol Riots and ‘Teaching to the Moment’
In the aftermath of the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol, which left five people dead, and nearly derailed Congressional certification of the 2020 election results, many in higher ed have been wrestling with questions around what they can do to help mitigate the cultural and political crisis we find ourselves in, and how… Continue reading On the January 6 Capitol Riots and ‘Teaching to the Moment’
Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth
In Science Fictions, psychologist Stuart Ritchie explores how the scientific enterprise systematically goes awry, and what can be done to right the ship. The book is focused on, essentially, the inverse of the problem that Heterodox Academy was created to solve. The key problem with science today, as Ritchie sees it, is not that there… Continue reading Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth
The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
American liberals often charge that Christians seem unusually preoccupied (even obsessed) with sex and sexuality, and have a bunch of strange hang-ups about marriage and family structure. Conservatives, meanwhile, argue that the “traditional family” lies at the core of Western Civilization, and that weakening foundational norms around sex, marriage, and child-rearing would likely have destabilizing… Continue reading The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous
How Our Social Networks Shape Our Politics
An ambitious new project, the American National Social Network Survey, looks at the social networks of thousands of Americans over time, exploring how who people associate with affects their worldview. The project is sponsored by AEI and the Knight Foundation, carried out in partnership with NORC (who administer the General Social Survey). The latest report from the project,… Continue reading How Our Social Networks Shape Our Politics
Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible.
In wake of George Floyd’s murder and the protests that followed, many colleges and universities have been rolling out new training requirements – often oriented towards reducing biases and encouraging people from high-status groups to ‘check their privilege.’ The explicit goal of these training programs is generally to help create a more positive and welcoming… Continue reading Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible.
My Problem with the ‘Harper’s Letter’
On July 7th, Harper’s Magazine published “A Letter on Justice and Open Debate,” colloquially known as the “Harper’s Letter.” The collective statement was signed by more than 150 public luminaries, from prominent academics and journalists to bestselling authors. The signatories denounced a culture of repression, fear, and reprisal which they claim has overtaken many institutions of cultural… Continue reading My Problem with the ‘Harper’s Letter’
Why Reflexivity is Important for Research and Activism
In a recent essay for Public Seminar, I explored Amy Cooper’s attempts to sic police on a black man for telling her to leash her dog. I argued that her actions should not be understood as novel or surprising, and explained how her likely (liberal) sociopolitical orientation may have contributed to how the confrontation played… Continue reading Why Reflexivity is Important for Research and Activism
The Crisis of Expertise
There has been a lot of talk in recent years about the “war on science” or the so-called “death of expertise.” However, according to the General Social Survey, there has been no radical decrease with respect to public trust in the scientific community per se. In fact, contemporary Americans have more trust in the scientific… Continue reading The Crisis of Expertise
Students are Ideologically Diverse. Here’s How to Surface that Diversity.
It has long been a talking point on the right that leftist professors are ‘indoctrinating’ college kids (an elaboration on why many quite reasonably hold this belief is available here). However, a number of recent studies suggest that this narrative is incorrect: students can reliably determine what their professors’ political beliefs are, and when they… Continue reading Students are Ideologically Diverse. Here’s How to Surface that Diversity.
Refashioning Futures: Criticism after Postcoloniality
“Political discussion possesses a character fundamentally different from academic discussion. It seeks not to be in the right, but also to demolish the basis of its opponents social and intellectual existence… Political conflict, since it is from the very beginning a rationalized form of the struggle for social predominance, attacks the social status of the… Continue reading Refashioning Futures: Criticism after Postcoloniality
There’s No Reason to Be Smug About the Partisan Diploma Divide
“We were laughing at the stars while our feet clung tight to the ground — so pleased with ourselves for using so many verbs and nouns…” Modest Mouse, “Black Cadillacs,” Good News for People Who Love Bad News Dr. Amir Attaran, a professor of Law and Medicine at University of Ottawa recently set off a… Continue reading There’s No Reason to Be Smug About the Partisan Diploma Divide
The Radical Black Liberation Theology of Kanye West
Kanye West has always had a streak of what one might call conservatism. He defiantly included “Jesus Walks” on his 2004 debut album, despite repeated urging from record execs to drop it, and predictions that it would never get play. Instead, the single helped make his career. The track begins with Kanye revealing, “We at… Continue reading The Radical Black Liberation Theology of Kanye West
Q&A: Why Care About Ideological Diversity in Social Research?
Perhaps the most common response I get from my fellow scholars when I mention the dearth of conservative perspectives in the academy (and especially in social research fields) is something like, “what about other historically disadvantaged or underrepresented groups? Isn’t the underrepresentation of blacks, Hispanics, women, LGBTQ scholars a bigger problem than the lack of… Continue reading Q&A: Why Care About Ideological Diversity in Social Research?
Navigating Moral Disagreements: Three Strategies from the Literature on Moral and Cultural Cognition
We in America and Western Europe, and by now many other places in the world, have this idea of people as fundamentally rational. On this account, our profound cognitive abilities are designed to help us discover objective truths about the world through logical argument and empirical observation. Contemporary research in cognitive science, psychology and related… Continue reading Navigating Moral Disagreements: Three Strategies from the Literature on Moral and Cultural Cognition
Charlottesville and Americans’ Increasingly Polarized Response to Terrorism, Political Violence
On the night of August 11th, white nationalists held a torch-lit pride parade through the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. They were met with counter-protests, and the demonstrations descended into a melee. The next morning, these same organizers held a “Unite the Right” rally in Emancipation Park, centered on a statue of Confederate General Robert… Continue reading Charlottesville and Americans’ Increasingly Polarized Response to Terrorism, Political Violence
Gender Differences, Silicon Valley and that Controversial Google Memo
Google software engineer James Damore set off a firestorm with the publication of a company memo titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber.” The essay criticized Google’s policies for promoting a more diverse and inclusive workplace, alleging that they instead fostered a company culture of fear and conformity which runs contrary to the company’s stated ethos–and likely… Continue reading Gender Differences, Silicon Valley and that Controversial Google Memo
Social Research Will Benefit from Greater Ideological Diversity
Beginning in the late 18th century, post-secondary education was restructured across Europe—in part under the auspices of accelerating the transition to an envisioned rational and secular age.[1] In order to enroll the broadest swath of the public in this enterprise, institutions and curricula were rendered more accessible, inclusive, and professionally-oriented. Similarly, across the pond, in… Continue reading Social Research Will Benefit from Greater Ideological Diversity
The Big Debate About Microaggressions
The concept of microaggressions gained prominence with the publication of Sue et al.’s 2007, “Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life,” which defined microaggressions as communicative, somatic, environmental or relational cues that demean and/or disempower members of minority groups in virtue of their minority status. Microaggressions, they asserted, are typically subtle and ambiguous. Often, they are inadvertent… Continue reading The Big Debate About Microaggressions
One Thing Trump Gets Right About Muslims, Terrorism (Kind of)
Let’s start with all the usual caveats: Trump is a demagogue. He and his advisory team are painfully ignorant about Islam—and as a result, most of his policy proposals and rhetoric about Islamic terrorism have been ill-informed and counter-productive. But for all that, Trump has repeatedly emphasized a point which many of his rivals and… Continue reading One Thing Trump Gets Right About Muslims, Terrorism (Kind of)
Epistemological Pluralism, Cognitive Liberalism & Authentic Choice
Originally published in Comparative Philosophy, Vol. VII, No. 2 (Fall 2016) Print version available here. In “Perfectionist Liberalism and Political Liberalism,” Martha Nussbaum (2011) persuasively argues that political liberalism is superior to its perfectionist cousin. However, her critique of perfectionism also problematizes Rawls’ account of political liberalism—particularly as it relates to his account of… Continue reading Epistemological Pluralism, Cognitive Liberalism & Authentic Choice
Why 2016 May Be Donald Trump’s Race to Lose
As the 2016 presidential primaries got underway, there seemed to be a couple incontrovertible truths: Hillary Clinton’s nomination was inevitable, and Trump stood no chance (it was going to be Jeb or Rubio). Yet, here we are six months before the election, and Trump has seized the Republican nomination while Clinton is still working to… Continue reading Why 2016 May Be Donald Trump’s Race to Lose
Creating Visionaries
Education plays a pivotal role in cultivating excellence—although its function is largely misunderstood. Consider the case of entrepreneurs: Successful entrepreneurs tend to be both more intelligent than average, but also more confident. Perhaps for these very reasons, they are also far more likely to engage in disruptive or even illicit activity in their youth. Fortunately,… Continue reading Creating Visionaries
It’s Time to Stop Patronizing White People
On average, whites are far better off than blacks. But the problem with averages is that they often conceal radically uneven distribution of the phenomena in question. This is certainly true of wealth among white Americans. It is well-established that white people are overrepresented in the upper classes. And even in the middle class, whites… Continue reading It’s Time to Stop Patronizing White People
Do Black Lives Matter? The World’s Shameful Response to Charleston
In the wake of the massacre at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), analysts have been busying themselves with apparently self-evident questions as to whether the atrocity was racially motivated, or constituted an act of domestic terrorism. Americans have been focused on questions about gun control and the ubiquity of the Confederate Flag—with an emerging… Continue reading Do Black Lives Matter? The World’s Shameful Response to Charleston
Understanding ISIL’s Appeal
[su_quote cite=”Slavoj Zizek” url=”https://dvd.netflix.com/Movie/Zizek/70043440″]Thirty, forty years ago, we were still debating about what the future will be: communist, fascist, capitalist, whatever. Today, nobody even debates these issues. We all silently accept global capitalism is here to stay. On the other hand, we are obsessed with cosmic catastrophes: the whole life on earth disintegrating, because of some… Continue reading Understanding ISIL’s Appeal
Foreign Policy Fundamentalism
Originally published in The Wilson Quarterly, Vol. XXXIX, No. 3 (Summer 2015) Print version available here. With pomp and polish and platitudes, the 2016 presidential campaign is underway. It began in December, as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announced he was “actively exploring” a run for the White House. Bush is more moderate than much… Continue reading Foreign Policy Fundamentalism
If Underpants Gnomes Took Over the Pentagon, Very Little Would Change
In the Comedy Central television series South Park, the boys discover a cartel of gnomes who steal people’s underwear. Over the course of the episode it’s revealed that these seizures are part of their business plan which goes: Step 1: Collect Underpants → Step 2: ? → Step 3: Profit The punchline, of… Continue reading If Underpants Gnomes Took Over the Pentagon, Very Little Would Change
Social Movement Requires Force
“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative… Continue reading Social Movement Requires Force
Factions Speak Louder Than Herds
There is a growing body of research suggesting that when beliefs become tied to one’s sense of identity, they are not easily revised. Instead, when these axioms are threatened, people look for ways to outright dismiss inconvenient data. If this cannot be achieved by highlighting logical, methodological or factual errors, the typical response is to… Continue reading Factions Speak Louder Than Herds
On the Strategic Logic of ISIL’s Atrocities
Following ISIL’s immolation Moaz al-Kasasbeh, many attributed the viciousness of his execution to the fact that he was a Jordanian pilot. The narrative is that the coalition airstrikes have been devastating for ISIL, and this extreme act was a desperate bid to dissuade allied forces from further strikes. By this logic, their tactic backfired: not… Continue reading On the Strategic Logic of ISIL’s Atrocities
Al-Badghadi: Jihadist Provocateur
ISIS distinguishes itself from other jihadist organizations, particularly its progenitor al-Qaeda, by positioning itself as the group that will do what other groups are unwilling or unable to do. There is a clear dialectic wherein other terror organizations will commit an a heinous act that receives widespread media coverage; ISIS will then try to divert… Continue reading Al-Badghadi: Jihadist Provocateur
Why the SSCI Report on CIA Torture Doesn’t Matter
In 1984, the United Nations adopted the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The treaty forbade signatories from carrying out torture or related practices, or from deporting to detainees to other places where they knew these acts would be carried out. It would be ten years before the U.S.… Continue reading Why the SSCI Report on CIA Torture Doesn’t Matter
Credibility is about Outcomes, not “Resolve”
In wake of Vladimir Putin annexing Crimea into the Russian Federation and supporting Eastern separatists against a Ukrainian government it perhaps rightly views as illegitimate, U.S. policy hawks argued the entire crisis could have been prevented: had President Obama followed through on his August 2013 commitment to bomb the Syrian government in retaliation for its… Continue reading Credibility is about Outcomes, not “Resolve”
Obama is Falling into Al-Baghdadi’s Trap
Just prior to the U.S.-led anti-Daish (ISIS) campaign into Syria, the group released a highly-polished 55-minute documentary, “Flames of War,” in which they challenged the United States to heavily mobilize in Iraq and Syria. They have made similar taunts when they executed Western hostages, seized American weapons, or co-opted the rebels trained to fight against… Continue reading Obama is Falling into Al-Baghdadi’s Trap
On the Philosophical Underpinnings of Al-Qaeda & the Islamic State
The public discourse about transnational jihadist organizations indiscriminately lumps together al-Qaeda, its forerunners (such as the Taliban), affiliates (such as Jahbat al-Nusra), its derivatives (such as Ansar al-Sharia or the Islamic State), and even groups which have no strong connection to al-Qaeda or such as Hamas, Hezbollah, or local tribal militants. It is not just… Continue reading On the Philosophical Underpinnings of Al-Qaeda & the Islamic State
A Primer on Social Epistemology
Much of what we believe is poorly-justified or believed in the total absence of evidence, or even in defiance of abundant counterevidence. So many cherished axioms are problematic or outright false—or else vague, inconsistent, or of an otherwise indeterminable truth-value (in part because the world cannot be cleanly reduced into language at all). And you… Continue reading A Primer on Social Epistemology
Rethinking Rationality
In previous analyses, I have argued that while the Enlightenment-era axioms which undergird contemporary liberalism (and its relatives) have long been presumed as facts about “the way the world works,” they are sociocultural artifacts of a particular phase of history of particular peoples. Accordingly, attempting to instantiate these ideologies and systems in exogenous contexts is… Continue reading Rethinking Rationality
Nakba or Fursa? The Collapse of the Syrian Opposition
The Syria National Coalition (SNC), much like its predecessor, the Syrian National Council, has never enjoyed much legitimacy or influence within Syria. Their only meaningful link to events on the ground has been the Supreme Military Council (SMC), headed up by the military defectors who initially called themselves the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and ostensibly… Continue reading Nakba or Fursa? The Collapse of the Syrian Opposition
“Enhanced Interrogation,” Tortured Logic
Underlying any interrogation technique are a number of assumptions about how people think and behave. Contemporary cognitive science and psychology suggest rather robustly that the axioms which have historically lent credence to some of today’s most-popular interrogation techniques are more-or-less false. For instance, investigators have long believed (and many continue to believe) that fidgeting, avoiding… Continue reading “Enhanced Interrogation,” Tortured Logic
Breaking the Stalemates in Syria (Literal & Rhetorical)
In a number of interviews in recent months, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry has been talking about the need to “change Bashar al-Asad’s calculus” with regards to the conflict in Syria. While there is a sense in which this statement is correct (should the goal be the President’s resignation), Kerry seems to misunderstand what Bashar’s… Continue reading Breaking the Stalemates in Syria (Literal & Rhetorical)
Contextualizing Syria’s Civil War: Beyond the Numbers
Originally published in Middle East Policy, Vol. XX, No. 1 (Spring 2013) Print version available here. The popular discourse on the Syrian conflict has largely taken for granted that Bashar al-Asad and his regime are unpopular in Syria, the revolution is widely supported domestically, the rebels are “winning” the war, and the fall of… Continue reading Contextualizing Syria’s Civil War: Beyond the Numbers