Tag: Jonathan Haidt

  • Dan

    The last ten years have re-wired us, Part 4

    Part 1Part 2Part 3 In his article, “Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid,” Jonathan Haidt has laid out the case for the downfall of practical thinking and directly correlates it to the rise of social media. He likens it to the Tower of Babel, how we all communicated with a common language, to the…

  • Dan

    The Last Ten Years have Re-Wired Us, Part 3

    Part 1Part 2 “… Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and a few other large platforms unwittingly dissolved the mortar of trust, belief in institutions, and shared stories that had held a large and diverse secular democracy together. ” — Jonathan Haidt

  • Dan

    Truth and conspiracy theories

    This piece by David French is something I’ve mulled over for awhile because I’ve read both of Jonathan Haidt’s books mentioned in the piece. I’ve also found it’s not just about trying to talk to conspiracy theorists. Ideologies are so entrenched currently, all the mantra is these days is to show someone else just how wrong they are, and BOOM……

  • Dan

    Book review — The Coddling of the American Mind

    The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff My rating: 5 of 5 stars This is a must read. It challenges. There are things to be argued over. There are things to be implemented. Lukianoff and Haidt present much needed material to challenge the deep divisions…

  • Dan

    The Coddling of the American Mind: Is there any HOPE?

    The picture painted in The Coddling of the American Mind is harsh. We’ve truly had a lot go wrong and we’ve put a lot of fear and anxiety into our lives, and much of it that is unnecessary. Is there any hope? They give some ideas, thankfully. First, start with childhood. Colleges definitely need work (and these two university professors…

  • Dan

    Freedom to play helps democracy

    The term a few years ago was “helicopter parenting.” I’m not sure if there is a new phrase. There has to be in some cases, because it can be witnessed that parents are a LOT closer to their kids and their activities than a helicopter.

  • Dan

    Anxiety in the age of social media

    Our current era of high anxiety has been fed directly by our addiction to social media. It has given social media hackers and experts all the fuel they need to exploit and manipulate an entire culture in ways we would laugh at a generation or two ago.

  • Dan

    The balkanization of the United States

    When the Soviet Union was collapsing in the last 1980s, I read an article in The Atlantic about a region I’d never heard of: the Balkans. In that article, the writer told a tale I found fantastic and almost unbelievable. His contention was that during the Cold War, it was good for the U.S. and the Soviet Union to be…

  • Dan

    The road to American fragility

    I’ve begun reading The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. Lots of quotes to follow in the coming days. This book is needed reading.