What Is Third-Wave Behaviorism?
Strap yourselves in! Prepare to recalibrate your definition of excitement! Why? Because I’m going to oversimplify and possibly misreport the history of behaviorism. There’s no need to thank me. It’s what I do. …
User’s Guide to the Human Mind
Who Do You Want To Be In Ten Years?
When I was about 26 years old, I was offered a tattoo as a gift. This particular tattoo would have conveyed the type of thrilling message that young men imagine they will want emblazoned across their rippling biceps until the end. I planned to go out in a blaze of glory, rescuing women and children, and that tattoo was going to look great! …
Don’t Believe Everything Your Mind Says
For some reason, my publisher cut the best chapters from The User’s Guide to the Human Mind. What happened to my haggis recipes and the chapter on Bigfoot?
Actually, this essay didn’t get cut; it’s an afterthought. Think of it as a bonus chapter to an odd little book that can use all the help it can get. …
The Power of Pessimism
The mind seems to be wired for negative thoughts. Common wisdom says that pessimism is a problem. The anti-pessimists warn us: “don’t think like that or you’ll doom yourself to failure!” But common wisdom can be wrong, and pessimism can be helpful – if it is done correctly. So cinch up your belt and suspenders, and let’s find the positive side of negative thinking! …
What Is The Mind? Part 3: Living With An Unruly Mind
In Part 1, we discussed why the primal mind is uninterested in providing us with an endless stream of endorphins. It is more interested in keeping us alive than keeping us happy. In Part 2, we looked at the modular design of the mind and a few of the ways in which cryptic, nonverbal messages emanate from its deeper systems. …
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What Is The Mind? Part 2: Secret Messages
In the first of this series I suggested that the mind’s first job is so important that it overrides even our own happiness. As someone who spends his days (and sometimes the wee hours of the night) dealing with minds that are beating up on their owners, I have come to view minds as learning, worrying machines designed to keep us alive and well. It does plenty of other impressive things too, but it accomplishes nothing if it cannot first keep us safe. …
What Is The Mind? Part 1: The Mind’s Job
Hello! I’m French and I like reading your funny and interesting papers on this site. I have a question. What do you mean exactly when you use the word “mind?” Intelligence, brain, thought, or the “mind” found in the mind-body dichotomy? – François Delahaye …