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Contents contributed and discussions participated by John Buchanan

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Felecia Russell

Science of Persuasion in Courtroom Questions by Felecia Russell - 29 views

started by Felecia Russell on 29 Nov 11 no follow-up yet
  • John Buchanan
    #5 John Buchanan on 30 Nov 11
     
    Yes, it is possible, but it takes a discerning and alert audience to do so. The two ARE black and white, but a skilled public speaker will make them seem gray. He or she will skillfully combine opinion with fact, and utilize this to draw the jury to the conclusion where he wants them to arrive. It is up to the jury to be able to draw facts from the arguments, and base their decision solely off that.
John Buchanan

Drug experiment - Boston.com - 0 views

articles.boston.com/...ar-illicit-drugs-casal-ventoso

shared by John Buchanan on 17 Nov 11 - No Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 18 Nov 11
       
      It may be a little naive for me to say this, but I feel like most of those who advocate the legalization of drugs grew up in well-off and predominantly white communities that have never seen the true problems of drug use.  If one takes a trip out to the Sunnyslope or Maryvale neighborhoods of Phoenix and asks people about the legalization of drugs, the locals will look at you like you are out of your mind.  This is because they realize the effects that drugs (even something as innocuous as marijuana) have on the well-being of their communities and families.  I feel like before someone just makes a decision on this topic by crunching the numbers and reading the studies, they need to take a drive through south-central LA...
John Buchanan

A Payoff Out of Poverty? - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...21cash-t.html

shared by John Buchanan on 08 Nov 11 - Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 09 Nov 11
       
      I think it is interesting to say that government cannot make someone change their own specific beliefs and cultures, but can change the culture as a whole.  Can it?  To a certain extent, yes.  But it does not happen instantly.  It takes generations for this change to take place, and government rarely stays committed to something for that long.
John Buchanan

Dan Dennett on dangerous memes | Video on TED.com - 0 views

www.ted.com/...ennett_on_dangerous_memes.html

shared by John Buchanan on 31 Oct 11 - Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 31 Oct 11
       
      This guy is reppin' a legit beard. And he sounds like Garrison Keillor.  Now that that's out of the way... I agree Mr. Dennett that there are memes out there that represent a clear and present danger to secular and free societies (i.e. radical Islam).  These need to be stamped out utilizing every military, intelligence, and media asset in our arsenal. However, there are other memes which are simply the product of our capitalist society, such as pornography and violent video games.  While these may be morally wrong to many people, I do not believe they necessarily pose any threat to society as a whole.  Rather, it is simply something that people may see as distasteful and choose to avoid.
Xochitl Cruz

Questions on "Patternicity: Finding Meaningful Patterns in Meaningless Noise" - 17 views

started by Xochitl Cruz on 20 Oct 11 no follow-up yet
  • John Buchanan
    #8 John Buchanan on 21 Oct 11
     
    People turn to patternicity when their schemas are not fully filled in (such is the case with the predator-in-the-grass example). Thus, politicians are more liable to utilize it to their advantage on topics that people are uneducated about. I agree with Lauren in that the Type II style is used more often, as politicians prefer to substitute the real reality (or pattern) for their own.
John Buchanan

Alex Lundry Chart Wars: The Political Power of Data Visualization | Ignite-DC on blip.tv - 0 views

blip.tv/...-of-data-visualization-3021845

shared by John Buchanan on 12 Oct 11 - No Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 12 Oct 11
       
      I had always heard that visual learning was more effective for most people than oral- or literature-based reading.  However, hearing the statistics about it really hammered it home.  Also, how easy it is to deceive (persuade?) through the use of charts and visuals will make me open my eyes a little bit more, and be more wary of graphs, charts, etc.
John Buchanan

PublicAffairs Books: THE POLITICAL BRAIN - 8 views

www.publicaffairsbooks.com/...display

shared by John Buchanan on 01 Oct 11 - Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 03 Oct 11
       
      This is the kind of thing that makes me kinda sick about politics. The ambiguity of it all, and how the candidates try to pick the brains of their constituents dance these fine lines.  If a candidate would just stand up there and tell the American people what he thought was right and what was wrong, and why, it would be so refreshing.  The problem is, those kind of people don't get elected...
John Buchanan

Dr. Marichal's Course Portals (2170) - 32 views

www.netvibes.com/pols208

shared by John Buchanan on 01 Sep 11 - No Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 26 Sep 11
       
      This is the problem in washington: people can't find the "middle ground" or much less compromise.  The constant push and pull between positive and negative liberties will have scary consequences for the future of our nation.
John Buchanan

What Makes Us Happy? - Magazine - The Atlantic - 3 views

www.theatlantic.com/...3

shared by John Buchanan on 20 Sep 11 - No Cached
  • “You can say a lot of general things from these data that you could never say before,” Diener says. “But many of them are relatively shallow. People who go to church report more joy. But if you ask why, we don’t know. George has these small samples—and they’re Harvard men, my goodness, not so generalizable. Yet he has deep data, and he brings so many things together at once.”
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 21 Sep 11
       
      I think this goes to show how little we actually know about psychology and social science.  With such a vast wealth of numbers and quantitative data, the real intricacies of the answers to questions such as these continue to allude us.
John Buchanan

Does the Invisible Hand Need a Helping Hand? - Reason.com - 8 views

reason.com/...does-the-invisible-hand-need-a

shared by John Buchanan on 16 Sep 11 - Cached
  • "policies that appeal to economic self-interest do not affect the salience of ethical, altruistic, and other social preferences." Consequently, material interests and ethics generally pull in the same direction, reinforcing one another.
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 16 Sep 11
       
      I feel like these two points are contradictory.
  • The players looked at the fine as a cost and pursued their short-term interests at the expense of maximizing long-term gains. In this case, players apparently believed that they had satisfied their moral obligations by paying the fine.
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 16 Sep 11
       
      This is one of the perfect examples of why the federal government charging people for not purchasing health insurance is a ridiculous idea.
John Buchanan

The endowment effect: It’s mine, I tell you | The Economist - 11 views

www.economist.com/11579107

shared by John Buchanan on 12 Sep 11 - No Cached
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 16 Sep 11
       
      As human beings, I think there is a certain amount of pride and dignity that goes along with owning something.  Yes, it is yours.  But it also represents something that you paid for with your hard earned cash.  I think that's something the free market will always have trouble accounting for; those vague, ambiguous, but incredibly powerful personal human values.
John Buchanan

Reconsiderations: John Rawls and Our Plural Nation - June 11, 2008 - The New York Sun - 6 views

www.nysun.com/...79738

shared by John Buchanan on 10 Sep 11 - Cached
  • "[H]ow is it possible for there to exist over time a just and stable society of free and equal citizens who remain profoundly divided by reasonable religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines?"
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 11 Sep 11
       
      I think for this to succeed - as it has in the United States for almost 250 years - feelings pertaining to nationalism, pride, and loyalty must precede those related to religiously held beliefs.
John Buchanan

The emerging moral psychology | Prospect Magazine - 10 views

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/...theemergingmoralpsychology

shared by John Buchanan on 04 Sep 11 - Cached
  • On the one hand is a negative emotional response elicited by the prospect of pushing a man to his death saying “Don’t do it!”; on the other, cognitive elements saying “Save as many people as possible and push the man!”
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 05 Sep 11
       
      Pushing the man is murder, plain and simple.  If the word "murder" was used, people may respond differently.
    • John Buchanan
      John Buchanan on 06 Sep 11
       
      I think this article does an excellent job at delving into the question of rational versus emotional morality, and then attaching a practical importance to understanding the difference between the two, as well as where you stand on particular issues.  All in all, very well written and very fascinating.
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