WIST Quotations15h ago

A quotation from Orwell

The views that a writer holds must be compatible with sanity, in the medical sense, and with the power of continuous thought: beyond that what we ask of him is talent, which is probably another name for conviction.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-09), “Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver’s Travels,” Polemic, No. 5

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/orwell-george/76342/

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #orwell #georgeorwell #author #conviction #rationality #sanity #talent #writer #writing

Essay (1946-09), "Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels," Polemic, No. 5 - Orwell, George | WIST Quotations

The views that a writer holds must be compatible with sanity, in the medical sense, and with the power of continuous thought: beyond that what we ask of him is talent, which is probably another name for conviction.

WIST Quotations
WIST Quotations2d ago

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

We must distinguish between a mood and its intellectual expression. There is no arguing with mood; it can be changed by some fortunate event, or by a change in our bodily condition, but it cannot be changed by argument.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/russell-bertrand/763…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bertrandrussell #analysis #argument #emotion #mood #rationality #thought

Nick Byrd, Ph.D.Apr 18

Does awareness of intuition's fallibility help people avoid faulty intuitions?

#Teaching students #DualProcessTheory didn't help them avoid faulty intuitions about #physics problems.

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.21.010135

#edu #cogSci #bias #debiasing #psychology #epistemology #rationality

Nick Byrd, Ph.D.Apr 18

Skepticism of alternative #medicine was predicted by better reflection test performance in two studies of people from the U.S. (N ≅ 1000).

Slightly moreso among those who cared more about #rationality (i.e., basing their beliefs on evidence and #logic).

https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.13114

safest_integerApr 17

"I ask the fundamental question of rationality: Why do you believe what you believe? What do you think you know and how do you think you know it?"

E. Yudkowsky, "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" (Chapter 7)

https://hpmor.com/chapter/7

#harrypotter #rationality #science #philosophy

My name is nobodyApr 12

European superstate, killing joke

I'm a Judeo Christian morality
With a Greco Roman intellect
It's the way we're short-wired
It's a civilizing force that demands respect

From the Baltic to the straits of Gibraltar
A blue flag gold star sparks a brand new empire
Ours to build, ours the choice

I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate
I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate

Why are the proud descendants of Plato
Paying off more debts accommodating NATO?
We the caretakers of democracy
No longer tolerate this hypocrisy

Baltic to the straits of Gibraltar
A blue flag gold star sparks a brand new empire
Ours to build, ours the choice

I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate
I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate

Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe

I'm a Judeo Christian morality
With a Greco Roman intellect
It's the way we're short-wired
It's a civilizing force that demands respect

From the Baltic to the Straits of Gibraltar
A blue flag gold star sparks a brand new empire
Ours to build, ours the choice

I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate
I'm in an European Super State
Every citizen required to debate

https://youtu.be/71POjwXIBKw?si=_4dn1PCbtcS68YuK

#EU #europe #commerce #tariffs #democracy #defenders #reason #rationality #science #tech

Killing Joke - European Super State

YouTube
Show threadFélicien Breton 🍉 🔻 🌱Apr 11

I am driven by my emotions.

"Our opinions generally have emotional rather than intellectual roots, and indeed rationality largely functions as a post hoc justification. Our political opinions, ultimately, are what we feel about the world, not what we think about it. And in turn, our opinions about particular events have a lot to do with how we feel about the world in general. It’s not an exaggeration to say that most people’s views about the kind of things that happen today are extensions of concerns of their own ego. And consequently, invitations to change their minds because new facts emerge, or because old ideas are discredited by new evidence, are in fact a threat to the strength and even survival of that ego."

"But few people, especially those who have received a decent education, want to acknowledge that their views are based on emotion and not reason. They therefore try to argue".

https://aurelien2022.substack.com/p/another-country

@histodons @psychology @socialpsych @ukraine @israel

#disillusionment #disgust #power #leadership #traitors #personalSafety #feelings #emotions #indignation #moralBeauty #beauty #values #principles #morals #debate #rationality #faith #beliefs #USWars #lawAndOrder #ruleOfLaw #internationalLaw #CambridgeSpies #Cambridge #spies #ColdWar #psychology #Stalin #cult #personalityCult #hagiography #history #ruthlessness #proZionism #WeStandWithIsrael #StandWithIsrael #masculinity #longRead #geopolitics #Zelensky #Ukraine

Another Country.

And other peoples' heroes.

Trying to Understand the World
WIST QuotationsApr 9

A quotation from Bertrand Russell

I do not myself think that there is any superior rationality in being unhappy. The wise man will be as happy as circumstances permit, and if he finds the contemplation of the universe painful beyond a point, he will contemplate something else instead.

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 “Byronic Unhappiness” (1930)

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/russell-bertrand/761…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #bertrandrussell #contemplation #focus #happiness #misery #pessimism #pursuitofhappiness #rationality #unhappiness #wisdom

Conquest of Happiness, Part 1, ch. 2 "Byronic Unhappiness" (1930) - Russell, Bertrand | WIST Quotations

I do not myself think that there is any superior rationality in being unhappy. The wise man will be as happy as circumstances permit, and if he finds the contemplation of the universe painful beyond a point, he will contemplate something else instead.

WIST Quotations
SPQRApr 9

“We’re stepping into the most pro-growth, pro-business, pro-American administration I’ve perhaps seen in my adult lifetime,” gushed the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman in December...

“You don’t get fired for being bullish, but you do get fired for being bearish on Wall Street,” said Berezin.
#finance #trade #tariffs #macroeconomics #Trumpism #collapse #psychology #groupthink #rationality #biases #logic #reasoning
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/opinion/trump-stock-market-wall-street.html

Opinion | Why Did Wall Street Get Trump So Wrong?

Wall Street mistook demagoguery for wisdom.

The New York Times
Nick Byrd, Ph.D.Apr 3

Is #rationality a normative or descriptive concept?

Kevin Reuter, Lucien Baumgartner, Michael Messerli "present the findings of a #corpusLinguistics study revealing that people commonly perceive the concept of rationality as normative."

https://doi.org/10.5840/tht20253442 #xPhi #bigData

A Corpus Study on the Normativity of Rationality - published on March 12, 2025

In this paper, we address a key question that has been central to discussions on rationality: is the concept of rationality normative or merely descriptive? We present the findings of a corpus-linguistic study revealing that people commonly perceive the concept of rationality as normative.