Category Archives: Psychology

Money buys happiness

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Toban Wiebe

It’s commonly believed that money doesn’t buy happiness. Sure, we’re happier for a while after a new purchase, but it wears off. We re-normalize back to our baseline level of happiness. While this is probably not true (richer countries are … Continue reading →

Posted in Libertarian, Psychology | Leave a comment

Grandparenting behavior as evidence for long-lived paleolithic ancestors

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Toban Wiebe

The most common objection to the logic of evolutionary health is that paleolithic humans had short lifespans, presumably because they were in poor health.  This fallacy has been demolished many times over, but I have another argument to add to the pile. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Psychology | 1 Comment

Paleo Parenting

Posted on December 19, 2010 by Toban Wiebe

I couldn’t find much on this topic in the paleosphere, so here’s an initial attempt at a paleo approach to parenting. I’m not a parent, but I think the basic ideas are simple enough. The leading candidate for a primal … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Lifehacks, Psychology | 6 Comments

Evolutionary Psychology vs The Blank Slate

Posted on May 6, 2010 by Toban Wiebe

I just finished reading Steven Pinker’s book, The Blank Slate. I must say that I underestimated it, despite having high expectations. Pinker draws from an impressive range of disciplines, drawing many important insights. Pinker invokes evolutionary psychology and the other … Continue reading →

Posted in Other Mass Delusions, Philosophy, Psychology | Leave a comment

Cognitive Dissonance: Why Mass Delusions Persist

Posted on February 8, 2010 by Toban Wiebe

Cognitive dissonance theory explains how people come to justify foolish beliefs, and offers insight into how we can overcome our biases. Continue reading →

Posted in Psychology | 33 Comments