Speaking of rats… [psychology] Speaking of rats… [psychology]
Operant conditioning of any mammal requires that you provide a reward for certain behavior. If you want a dog to sit on command, you give the command and reward compliance. If you do that enough times, you can shift the reward ratio away from a 1 to 1 reward and into a schedule of rewards. Maybe you...
Speaking of rats… [psychology] »
Olympics Fakery [nationalism] Olympics Fakery [nationalism]
Everyone’s up in arms about China’s Olympics opening ceremony fakery. The news switchboards are lighting up over the use of one little girl’s face and another’s voice. Then, there’s the digital enhancement of the fireworks before the media was distributed. China says...
Olympics Fakery [nationalism] »
MLFFM: Bulworth [movies] MLFFM: Bulworth [movies]
E’s recent Edwards/Poverty post, as well as rehearing all the America: The Audiobook references to Jefferson’s love of the “mochochino,” reminded me of one of my favorite Memorable Lines From a Forgettable Movie. The Movie Bulworth (1998) The Context To collect life insurance...
MLFFM: Bulworth [movies] »
Candidates On Our Issues [politics] Candidates On Our Issues [politics]
Having exhausted all of the “big issues” associated with this year’s presidential campaign, the media has once again turned to the really important questions, such as “which candidate would you rather have a beer with?” I for one applaud their willingness to use carefully-controlled...
Candidates On Our Issues [politics] »
New Yorker: Friend Or Foe [politics] New Yorker: Friend Or Foe [politics]
As E posted this morning, above is the cover for the New Yorker that sparked enough of a discussion that we wanted to share part of it in an actual post. This post in no way alleviates you of your responsibility to read the comments to our posts generally. They are phenomenal. What touched off this...
New Yorker: Friend Or Foe [politics] »
Libertarian Rhetorical Flourish [politics] Libertarian Rhetorical Flourish [politics]
Many of you may not know that I once would have called myself a Libertarian. That was largely before I met and discussed issues with actual card-carrying Libertarians. I still have a very good friend who is One Of Them and a smart One at that (which is why I enjoy the back-and-forth). I sometimes...
Libertarian Rhetorical Flourish [politics] »
Highest Grossing Film Means Nothing [stats] Highest Grossing Film Means Nothing [stats]
Since we are in the middle of summer blockbuster season, where high box-office grosses for movies are sometimes touted barometers of a film’s popular success, a recent article by Erik Lundegaard struck me as relevant to how we think about measuring the box-office success of a film. Lundegaard’s...
Highest Grossing Film Means Nothing [stats] »
Memorable Lines From Forgettable Movies [movies] Memorable Lines From Forgettable Movies [movies]
This is the first installment of a series on “Memorable Lines From Forgettable Movies.” The idea is simple. And it has the virtue of upsetting a good number of people (including possibly the other authors) by calling a movie Forgettable without really having to justify it each time. The...
Memorable Lines From Forgettable Movies [movies] »
Clean-up Crew Review: Iron Man [movies] Clean-up Crew Review: Iron Man [movies]
With summer blockbusters crashing in on us week after week, it’s easy to miss one in the ad blitz for the next one coming. That’s why, as possibly the last one of the authors on this sites to see some of these movies, I have taken it upon myself to remind all of you to see Iron Man before...
Clean-up Crew Review: Iron Man [movies] »
Political Pessimism [irked] Political Pessimism [irked]
New Orleans is a city of nearly endless delights. Of course, one of those delights is a windowless conference room at a middle-tier hotel where I am being extensively trained on something. I will let you know when I figure out what the something is. I am learning certain things, such as, did you know...
Political Pessimism [irked] »

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