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	<title>Crazy Forum!</title>
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		<title>70 Million by Hold Your Horses</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/03/70-million-by-hold-your-horses/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/03/70-million-by-hold-your-horses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:51:42 +0000</pubDate>
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70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L&#8217;Ogre on Vimeo.


Related posts:Blue Baloon
The Third &#038; The Seventh



Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/blue-baloon/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Blue Baloon'>Blue Baloon</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/01/the-third-the-seventh/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The Third &#038; The Seventh'>The Third &#038; The Seventh</a></li>
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<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/9752986">70 Million by Hold Your Horses !</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2732566">L&#8217;Ogre</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/blue-baloon/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Blue Baloon'>Blue Baloon</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/01/the-third-the-seventh/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The Third &#038; The Seventh'>The Third &#038; The Seventh</a></li>
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		<title>Scent of a Woman: Men&#8217;s Testosterone Responses to Olfactory Ovulation Cues</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/scent-of-a-woman-mens-testosterone-responses-to-olfactory-ovulation-cues/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/scent-of-a-woman-mens-testosterone-responses-to-olfactory-ovulation-cues/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:10:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2010) — Women around the world spend billions of dollars each year on exotic smelling perfumes and lotions in the hopes of attracting a mate. However, according to a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, going &#8220;au natural&#8221; may be the best way to capture [...]


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/the-unconscious-effect-of-women%e2%80%99s-makeup-on-men/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The unconscious effect of women’s makeup on men'>The unconscious effect of women’s makeup on men</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/are-women-more-interested-in-men-who-are-taken/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Are women more interested in men who are taken?'>Are women more interested in men who are taken?</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2010) — Women around the world spend billions of dollars each year on exotic smelling perfumes and lotions in the hopes of attracting a mate. However, according to a new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, going &#8220;au natural&#8221; may be the best way to capture a potential mate&#8217;s attention.</p>
<p><span id="more-360"></span></p>
<p>Smells are known to be critical to animal mating habits: Animal studies have shown that male testosterone levels are influenced by odor signals emitted by females, particularly when they are ovulating (that is, when they are the most fertile). Psychological scientists Saul L. Miller and Jon K. Maner from Florida State University wanted to see if a similar response occurs in humans. In two studies, women wore tee shirts for 3 nights during various phases of their menstrual cycles. Male volunteers smelled one of the tee shirts that had been worn by a female participant. In addition, some of the male volunteers smelled control tee shirts that had not been worn by anyone. Saliva samples for testosterone analysis were collected before and after the men smelled the shirts.</p>
<p>Results revealed that men who smelled tee shirts of ovulating women subsequently had higher levels of testosterone than men who smelled tee shirts worn by non-ovulating women or men who smelled the control shirts. In addition, after smelling the shirts, the men rated the odors on pleasantness and rated the shirts worn by ovulating women as the most pleasant smelling.</p>
<p>The authors note that &#8220;the present research is the first to provide direct evidence that olfactory cues to female ovulation influence biological responses in men.&#8221; In other words, this study suggests that testosterone levels may be responsive to smells indicating when a woman is fertile. The authors conclude that this biological response may promote mating-related behavior by males.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/when-women-prefer-high-pitched-guys/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: When women prefer high-pitched guys'>When women prefer high-pitched guys</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/the-unconscious-effect-of-women%e2%80%99s-makeup-on-men/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: The unconscious effect of women’s makeup on men'>The unconscious effect of women’s makeup on men</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/are-women-more-interested-in-men-who-are-taken/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Are women more interested in men who are taken?'>Are women more interested in men who are taken?</a></li>
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		<title>Those Less Motivated to Achieve Will Excel on Tasks Seen as Fun</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/those-less-motivated-to-achieve-will-excel-on-tasks-seen-as-fun/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/those-less-motivated-to-achieve-will-excel-on-tasks-seen-as-fun/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 23 Jan 2010 21:08:21 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://crzforum.org/2010/01/those-less-motivated-to-achieve-will-excel-on-tasks-seen-as-fun/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[ScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2010) — Those who value excellence and hard work generally do better than others on specific tasks when they are reminded of those values. But when a task is presented as fun, researchers report, the same individuals often will do worse than those who say they are less motivated to achieve.

The study [...]


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/some-learn-from-mistakes-others-don%e2%80%99t/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Some Learn From Mistakes, Others Don’t'>Some Learn From Mistakes, Others Don’t</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/stop-procrastinating-what-to-do-and-when-to-do-it/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Stop Procrastinating: What to do and when to do it'>Stop Procrastinating: What to do and when to do it</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>ScienceDaily (Jan. 21, 2010) — Those who value excellence and hard work generally do better than others on specific tasks when they are reminded of those values. But when a task is presented as fun, researchers report, the same individuals often will do worse than those who say they are less motivated to achieve.</p>
<p><span id="more-358"></span></p>
<p>The study appears in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.</p>
<p>The findings suggest that two students may respond quite differently to a teacher&#8217;s exhortation that they strive for excellence, said University of Illinois psychology professor Dolores Albarracín, who conducted the research with William Hart, of the University of Florida.</p>
<p>One may be spurred to try harder, while another could become less motivated.</p>
<p>The study also suggests that those who are &#8220;chronically uninterested in achievement&#8221; are not operating out of a desire to do badly, Albarracín said. Their differing responses simply may reflect the fact that they have different goals.</p>
<p>&#8220;The competitive mindset, the achievement mindset becomes a huge de-motivator for those who don&#8217;t necessarily value excellence as much as they value their well-being,&#8221; Albarracín said. &#8220;Perhaps the reason they don&#8217;t care to do well is because they want to do something else; they want to enjoy themselves &#8212; which is not a bad goal,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>In four studies, the researchers evaluated how participants&#8217; attitudes toward achievement, called their &#8220;chronic achievement motivation,&#8221; influenced their performance on various tasks.</p>
<p>The researchers found that those with high achievement motivation did better on a task when they also were exposed to subconscious &#8220;priming&#8221; (the flash of a word on a computer screen, for example, that appeared too briefly to be consciously noticed) that related to winning, mastery or excellence. Those with low achievement motivation did worse under the same conditions.</p>
<p>Similarly, when given a choice, those with high achievement motivation were more likely to resume an interrupted task, such as a word-search puzzle, which they were told tested their verbal reasoning ability, than their peers, who were more likely to switch to a task perceived as fun.</p>
<p>But in a final study the researchers found that those with high achievement motivation actually did worse on a word-search puzzle when they were told the exercise was fun and they had been exposed to achievement primes, such as the words &#8220;excel,&#8221; &#8220;compete&#8221; or &#8220;dominate.&#8221; Their counterparts, who were not very motivated to achieve, did better under the same conditions.</p>
<p>These finding suggest that achievement primes inhibit the desire to have fun in those who are motivated to achieve, the authors wrote. But in people who lack achievement motivation, the same cues seem to enhance their desire &#8212; and ability &#8212; to perform a task seen as fun.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not that those with high achievement motivation always perform better,&#8221; Albarracín said. &#8220;You can also get the low achievement motivation folks to perform better than the highs when you present a task as enjoyable and fun.&#8221;</p>
<p>These findings should be of interest to educators hoping to motivate their students in a way that improves performance, she said.</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/01/partners-sculpt-each-other-to-achieve-their-ideal-selves-if-successful-relationship-goes-well/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Partners Sculpt Each Other to Achieve Their Ideal Selves: If Successful, Relationship Goes Well'>Partners Sculpt Each Other to Achieve Their Ideal Selves: If Successful, Relationship Goes Well</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/some-learn-from-mistakes-others-don%e2%80%99t/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Some Learn From Mistakes, Others Don’t'>Some Learn From Mistakes, Others Don’t</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/stop-procrastinating-what-to-do-and-when-to-do-it/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Stop Procrastinating: What to do and when to do it'>Stop Procrastinating: What to do and when to do it</a></li>
</ol></p>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>A Conversation with Robert Sapolsky, Toxo</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/a-conversation-with-robert-sapolsky-toxo/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/a-conversation-with-robert-sapolsky-toxo/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 22:33:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

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No related posts.


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		<title>Walk Away From Your Mortgage!</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/walk-away-from-your-mortgage/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/walk-away-from-your-mortgage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:00:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.” Courson was implying that homeowners — record numbers of whom continue to default — have [...]


Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/dubai-default/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Dubai Default'>Dubai Default</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.” Courson was implying that homeowners — record numbers of whom continue to default — have a responsibility to make good. He wasn’t referring to the people who have no choice, who can’t afford their payments. He was speaking about the rising number of folks who are voluntarily choosing not to pay. <span id="more-355"></span></p>
<p>Such voluntary defaults are a new phenomenon. Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a vacation, even put a younger family member to work. But the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth. So some of them are making a calculated decision to hang onto their money and let their homes go. Is this irresponsible?</p>
<p>Businesses — in particular Wall Street banks — make such calculations routinely. Morgan Stanley recently decided to stop making payments on five San Francisco office buildings. A Morgan Stanley fund purchased the buildings at the height of the boom, and their value has plunged. Nobody has said Morgan Stanley is immoral — perhaps because no one assumed it was moral to begin with. But the average American, as if sprung from some Franklinesque mythology, is supposed to honor his debts, or so says the mortgage industry as well as government officials. Former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. declared that “any homeowner who can afford his mortgage payment but chooses to walk away from an underwater property is simply a speculator — and one who is not honoring his obligation.” (Paulson presumably was not so censorious of speculation during his 32-year career at Goldman Sachs.)</p>
<p>The moral suasion has continued under President Obama, who has urged that homeowners follow the “responsible” course. Indeed, HUD-approved housing counselors are supposed to counsel people against foreclosure. In many cases, this means counseling people to throw away money. Brent White, a University of Arizona law professor, notes that a family who bought a three-bedroom home in Salinas, Calif., at the market top in 2006, with no down payment (then a common-enough occurrence), could theoretically have to wait 60 years to recover their equity. On the other hand, if they walked, they could rent a similar house for a pittance of their monthly mortgage.</p>
<p>There are two reasons why so-called strategic defaults have been considered antisocial and perhaps amoral. One is that foreclosures depress the neighborhood and drive down prices. But in a market society, since when are people responsible for the economic effects of their actions? Every oil speculator helps to drive up gasoline prices. Every hedge fund that speculated against a bank by purchasing credit-default swaps on its bonds signaled skepticism about the bank’s creditworthiness and helped to make it more costly for the bank to borrow, and thus to issue loans. We are all economic pinballs, insensibly colliding for better or worse.</p>
<p>The other reason is that default (supposedly) debases the character of the borrower. Once, perhaps, when bankers held onto mortgages for 30 years, they occupied a moral high ground. These days, lenders typically unload mortgages within days (or minutes). And not just in mortgage finance, but in virtually every realm of our transaction-obsessed society, the message is that enduring relationships count for less than the value put on assets for sale.</p>
<p>Think of private-equity firms that close a factory — essentially deciding that the company is worth more dead than alive. Or the New York Yankees and their World Series M.V.P. Hideki Matsui, who parted company as soon as the cheering stopped. Or money-losing hedge-fund managers: rather than try to earn back their investors’ lost capital, they start new funds so they can rake in fresh incentives. Sam Zell, a billionaire, let the Tribune Company, which he had previously acquired, file for bankruptcy. Indeed, the owners of any company that defaults on bonds and chooses to let the company fail rather than invest more capital in it are practicing “strategic default.” Banks signal their complicity with this ethos when they send new credit cards to people who failed to stay current on old ones.</p>
<p>Mortgage holders do sign a promissory note, which is a promise to pay. But the contract explicitly details the penalty for nonpayment — surrender of the property. The borrower isn’t escaping the consequences; he is suffering them.</p>
<p>In some states, lenders also have recourse to the borrowers’ unmortgaged assets, like their car and savings accounts. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond found that defaults are lower in such states, apparently because lenders threaten the borrowers with judgments against their assets. But actual lawsuits are rare.</p>
<p>And given that nearly a quarter of mortgages are underwater, and that 10 percent of mortgages are delinquent, White, of the University of Arizona, is surprised that more people haven’t walked. He thinks the desire to avoid shame is a factor, as are overblown fears of harm to credit ratings. Probably, homeowners also labor under a delusion that their homes will quickly return to value. White has argued that the government should stop perpetuating default “scare stories” and, indeed, should encourage borrowers to default when it’s in their economic interest. This would correct a prevailing imbalance: homeowners operate under a “powerful moral constraint” while lenders are busily trying to maximize profits. More important, it might get the system unstuck. If lenders feared an avalanche of strategic defaults, they would have an incentive to renegotiate loan terms. In theory, this could produce a wave of loan modifications — the very goal the Treasury has been pursuing to end the crisis.</p>
<p>No one says defaulting on a contract is pretty or that, in a perfectly functioning society, defaults would be the rule. But to put the onus for restraint on ordinary homeowners seems rather strange. If the Mortgage Bankers Association is against defaults, its members, presumably the experts in such matters, might take better care not to lend people more than their homes are worth.</p>
<address>Roger Lowenstein, an outside director of the Sequoia Fund, is a contributing writer for the magazine. His book “The End of Wall Street” is coming out in April.</address>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/dubai-default/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Dubai Default'>Dubai Default</a></li>
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		<title>How to disagree</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/how-to-disagree/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/how-to-disagree/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 14 Jan 2010 01:57:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://crzforum.org/?p=350</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The web is turning writing into a conversation. Twenty years ago, writers wrote  and readers read. The web lets readers respond, and increasingly they do—in  comment threads, on forums, and in their own blog posts.
Many who respond  to something disagree with it. That&#8217;s to be expected. Agreeing tends to motivate  people [...]


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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The web is turning writing into a conversation. Twenty years ago, writers wrote  and readers read. The web lets readers respond, and increasingly they do—in  comment threads, on forums, and in their own blog posts.</p>
<p>Many who respond  to something disagree with it. That&#8217;s to be expected. Agreeing tends to motivate  people less than disagreeing. And when you agree there&#8217;s less to say. You could  expand on something the author said, but he has probably already explored the  most interesting implications. When you disagree you&#8217;re entering territory he  may not have explored.</p>
<p><span id="more-350"></span></p>
<p>The result is there&#8217;s a lot more disagreeing going  on, especially measured by the word. That doesn&#8217;t mean people are getting  angrier. The structural change in the way we communicate is enough to account  for it. But though it&#8217;s not anger that&#8217;s driving the increase in disagreement,  there&#8217;s a danger that the increase in disagreement will make people angrier.  Particularly online, where it&#8217;s easy to say things you&#8217;d never say face to  face.</p>
<p>If we&#8217;re all going to be disagreeing more, we should be careful to  do it well. What does it mean to disagree well? Most readers can tell the  difference between mere name-calling and a carefully reasoned refutation, but I  think it would help to put names on the intermediate stages. So here&#8217;s an  attempt at a disagreement hierarchy:</p>
<p><strong>DH0.  Name-calling.</strong></p>
<p>This is the lowest form of disagreement, and probably  also the most common. We&#8217;ve all seen comments like this:</p>
<blockquote><p>u r a fag!!!!!!!!!!</p></blockquote>
<p>But it&#8217;s important to realize that  more articulate name-calling has just as little weight. A comment like</p>
<blockquote><p>The author is a self-important dilettante.</p></blockquote>
<p>is really  nothing more than a pretentious version of &#8220;u r a fag.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>DH1. Ad  Hominem.</strong></p>
<p>An ad hominem attack is not quite as weak as mere  name-calling. It might actually carry some weight. For example, if a senator  wrote an article saying senators&#8217; salaries should be increased, one could  respond:</p>
<blockquote><p>Of course he would say that. He&#8217;s a senator.</p></blockquote>
<p>This  wouldn&#8217;t refute the author&#8217;s argument, but it may at least be relevant to the  case. It&#8217;s still a very weak form of disagreement, though. If there&#8217;s something  wrong with the senator&#8217;s argument, you should say what it is; and if there  isn&#8217;t, what difference does it make that he&#8217;s a senator?</p>
<p>Saying that an  author lacks the authority to write about a topic is a variant of ad hominem—and  a particularly useless sort, because good ideas often come from outsiders. The  question is whether the author is correct or not. If his lack of authority  caused him to make mistakes, point those out. And if it didn&#8217;t, it&#8217;s not a  problem.</p>
<p><strong>DH2. Responding to Tone.</strong></p>
<p>The next level up we  start to see responses to the writing, rather than the writer. The lowest form  of these is to disagree with the author&#8217;s tone. E.g.</p>
<blockquote><p>I can&#8217;t believe the author dismisses intelligent design in such a  cavalier fashion.</p></blockquote>
<p>Though better than attacking the author, this is  still a weak form of disagreement. It matters much more whether the author is  wrong or right than what his tone is. Especially since tone is so hard to judge.  Someone who has a chip on their shoulder about some topic might be offended by a  tone that to other readers seemed neutral.</p>
<p>So if the worst thing you can  say about something is to criticize its tone, you&#8217;re not saying much. Is the  author flippant, but correct? Better that than grave and wrong. And if the  author is incorrect somewhere, say where.</p>
<p><strong>DH3.  Contradiction.</strong></p>
<p>In this stage we finally get responses to what was  said, rather than how or by whom. The lowest form of response to an argument is  simply to state the opposing case, with little or no supporting  evidence.</p>
<p>This is often combined with DH2 statements, as in:</p>
<blockquote><p>I can&#8217;t believe the author dismisses intelligent design in such a  cavalier fashion. Intelligent design is a legitimate scientific theory.</p></blockquote>
<p>Contradiction can sometimes have some weight. Sometimes merely  seeing the opposing case stated explicitly is enough to see that it&#8217;s right. But  usually evidence will help.</p>
<p><strong>DH4. Counterargument.</strong></p>
<p>At level  4 we reach the first form of convincing disagreement: counterargument. Forms up  to this point can usually be ignored as proving nothing. Counterargument might  prove something. The problem is, it&#8217;s hard to say exactly  what.</p>
<p>Counterargument is contradiction plus reasoning and/or evidence.  When aimed squarely at the original argument, it can be convincing. But  unfortunately it&#8217;s common for counterarguments to be aimed at something slightly  different. More often than not, two people arguing passionately about something  are actually arguing about two different things. Sometimes they even agree with  one another, but are so caught up in their squabble they don&#8217;t realize  it.</p>
<p>There could be a legitimate reason for arguing against something  slightly different from what the original author said: when you feel they missed  the heart of the matter. But when you do that, you should say explicitly you&#8217;re  doing it.</p>
<p><strong>DH5. Refutation.</strong></p>
<p>The most convincing form of  disagreement is refutation. It&#8217;s also the rarest, because it&#8217;s the most work.  Indeed, the disagreement hierarchy forms a kind of pyramid, in the sense that  the higher you go the fewer instances you find.</p>
<p>To refute someone you  probably have to quote them. You have to find a &#8220;smoking gun,&#8221; a passage in  whatever you disagree with that you feel is mistaken, and then explain why it&#8217;s  mistaken. If you can&#8217;t find an actual quote to disagree with, you may be arguing  with a straw man.</p>
<p>While refutation generally entails quoting, quoting  doesn&#8217;t necessarily imply refutation. Some writers quote parts of things they  disagree with to give the appearance of legitimate refutation, then follow with  a response as low as DH3 or even DH0.</p>
<p><strong>DH6. Refuting the Central  Point.</strong></p>
<p>The force of a refutation depends on what you refute. The most  powerful form of disagreement is to refute someone&#8217;s central point.</p>
<p>Even  as high as DH5 we still sometimes see deliberate dishonesty, as when someone  picks out minor points of an argument and refutes those. Sometimes the spirit in  which this is done makes it more of a sophisticated form of ad hominem than  actual refutation. For example, correcting someone&#8217;s grammar, or harping on  minor mistakes in names or numbers. Unless the opposing argument actually  depends on such things, the only purpose of correcting them is to discredit  one&#8217;s opponent.</p>
<p>Truly refuting something requires one to refute its  central point, or at least one of them. And that means one has to commit  explicitly to what the central point is. So a truly effective refutation would  look like:</p>
<blockquote><p>The author&#8217;s main point seems to be x. As he says:</p>
<blockquote><p>&lt;quotation&gt;</p></blockquote>
<p>But this is wrong for the following  reasons&#8230;</p></blockquote>
<p>The quotation you point out as mistaken need not be the  actual statement of the author&#8217;s main point. It&#8217;s enough to refute something it  depends upon.</p>
<p><strong>What It Means</strong></p>
<p>Now we have a way of  classifying forms of disagreement. What good is it? One thing the disagreement  hierarchy <em>doesn&#8217;t</em> give us is a way of picking a winner. DH levels merely  describe the form of a statement, not whether it&#8217;s correct. A DH6 response could  still be completely mistaken.</p>
<p>But while DH levels don&#8217;t set a lower bound  on the convincingness of a reply, they do set an upper bound. A DH6 response  might be unconvincing, but a DH2 or lower response is always  unconvincing.</p>
<p>The most obvious advantage of classifying the forms of  disagreement is that it will help people to evaluate what they read. In  particular, it will help them to see through intellectually dishonest arguments.  An eloquent speaker or writer can give the impression of vanquishing an opponent  merely by using forceful words. In fact that is probably the defining quality of  a demagogue. By giving names to the different forms of disagreement, we give  critical readers a pin for popping such balloons.</p>
<p>Such labels may help  writers too. Most intellectual dishonesty is unintentional. Someone arguing  against the tone of something he disagrees with may believe he&#8217;s really saying  something. Zooming out and seeing his current position on the disagreement  hierarchy may inspire him to try moving up to counterargument or  refutation.</p>
<p>But the greatest benefit of disagreeing well is not just that  it will make conversations better, but that it will make the people who have  them happier. If you study conversations, you find there is a lot more meanness  down in DH1 than up in DH6. You don&#8217;t have to be mean when you have a real point  to make. In fact, you don&#8217;t want to. If you have something real to say, being  mean just gets in the way.</p>
<p>If moving up the disagreement hierarchy makes  people less mean, that will make most of them happier. Most people don&#8217;t really  enjoy being mean; they do it because they can&#8217;t help it.</p>
<address> Source: http://www.paulgraham.com/disagree.html</address>


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		<title>Carl Sagan &#8211; &#8216;A Glorious Dawn&#8217; ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/carl-sagan-a-glorious-dawn-ft-stephen-hawking-cosmos-remixed/</link>
		<comments>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/carl-sagan-a-glorious-dawn-ft-stephen-hawking-cosmos-remixed/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:08:34 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>The Third &amp; The Seventh</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/the-third-the-seventh/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:59:23 +0000</pubDate>
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The Third &#038; The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.


Related posts:Blue Baloon
70 Million by Hold Your Horses



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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/03/70-million-by-hold-your-horses/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 70 Million by Hold Your Horses'>70 Million by Hold Your Horses</a></li>
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<p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7809605">The Third &#038; The Seventh</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1337612">Alex Roman</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/03/70-million-by-hold-your-horses/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 70 Million by Hold Your Horses'>70 Million by Hold Your Horses</a></li>
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		<title>17 Interesting Tricks of the Body</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/17-interesting-tricks-of-the-body/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:36:03 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[1. If your throat tickles, scratch  your ear.
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a  cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat,  but you’re more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it’s not worth  gagging over. Here’s a better way to scratch [...]


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/5-ways-to-save-your-love-relationship/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 5 Ways to Save Your Love Relationship'>5 Ways to Save Your Love Relationship</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/neuroscience-and-illusion/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Neuroscience and Illusion'>Neuroscience and Illusion</a></li>
</ol>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>1. If your throat tickles, scratch  your ear.</strong><br />
When you were 9, playing your armpit was a  cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat,  but you’re more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it’s not worth  gagging over. Here’s a better way to scratch your itch: “When the nerves in the  ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle  spasm,” says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose and throat  specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. “This spasm relieves the tickle.”</p>
<p><strong>2. Experience supersonic  hearing!</strong><br />
If you’re stuck chatting up a mumbler at a  cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It’s better than your left at  following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA  David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you’re trying to  identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the  sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.<span id="more-341"></span></p>
<p><strong>3. Feel no pain!</strong><br />
German researchers  have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the  needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon,  the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal  canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.</p>
<p><strong>4. Clear your stuffed  nose!</strong><br />
Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and  cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue  against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one  finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the  mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor  at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion  loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you’ll feel your sinuses start to  drain.</p>
<p><strong>5. Fight fire without  water!</strong><br />
Worried those wings will repeat on you  tonight? “Sleep on your left side,” says Anthony A. Star-poli, M.D., a New York  City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical  College. Studies have shown that patients who sleep on their left sides are less  likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an  angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus,  allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you’re on your  left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity’s in your favor.</p>
<p><strong>6. Cure your toothache without  opening your mouth!</strong><br />
Just rub ice on the back of your  hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A  Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50  percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V  stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and  hands.</p>
<p><strong>7. Make burns disappear!</strong><br />
When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the  skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice  will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural  method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less  likely to blister.</p>
<p><strong>8. Stop the world from  spinning!</strong><br />
One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put  your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance—the  cupula—floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. “As alcohol dilutes blood  in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises,” says Dr. Schaffer. This  confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a  second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are  so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor  wisdom.</p>
<p><strong>9. Unstitch your side!</strong><br />
If you’re like most people, when you run, you exhale as your  right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which  lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side  stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale  as your left foot strikes the ground.</p>
<p><strong>10. Stanch blood with a single  finger!</strong><br />
Pinching your nose and leaning back is a  great way to stop a nosebleed—if you don’t mind choking on your own O positive.  A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums—just behind that small  dent below your nose—and press against it, hard. “Most bleeds come from the  front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose,” says Peter  Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in  Durban, South Africa. “Pressing here helps stop them.”</p>
<p><strong>11. Make your heart stand  still!</strong><br />
Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on  your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through  breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the  University of Pittsburgh. It’ll get your heart rate back to normal.</p>
<p><strong>12. Thaw your brain!</strong><br />
Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men.  As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as  much as you can. “Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold,  your body thinks your brain is freezing, too,” says Abo. “In compensating, it  overheats, causing an ice-cream headache.” The more pressure you apply to the  roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.</p>
<p><strong>13. Prevent  near-sightedness!</strong><br />
Poor distance vision is rarely  caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma,  Washington. “It’s usually caused by near-point stress.” In other words, staring  at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every  few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath,  and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time.  Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick  involuntary muscles—like the eyes—into relaxing as well.</p>
<p><strong>14. Wake the dead</strong>!<br />
If your hand falls asleep while you’re driving or sitting in an  odd position, rock your head from side to side. It’ll painlessly banish your  pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm  is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck;  loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in  the body govern the feet, so don’t let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk  around.</p>
<p><strong>15. Impress your friends!</strong><br />
Next time you’re at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold  one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this  position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He’ll resist. Now  have him put one foot on a surface that’s a half inch higher (a few magazines)  and repeat. This time his arm will fold like a house of cards. By misaligning  his hips, you’ve offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of  Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine  is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body’s ability to resist.</p>
<p><strong>16. Breathe underwater!</strong><br />
If you’re dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the  pool, take several short breaths first—essentially, hyperventilate. When you’re  underwater, it’s not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath;  it’s the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals  your brain that somethin’ ain’t right. “When you hyperventilate, the influx of  oxygen lowers blood acidity,” says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate  professor of biology at Auburn University. “This tricks your brain into thinking  it has more oxygen.” It’ll buy you up to 10 seconds.</p>
<p><strong>17. Read minds!</strong><br />
Your own! “If you’re giving a speech the next day, review it  before falling asleep,” says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological  sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens  during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as  long-term memory.</p>
<p>- Kristina (rockforhealth.org)</p>


<p>Related posts:<ol><li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/dont-ignore-that-snore-3/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Don&#8217;t ignore that snore!'>Don&#8217;t ignore that snore!</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/5-ways-to-save-your-love-relationship/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: 5 Ways to Save Your Love Relationship'>5 Ways to Save Your Love Relationship</a></li>
<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2009/12/neuroscience-and-illusion/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Neuroscience and Illusion'>Neuroscience and Illusion</a></li>
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		<title>Partners Sculpt Each Other to Achieve Their Ideal Selves: If Successful, Relationship Goes Well</title>
		<link>http://crzforum.org/2010/01/partners-sculpt-each-other-to-achieve-their-ideal-selves-if-successful-relationship-goes-well/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>crzforum.org</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Various]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2009) — Is that  really Bob? You&#8217;ve seen him hundreds of mornings for the last 10 years at local  coffee shops. Since he started dating Sara, he looks you in the eye &#8212; and  smiles. Sara takes every opportunity to let coffee shop cronies know that Bob is  [...]


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/01/those-less-motivated-to-achieve-will-excel-on-tasks-seen-as-fun/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those Less Motivated to Achieve Will Excel on Tasks Seen as Fun'>Those Less Motivated to Achieve Will Excel on Tasks Seen as Fun</a></li>
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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p id="first">ScienceDaily (Dec. 31, 2009) — Is that  really Bob? You&#8217;ve seen him hundreds of mornings for the last 10 years at local  coffee shops. Since he started dating Sara, he looks you in the eye &#8212; and  smiles. Sara takes every opportunity to let coffee shop cronies know that Bob is  her guy and to gush about how funny he is. And he is. Who knew?</p>
<p><span id="more-339"></span></p>
<p>Think of Sara like Michelangelo chipping away at a block of marble to release  the ideal figure slumbering within.</p>
<p>A new international review of seven papers on &#8220;the Michelangelo phenomenon&#8221;  shows that when close partners affirm and support each other&#8217;s ideal selves,  they and the relationship benefit greatly.</p>
<p>&#8220;To the degree that the sculpting process has gone well, that you have helped  mold me toward my ideal self, the relationship functions better and both  partners are happier. And over the long term, I more or less come to reflect  what my partner sees and elicits from me,&#8221; said Eli Finkel, associate professor  of psychology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern  University.</p>
<p>Finkel co-authored the review with Caryl E. Rusbult, Vrije Universiteit  Amsterdam, and Madoka Kumashiro, Goldsmiths, University of London. &#8220;The  Michelangelo Phenomenon&#8221; appears in the December issue of the journal  <em>Current Directions in Psychological Science</em>.</p>
<p>The Michelangelo effect is not simply about supporting your partner, nor is  it about promoting what you think your partner&#8217;s ideal self should be. &#8220;Even if  partners treat us in perfectly loving, supportive ways, if the treatment is not  consistent with the person we dream of becoming, we have to pay attention to  those red flags,&#8221; Finkel warned. &#8220;Is that the person you want to be married to  10 years down the road?&#8221;</p>
<p>The Michelangelo studies show that close partners sculpt one another&#8217;s traits  and skills and promote, versus inhibit, one another&#8217;s goal achievement. &#8220;It&#8217;s  not just that you treat me positively,&#8221; Finkel said. &#8220;You treat me in particular  ways that dovetail with my ideal self.&#8221;</p>
<p>That&#8217;s how Sara, an outgoing person with a great social network, brought  Bob&#8217;s best out in him. Sara made Bob more comfortable being the person he wanted  to be. With Sara celebrating his ideal self, he became much funnier.</p>
<p>Just as the sculptor chisels, carves and polishes away flaws in the stone to  reveal the ideal form, so do skillful partners support their loved ones&#8217; dreams,  aspirations and the traits they hope to develop, such as completing medical  school or becoming more fluent in a second language or more sociable.</p>
<p>Supporting a partner&#8217;s image of his ideal self, whether it is a vague  yearning or a clearly articulated mental representation, helps the loved one  reduce the discrepancy between the actual self and the ideal self.</p>
<p>Sara consciously may interpret the disparities between Bob&#8217;s actual self and  ideal self in a benevolent way. She may help Bob become more sociable at a  dinner party, for example, by subtly directing him to tell one of his most  charming stories.</p>
<p>Conversely, a relationship can run into trouble when an individual emphasizes  attributes that are peripheral to the core elements of what a partner ideally  wishes to become. Take Mary, a leading researcher and a beauty. If she prizes  her scholarly accomplishments above her physical virtues, she will feel  disaffirmed when her partner affectionately refers to her as his &#8220;Colorado  cutie.&#8221; What that term of endearment represents could ultimately doom the  relationship.</p>
<p>Some people such as Sara, who is so warm and empathic, are better sculptors  than others and are particularly adept at bringing out others&#8217; ideal selves.  Some individuals may be on the verge of achieving great personal growth and be  open to any number of people who could help them. And others, the studies show,  may have a much more difficult time bringing out someone&#8217;s ideal self or be much  more resistant to the Michelangelo effect.</p>
<p>The studies reviewed in the journal article used longitudinal procedures to  examine how people grow toward their ideal selves over time as a result of how  their partners treat them. At the beginning of the studies, individuals reported  on their actual and their ideal selves, and their partners reported on how they  view the individuals. To gain an external perspective, some studies incorporated  the perspective of the individuals&#8217; friends. Across studies, individuals were  especially likely to grow toward their ideal selves when their partners viewed  them in line with this ideal. The process ultimately promoted both relational  and personal well-being for both partners.</p>
<p>&#8220;When deciding on a life partner, we consider many factors,&#8221; Finkel observed.  &#8220;But we frequently neglect to think about whether the person I hope to be in 10  years is consistent with the person you want me to be in 10 years. When our  partners can chisel and polish us in a way that helps us to achieve our ideal  self, that&#8217;s a wonderful thing.&#8221;</p>


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<li><a href='http://crzforum.org/2010/01/those-less-motivated-to-achieve-will-excel-on-tasks-seen-as-fun/' rel='bookmark' title='Permanent Link: Those Less Motivated to Achieve Will Excel on Tasks Seen as Fun'>Those Less Motivated to Achieve Will Excel on Tasks Seen as Fun</a></li>
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