Posts Written by Lisa
By Lisa Marie • 11 years ago

Beware the snarky meme

A SYTYCB entry

Something happened while we were re-tweeting clever Akin-related memes.  Anti-abortion rhetoric stepped a little closer to all-out woman-hating, and the whole debate became a little bit more violent.

That the pro-choice brand has been eroding for decades is no secret.  Social conservatives and religious fanatics have succeeded in pushing the wall of public perception of the political and moral implications of abortion.  Polls consistently show that fewer voters identify as pro-choice, no doubt a response to relentless conservative fear-mongering and faux-scientific reporting.

Public outcry against Akin’s comments were swift, furious, and…hilarious.  Memes posted and tweeted immediately were among some of the cleverest I’ve seen in months.  The funniest, of course, mocked the representative’s understanding of anatomy, and many included a photo of him looking hapless and out of touch with a comb-over and pained expression.

I laughed out loud as I read and reposted them again, and again, and again.
By Lisa Marie • 11 years ago

Mad Skills: Speaking to the Lizard Brain

A SYTYCB entry

I’m always gratified when something I’ve sensed at a cellular level for a long time gains scientific traction via someone else’s round-the-clock labwork.

In a brilliant article published in Alternet, Joshua Holland reported on recent scientific research into how human cognitive functions make it possible to support sexist and racist policies; or how “ordinary people come to embrace Paul Ryan’s Cruelty.”  Holland writes,

“Even more frustrating for those who view politics as a rational pursuit of one’s self-interest, facts don’t actually matter that much. We begin evaluating policies emotionally, according to a deeply ingrained moral framework, and then our brains often work backward, filling in – or inventing — “facts” that conform to that framework…

Princeton psychologist Daniel Kahneman refined ...

A SYTYCB entry

I’m always gratified when something I’ve sensed at a cellular level for a long time gains scientific traction via someone else’s round-the-clock labwork.

In a brilliant article published in Alternet, Joshua Holland reported on recent scientific ...