The Code Delusion

The medical miracles delusion.

Humans are not ants, but we often trudge together along the same trail, neglecting to look around for alternatives. Mass delusions involve large groups holding false or exaggerated beliefs for sustained periods. Humanity has a long, sorry list of these shadow-the-leader epidemics of collective consciousness which appear obviously wrong only in hindsight. Some last for centuries: early alchemist...

The Growth Delusion

Concern for the environment and a move towards ―sustainable development‖ has assisted progress in a wide range of renewable energy technologies in recent years. The science suggests that a transition from fossil fuels to sustainable sources of energy in a time frame commensurate with the demise of the fossil fuels and prevention of runaway climate change is needed. However, while the movement t...

The Arising of Delusion

1 The varying answers given to the single question of whether the mind is pure by nature or defiled by nature form a convenient lenses through which to view the development of Yogācāra thought. If the mind is pure, then where do the defilements originate? If it is defiled, where does purity originate? Though the classical formulation of Asaṇga and Vasubandhu sees consciousness as paratantric, t...

The God delusion Richard

The Pollyanna Delusion

Psychologists refer to our tendency to subconsciously emphasize positive thoughts over negative ones as the Pollyanna Principle, according to which people tend to produce a positive bias toward past events, show a propensity to ignore negative stimuli, and have an inclination to react to pleasant stimuli faster than unpleasant. In simple terms, it holds that people prefer to look on the bright ...