Maxims, rules of thumb and other observations on human cognition and sociocultural affectations

This will be added to on an irregular basis...
  • What is said to humans directly is received with skepticism and considered with dubiousness while that which is heard in passing, especially that which most conforms to their mentality or prejudices, is readily believed.
  • Humans have a certain cognitive latency between exposure to new information or experiences and the ability to think dispassionately and intellectually about it.
  • Humans have a certain cognitive spectrum starting with the moment of exposure to new information or experiences and ending with some point at which the thing is effectively "in the past" for them.
  • This cognitive spectrum is linked to the emotional process often referred to as shock, anger, denial and acceptance.
  • The more and faster information or experiences are presented to people and the closer the quarters and the lesser the distance between people, the more their early reactions in the passionate emotional stage are reflected back to them in the manner of responses to those reactions from others in light of those responses.
  • The more outrages which are suffered without sufficient time to allow emotional bleed-off, the farther the bar for subsequent reaction and outrage are pushed, and the more further events must progress before reaction and outrage.
  • It is possible for serious detriments to eventually sit below this threshold for long enough for their damaging effects to build and multiply until their entire society undergoes some reactive convulsion.
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Tuesday, October 09, 2007

So much for religion in the public square - The Carpetbagger Report

The Family Research Council didn’t see it that way. The group flipped out, said Samuldrala’s prayer could lead to “moral relativism and ethical chaos,” and explained its belief that religious liberty “was never intended to exalt other religions to the level that Christianity holds in our country’s heritage.” In other words, as the FRC saw it, minority faiths are separate and unequal, First Amendment be damned.

So much for religion in the public square - The Carpetbagger Report.


It's this kind of thing that has made my blood boil since I was old enough to go to Sunday school. This is not, never was, by design not, a Christian nation and the most religiously observant Christians among the founders specifically did not want it to be.

It was a nation largely of Christians, but was for all, and despite the goofs, gaffes, stupid mistakes, and hateful blunders, was supposed to remain. Out of all the religions of Earth, only Christianity in America lets you become a Christian simply by saying you are. All are welcomed to the Father openly. How horrid to subvert that into the most closed of thinking and hardest of hearts like this.

Great idea, bad execution as they say. Or to steal from tech support, divine intelligence is no match for mortal stupidity.