I gave my spiel about the verbal/visuospatial or right-brain/left-brain divide here. Via Mind Hacks I found an Edge article by Chris Badcock titled The Imprinted Brain Theory. He views autism and schizophrenia as flip-sides of the “mentalism” axis, with hypo-mentalists having a deficient theory-of-mind that commits Type II error and fails to perceive agency while hyper-mentalists have a promiscuous teleology (to a greater degree than average). Bradcock sees these disorders as the result of a genetic tug-of-war between the interests of fathers (who cannot be sure the siblings of their biological son also belong to them) and mothers, drawing on the ideas of Robert Trivers.
Bradcock seemed to be pushing my bias buttons by associating those blasted hyper-mentalists with confidence men, pseudo-science, politicians, lawyers and holism. Riffing off the post Robin Hanson judged the most dense with useful info on identifying our biases he’s ever written, I don’t view history culminating with our war against a united alien invasion. Them is us. Or maybe they’re alien to me. Perhaps I should say when reading Bradcock on mentalistic cognition I don’t primarily see a group of people, but the flaws of humanity. I don’t see an axis and seek “balance” (a word holistic pseudo-science constantly yammers on about), I feel the urge to excise a contamination. That’s Jonathan Haidt’s sanctity/disgust factor of morality, which I admitted to having an irrationally strong sense of here. Recently Hopefully Anonymous chided me for indulging in unthinking lawyer-bashing, and while I still think they shouldn’t make up over half our legislators, I admit that I let the joy of sticking it to THEM control discussion of the issue.
December 6, 2008 at 11:40 am
I always knew that The Amazing Kreskin had a promiscuous teleology.
In the 1956 FIEND WHO DEFIED DEATH, which was a very late example of the standard “mad scientist/medical maniac” programmer often associated with Monogram Pictures (but, in this case, Republic) we see The Amazing Kreskin (played by himself) use his astounding mental powers to battle the fiendish Hopefully Anonymous (portrayed by J. Carroll Naish) a mad doctor who has found the key to eternal life by sending out his inhuman servitor, Tor (played by Tor Johnson) to procure pineal glands from unwilling victims! In the climactic scene, The Amazing Kreskin uses his mental powers to save a beautiful heiress (Vera Hruba Ralston) from the monstrous doctor’s clutches. By means of telepathic argument, The Amazing Kreskin convinces Tor that there are indeed natural rights, causing the hulking behemoth to turn on his master. Bellowing “we…belong…dead!” Tor drags the shrieking Anonymous to their mutual doom in a conveniently handy vat of bubbling molten sulfer. “So perish all consequentialists!” opines Kreskin, as he holds the luscious Vera Hruba Ralston back from the edge of doom!
December 6, 2008 at 11:53 am
Tor Johnson was cool.
December 6, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Vera Hruba Ralston
December 6, 2008 at 12:24 pm
In the end, the story of Hopefully Anonymous’ quest for immortality is really nothing more than yet another love offering by Herbert Yates, head of Republic Pictures, to his dear Vera.
But in fact, all reality is nothing more than an endless Republic Picture, an indefinite scenario replete with thrills and pathos. Havn’t you noticed how every woman you meet subtly resembles Vera Hruba Ralston? (Except with those retangular barista glasses you see now.) But eventually there will be a final fade out, and the credits will roll on human history – A REPUBLIC PICTURE. And we will find ourselves in our seats as the lights come up, wondering if it was all a strange dream.
Or we won’t.
September 20, 2009 at 9:57 pm
[...] he chooses to represent Mercurians is Odysseus. Especially perceptive readers will note my prejudice against Dionysians. [...]