The backfire effect is strong (i.e. the Stanford University political science study that shows that presenting evidence to disprove a false argument actually makes it stronger.) I have no idea how one is supposed to combat it, since facts are useless against “gut feelings.”

I don’t honestly think it’s all mental illness. For some people, sure, various conspiracy theories can feed a larger disability. But for most people, I think it’s just lack of understanding and education on science. The science behind the Pluto flyby is complex, and the average person has trouble passing chemistry and…

Yep. I worked with planetary geologists, some of whom were involved in a lot of the recent projects.

I get the opposite, people are always surprised to learn I am an introvert (meaning I need to go be alone for a while to recharge). They think I’m an extrovert because I am not shy at all. They just don’t understand that after a night of boisterous fun, I need to go hole up in my bedroom for a while and tune out to…

I disagree. I am an introvert, idle small talk is my specialty. I just want to go take a nap after the party instead of going out to the bar for the afterparty. Or if I go to the afterparty, I need to stay in for the rest of the weekend to rest.

Come on now, that’s a terrible excuse. White women lack institutional power as women but they still benefit from whiteness. That doesn’t excuse white feminism. And regardless, far before the English took over the French Colonies New France laid claim to 5 huge territories and claimed that all the resources and the…

But no one stopped him, did they?

The first prime minister of Canada, John A. MacDonald purposefully let First Nations people starve to death to make room for white colonizers to expand westward. He also established Indian Schools to enact cultural genocide.

That’s the narrative that we’ve been told, yes, but there have been wars involving French Europeans since the beginning of the 1600’s. The history Canadian-aboriginal relations have been whitewashed in the service of European power. And the First Nations people were/are subjected to colonization and its attendant…

That’s the narrative that we’ve been told, yes, but there have been wars involving French Europeans since the beginning of the 1600’s. The history Canadian-aboriginal relations have been whitewashed in the service of European power. And the First Nations people were/are subjected to colonization and its attendant…

My guess is his wife is probably similarly chosen for her low self-esteem and willingness to believe in his compulsive lies, in order to serve his ego.

Fundamentally incompatible in that he is a manipulative, compulsive liar and she is a groomed victim with low self esteem.

That may be so, and a part of his motivations. But practically, that doesn’t make any sense. Many, many white people have slave owning or anti-Civil Rights ancestors. Or people who just never did anything about it. White people pointing out each other’s ancestral dirty laundry is kind of a mutually assured…

That right there is the crux of the neo-confederate argument. The inability to accept that your ancestors did terrible things and were on the wrong side of history, or that you still benefit from their actions.

Maybe, but Cumberbatch’s ancestors were plantation owners, and people give him a break. Affleck just makes himself look worse by trying to cover it up.

PBS doesn’t have patience for a history show that might leave out the history.

I saw that clip, and I thought it was pretty clear that he was shaming the predatory companies that take advantage of desperate people in bad financial straits, not the people who need the loans. Maybe you saw something different though — can you point me to the part that bothered you?

The cover art is on point.

As much as I like and respect John Stewart, for once I would like to see Larry Wilmore and his commentary about these issues posted first. His show may not be as popular as the daily show, but he is often just as or more insightful, and his show deals with these issues all the time, discussing them in depth with…

What the everliving hell.