Posts by David Hood
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How could I have forgotten the first professional gig of Jon Bon Jovi "R2-D2, We wish you a Merry Christmas" from the Star Wars Christmas album of yore.
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Congratulations kebabette
Nice pictures everyone
Speaking of "is that even allowed?" I seem to be on the short list twice, which could have been awkward. -
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Steven, before typing a key hit one of the shift keys on the keyboard to toggle out of the capitalised first letter.
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why are we so invested in differences
I tend to view pop evolutionary psychology explanations as the equivalent of phrenology in the 1800s or social Darwinism in the 1920s- a justification for the social world being as it is. To which people who believe otherwise could say I am ignoring obvious common sense evidence of their positions. Justifications tend to be pretty generational as the social circumstances that support them change (the big example of this is the shift over gay marriage in the U.S.) But in general, arguing with a justification does not get you far, as it is a symptom of a social belief rather than a cause (which is why I tend to stop at "can we all agree that x is a problem" specifics, rather than try for a "is a problem because...").
Emphasising differences is a pretty common human trait. This is evolutionarily useful in providing social cohesion. (Of course I could just have easily have made a more or less opposite conclusion that it is evolutionary useful for recognising and dealing with difference).
I should note I don't have a problem with actual evolutionary psychology of the level that "all apes seem to want to raise kittens and puppies, which suggests domestication may not have been a sudden, radical step"
Less evolutionary psychologically, I would suggest humans tend to form categories, and use those categories for saving effort in subsequent thinking.