Category Archives: Social Science

Blending and framing by paradox

Google Reader (1000+) “Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking.” (Clement Atlee) There is no doubt that pithy aphorisms are an important instrument in the socialisation toolkit (construction inventory) or any … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Analogies, Cognition, Framing, Linguistics, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

Unintended consequences of political correctness

Colbert I. King – Why Obama Stands With His Church – washingtonpost.com This history comes to mind as I listen to conservative commentators, chief among them MSNBC’s Pat Buchanan, brand as "racist" the slogan adopted by Trinity United Church of … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Cognition, Discourse - text, Feminism, Framing, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

Are US copyright laws unconstitutional: Default states semantics

LII: Constitution To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; I had no idea that copyright was part of the US … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Framing, Negotiation, Social Science, Technology and life | Leave a comment

Individual perspicacity, collective naïveté

Nicholas Kristof is puzzled and pleased that the US electorate is keeping two individuals as front runners who are willing to express unpopular opinions: The World’s Worst Panderer – New York Times All of this is puzzlingly mature on the … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Cognition, Discourse - text, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

Two models of governance: Foundations of policy negotiation

Lakoff in ‘Moral Politics’ talks about how competing models of family influence policy and politics debates in the US. This model duality is not only present in a variety of contexts but I would claim is the very foundation of … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Analogies, Discourse - text, Framing, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

Finally! The truth about truth: Folk foundations of scientific reductionism

On The Media I’m not a psychologist, but I think that at some deep level, if the situation you’re living is a lie, and the situation these boys were living was one, and, moreover, at least the father was complicit … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Analogies, Framing, Linguistics, Negotiation, Philosophy, Science, Social Science, Technology and life | Leave a comment

Primogeniture: Negotiating the internal ‘logic’ of social change

BBC – Radio 4 Woman’s Hour -Male Primogeniture Jenni discusses the law of primogeniture with Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone, who has asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate the legality of this centuries old practice, and to … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Analogies, Cognition, Discourse - text, Feminism, Framing, Negotiation, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

The perception problem and the question of rationality in life

Women Are Never Front-Runners – New York Times But what worries me is that he is seen as unifying by his race while she is seen as divisive by her sex. What worries me is that she is accused of … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Cognition, Negotiation, Social Science, Society and politics | Leave a comment

Collective cognition, culture, mind share and patterns of action

Ubuntu: Just how popular is it? – Starry Hope Productions…Ubuntu has managed to gain a large portion of the Linux mind share, at least amongst the tech community. Wikipedia: Mind share is the amount of attention required by something and … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Cognition, Framing, Science, Social Science | Leave a comment

More meaningful than what? Populations and truth in social science

WHNews: Pay Gap – No Pay Day As of 30th October, if you’re a woman and you go out to work, you’re working for nothing until the 31st December. The Fawcett Society and the union Unison have declared today ‘Women’s … Continue reading

  • Share/Bookmark
Posted in Analogies, Cognition, Philosophy, Social Science | Leave a comment