Empathy and Female Brains

I’ve always believed that male and female brains were biologically different from the day we were born. Now that I have a child of my own and see many of her friends grow up, it is hard to imagine how anyone could deny the difference. I have been so vocal about the gender differences that many of my friends think I am a sexist. I became so used to it that it doesn’t bother me anymore. Given this reputation of mine, one would assume that I would agree with everything stated in the book “The Essential Difference” by Simon Baron-Cohen, which explores the difference between male and female brains. To my surprise, I found myself disagreeing with him in a fundamental way.

May-2-08

Moral Dilemma of Intelligence

In my younger days, I simply assumed that other people were as intelligent as I was. I had no reason to believe otherwise. Nobody came to me with an admission or acceptance that my intelligence was superior to theirs. (Do I sound condescending and full of myself? Bear with me for now.) Compare this with someone who is physically superior. Most professional boxers, for instance, have a reasonable understanding of their own superiority. This understanding is crucial in using their physical strength appropriately. If they did not understand their superiority, they could get into all sorts of trouble. But, this does not hold true for intelligence. Why? Shouldn’t those with high IQs recognize their own intelligence and learn to use it appropriately in our society too?

Dec-16-07

Anti-Seducer

The word "seduction" is not generally perceived positively. There is something dark and negative about the idea of seducing, yet, it is a key factor in achieving happiness. (It is difficult to feel content if nobody likes you.) We humans are social creatures; I believe we've evolved to crave social recognition and to fear isolation. In this sense, seduction has been a critical component of evolution and is an important survival skill. We therefore need to look at it pragmatically.

Dec-7-07

Should We Teach “Emotional Intelligence” to Our Children?

“Emotional Intelligence” is much talked about these days. Even though I can see its significance in certain areas of our lives (especially in business), I am skeptical of those who are rushing to apply the theory to child development and psychology. The term “Emotional Intelligence” was popularized by Daniel Goleman who was interested in identifying the quality that made people successful in the corporate world. The data of his research are kept private, so we do not know for sure, but I would imagine that his research does not cover successful people in the arts or anyone outside of the corporate world (the likes of, for instance, Woody Allen, Kurt Cobain, Andy Warhol, Noam Chomsky, Bobby Fischer, etc..).

Oct-7-07

Procreation and Self-deception

In watching the TV commercials where countless starving children from around the world are staring at me in desperation, I cannot help but ask this question: "Why did their parents decide to have children in the first place?" Their dire predicaments are undeniable to anyone. The severe suffering of their children are virtually guaranteed even before their birth. So, why? For many, this is an immoral question to ask. It is an obvious question to everyone, but the desire to have children is so fundamental and deep-rooted that most people can relate to the predicaments of those who have children in abject reality.

Sep-2-07

Meaning of Meaning

"Life has no meaning." Most people would project a depressed feeling to this statement. Suppose John paints a big circle on his wall, and Jane asks, "What does the circle mean?" John replies, "No meaning. I just felt like it." The lack of meaning, in this case, does not tempt us to project one. Why then, are we inclined to project a negative emotion to the pronouncement that life has no meaning?

May-19-07

The Blessed Human Race: Essays on Reconsideration

by George Jochnowitz

Since the subtitle of my book is about reconsideration, I believe we should reconsider—and broaden—the list of people who might be called upon to write a review. The list should include the author, who understands the book better than most of its other readers. Consequently, here is my autoreview, my review of my own book.

May-9-07

Going Beyond Stereotypes of Stereotype

In speaking of stereotypes, the emphasis is usually placed on the act of differentiation, but dividing and uniting are two sides of the same coin; in one act, both concepts operate simultaneously. We view the attitude of “us” and “them” as divisive and negative, but without the concept of “them” or “others”, uniting of people would also be impossible.

Dec-13-06

ALLLOOKSAME?/TUTTTUGUALE?—Art from Japan, China and Korea

This is a text I wrote for the group show curated by Francesco Bonami at the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Torino, Italy). The show was named after one of my websites, AllLookSame.com. This piece describes my philosophy behind it.

Dec-4-06

Time: Scientific or Semantic Problem?

Reading this article in New Scientist reveals to me that scientific study of time is hampered by a language (semantic) problem. Wittgenstein incidentally used the concept of “time” to explain what he called “family resemblance.” The gist of it is that when we try to define what “time” is (or any word for that matter), we tend to look for what is common to all the phenomena we call “time”. This is a mental habit that has no logical basis. There is no reason why there must be something in common to all the phenomena we call “time”. Phenomenon A might share something in common with phenomenon B, and B might share something in common with C, but this does not mean that A must share something in common with C. So any attempt at abstracting a concept until you find something in common to all, is a futile exercise. I think some of the problems associated with time perception fall in this category.

Dec-4-06