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Our Flawed Self-Assessments
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 RE: Our Flawed Self-Assessments
December 11, 2014 at 6:43 pm
(This post was last modified: December 11, 2014 at 6:43 pm by Jenny A.)
In all seriousness, one of the signs of depression is more accurately assessing your own self worth and odds of good things happening to us in general.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
 (December 11, 2014 at 6:43 pm)Jenny A Wrote: ...and odds of good things happening to us in general. Which aren't that good when a depressed mind tries to assess them, as I can tell from personal experience. ![[Image: Bumper+Sticker+-+Asheville+-+Praise+Dog3.JPG]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-d-3rfdI7nG0%2FTerwtFyFXoI%2FAAAAAAAACak%2F7kFSmHeVrng%2Fs320%2FBumper%2BSticker%2B-%2BAsheville%2B-%2BPraise%2BDog3.JPG)
(December 11, 2014 at 6:46 pm)abaris Wrote:(December 11, 2014 at 6:43 pm)Jenny A Wrote: ...and odds of good things happening to us in general. Indeed. But they are, unfortunately, more accurate.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
 Quote:For example, ask people whether their driving skills are better than average, and 85% of respondents will say "Yes;" same goes for sense of humor, leadership talent, and singing ability. People are a piece of work, eh?   (December 11, 2014 at 6:43 pm)Jenny A Wrote: In all seriousness, one of the signs of depression is more accurately assessing your own self worth and odds of good things happening to us in general.I think research has indicated that it's just what happens when we swing the pendulum too far in the other direction. We apparently are absolutely awful at viewing anything realistically. Those of our ancestors who survived passed along a brain wired to survive, and that means making snap decisions based off of an amazing amount of processing that our brains do subconsciously. More interesting is that most of our decisions are made in those first couple of seconds, regardless of how much time we spend considering our options afterwards. Or at least, that's what the latest research is leading towards. The next thirty years should be that much more fascinating, IMO.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould  
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment) |
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