I'd like to read a Shermer book. He's been mentioned several times. Why don't we read a book by Shermer for Nov./Dec.? Someone who knows more about his books should post it in the recommendation thread. I'd probably vote for it!

I definitely would not describe myself as spiritual. Some of the definitions of spiritual include, "sacred or religious, supernatural". To me, being spiritual is subscribing to a religious belief. I accept evolutionary theory as fact. I do not BELIEVE in evolutionary theory. We should all ...

yes

Why do you think the U.S. is still so religious? In the books we read, this is often pointed out. Is it because so many came here to avoid religious persecution? Did so many of those that came to America have and pass on that "vicious recessive social gene" that rielmajr referred to? Edite...

Reading about this made me modify my thinking about parental influence. I was a psychology and elementary education major in college. Adult(and child) character was always explained by home environment and rearing practices. Pinker's ideas really challenged all that I had been taught. I thought abou...

Peter, I remember Rama responding to a question about the soul. Is that what you're talking about? It was interesting how he discussed that seizures in a certain part of the brain produce vivid religious experiences. It was like attributing religious fanaticism to a brain malfunction. It was also pr...

the bricoleur, I can't speak for Peter, but I would suggest that chimpanzees are self-aware. De Wall discusses Gallup's studies using mirrors as a test of self-awareness. Gallup shows that chimps and orangutans are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. De Wall says, "Gallup went on to equat...

the bricoleur, I can't speak for Peter, but I would suggest that chimpanzees are self-aware. De Wall discusses Gallup's studies using mirrors as a test of self-awareness. Gallup shows that chimps and orangutans are able to recognize themselves in a mirror. De Wall says, "Gallup went on to equat...

Thank you for the recommendations. It is so great to ask for suggestions and get informed responses. I plan to take them all. Peter- I already took your advice. The Reith lectures were great! I had not heard of synesthaesia before. Ramachandran said that some scientists don't believe it. Has anyone ...

Some of us talked about this in the chatroom on Thursday. On page 223 Pinker says, "And they cannot learn evolution until they unlearn their intuitive engineering, which attributes design to the intentions of a designer." It seems that such a statement shows that Pinker doesn't believe in ...