An Official, Albeit Superfluous, Notice

So it’s probably pretty apparent by now, but I’m officially considering myself on hiatus from the blog for the time being.  I’m sure I’ll be back in some form in the future, and perhaps I’ll continue to provide content in some capacity for the time being–probably on my Twitter feed .  Anyway, the past 10 [...]

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Law And Neuroscience Blog Reading Group

I really do promise to start writing some actual posts soon, but I wanted to draw everyone’s attention to this notice on the Law and Neuroscience Blog (which, by the way, you already read; right?):
just wanted to announce that Michael Pardo and Dennis Patterson have graciously agreed to participate in an on-line reading group here [...]

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The Neural Case for Health Care Reform

The moral case for health reform was not the focus of President Obama’s address to Congress Wednesday night. It did, however, form the core of the most eloquent and compelling section of the speech, which followed the invocation of the late Senator Ted Kennedy:
That large-heartedness – that concern and regard for the plight of [...]

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The Neural Basis of Multitasking

In a headline-grabbing recent study, the NHTSA revealed that talking on a cell phone–even with a hands free headset–is effectively the same as driving with a .08 blood alcohol reading, or legal intoxication.  Texting is even worse, but a poll released yesterday showed that a majority (52%) of the world’s drivers often have their thumbs [...]

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Health Care and our Psychological Shortcomings

I thought this was a great article by James Surowiecki in today’s New Yorker (and see some good commentary by Matt Yglesias).  Surowiecki argues that the troubling turns in the health-care debate become pretty easy to understand if you consider the way our minds work:
But the public’s skittishness about overhauling the system also reflects something [...]

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What Shape Will the Neuro Revolution Take?

I’ve been meaning to write about Zach Lynch’s new book The Neuro Revolution for some time now.  I actually haven’t had a chance to read it yet, because I’m too busy falling behind on Infinite Summer.  Lynch came and spoke at MIT last month though, so I feel like I have a reasonably good sense [...]

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Brain Research on the Margins

One of the most valuable insights of economics, and one of the oldest, is the idea that we value goods on a marginal basis.  The core of the idea, which traces back to Adam Smith, is that our choices are not about x amount of any good but x more of that good.  If you’re [...]

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Karl Rove is Highly Evolved

Two links, presented without commentary:
Karl Rove — Obama and the Permanent Campaign: Turning Critics into Enemies isn’t Presidential
Robert Trivers — The Elements of a Scientific Theory of Self-Deception

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From the Annals of Not Seeing That One Coming

Sorry about the radio silence recently.  I’ve had a lot of late scans and such that have made it hard to find time to sit down and write.
In the meantime, here’s a quotation to chew over.  My roommate is a consultant, and he brought home some abandoned books from the office the other day.  I [...]

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Health Care and Our Limited Moral Intuitions

Ezra Klein wants to know “what happened to the the moral case for health-care reform?”
This year, however, it’s not just been the opponents of the policy who have relied on the “mellifluous language of the standard economic theory of markets.” It’s been the advocates of reform. Ask yourself what the administration’s one-line goal is on [...]

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