You probably don’t know what you’re talking about – you only think you do.

August 31, 2013

The observation that people with limited knowledge of a topic believe they know more than they do is popularly known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, named after the psychologists who published the 2009 paper, Unskilled and Unaware of It: “How Difficulties in Recognizing One’s Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments”[1] The paper analyzes and confirms this phenomenon … More You probably don’t know what you’re talking about – you only think you do.

Trayvon- Uncovering Racism Beyond the Verdict.

July 17, 2013

I usually avoid categorizing myself as a progressive because the term has become a euphemism for being a liberal. People seem sometimes hesitant to call themselves liberals. There is nothing wrong with being a liberal unless the commitment to maintaining that label adulterates one’s otherwise objective position, perspective or opinion on a given topic. It … More Trayvon- Uncovering Racism Beyond the Verdict.

The Other National Deficit – Critical Thinking

June 16, 2013

I am probably attempting to distill this too much but it seems that many of the problems in the world would disappear if we could teach our youth two things – to think critically and to recognize logical fallacies. Recognizing logical fallacies is part of critical thinking but deserves special attention because of their ubiquity … More The Other National Deficit – Critical Thinking

The Newtown 31 – Senators who forgot Sandy Hook and remembered the NRA.

April 13, 2013

I have written on several previous occasions[1] about how the overuse of the filibuster in the US Senate has greatly contributed to the dysfunction of that body. Some, including the US Senator from my state, Marco Rubio, are not clear on the history or the intent of the filibuster so a brief summary of the … More The Newtown 31 – Senators who forgot Sandy Hook and remembered the NRA.

Senator Portman’s decision on gay marriage and the lesson of Newtown

April 10, 2013

I have always thought that adjusting one’s position on a subject is not only acceptable but is a positive sign of critical thinking. After all, is it not reasonable to think that positions on subjects should evolve over time as we process new facts as they are discovered? Altering one’s view of a situation when … More Senator Portman’s decision on gay marriage and the lesson of Newtown

Dear Senator Marco Rubio: Facts matter – even on the simple issue of filibuster reform.

January 30, 2013

The bastardization of the filibuster in the Senate has been the subject of many discussions, articles and even a book. I expressed my own take on the filibuster in a previous posting and will not belabor the point by revisiting all of the reasons that the perverse mutations to the Senate rule have created a … More Dear Senator Marco Rubio: Facts matter – even on the simple issue of filibuster reform.

2012 Florida State Constitutional Amendments – Politics Florida Style

October 21, 2012

The proposed amendments to Florida’s State Constitution are emblematic of what has gone wrong with our government. Some are just plain dumb. For example, Amendment 1 removes the individual mandate for healthcare at the state level but have no effect on the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.” Equally frivolous is Amendment 6 that prohibits public funding of … More 2012 Florida State Constitutional Amendments – Politics Florida Style

The Illusion of Retrospective Omniscience

October 18, 2012

Maybe it’s because the presidential campaign is approaching its quadrennial periapsis but headlines seem to be increasingly salted with criticisms of the administration based on retrospective omniscience – the ability to know everything about an incident after it has occurred. While such criticisms tend to garner the headlines they are unfounded and are either derived … More The Illusion of Retrospective Omniscience

The Xs and Os of the proposed Romney Military Budget

October 13, 2012

As can be seen in the graph below, Romney’s base defense budget will increase by $355 billion (55%) from 2013 to 2022. But is that enough to protect the United States from an existential military threat from other nations? A case study my be illustrative. Source: http://goo.gl/Z1ryD Since Romney has characterized Russia as “our number … More The Xs and Os of the proposed Romney Military Budget