Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Road Rage Hypothesis

Ever try to pass someone only to have them speed up to block you out? Asshole! Well, have you ever been that asshole? Why do people drive like it's a race?
The explanation seems obvious on the face of it - it's rude to try to get ahead of someone. People don't like being passed.
But why?
We all know it's not a race. We all understand that we'll all get to our destinations faster if we cooperate. We all know that letting someone pass you doesn't slow you down at all. We all know Wal-Mart will probably still be there when you get there, and you're going to spend 5 minutes comparing brands of socks, anyway. So why the hell don't we all act like we know these things we clearly all know? Why are we willing to speed up and greatly increase our chances of dying horribly just to stop this stupid douche in his lame-ass Camaro  from passing me before his lane ends?

Think about it this way - why in our ancestral past, and in fact, why anywhere in nature, would one animal overtake another, running? I can think of two scenarios right off the bat - they're a) going after some food or b) evading some predator. If you recognize that this is happening, what's a [read: the only] reasonable course of action for your limbic system to take in competitive situations that may mean life or death, especially where you may want a sudden burst of muscle strength? Rage circuitry, activate! Adrenaline++. Gaaah, you motherfucker! A mechanism that did this simply in response to any situation where another animal is trying to run past you would be an easy, effective response, and in nature, it would almost always be appropriate.

So what is the use of this information, supposing I'm even remotely correct?
This is an example of why I think Evolutionary psychology, while admittedly sort of ad hoc, can be useful. If you think this way habitually, you may catch yourself thinking irrationally in response to some vestigial mechanism in your brain that you or someone else has been able to point out and hopefully back up with some evidence or at least sound reasoning. If it's true (if its use always produces good results, then it probably is), you may learn to set aside emotions that might otherwise lead you to waste time and effort or risk harm, ultimately over nothing. Your brain makes mistakes, but other parts of your brain can correct those mistakes.   Reason is our mind's tool for correcting them. Of course, you first have to recognize that they're mistakes. Evo-psych is one way of going about it, as I hope this helps to demonstrate.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Humility

You must obey the rules in this book and love the character in the book that is alleged to have created the universe or else you will be tortured for eternity (according to the book). How do I know? Because I have a personal relationship with the creator of the universe. That's right, I talk to him, you don't, because I believe the right things. Your entire existence weighs on you believing this message I am giving you. You say it's impossible to know exactly what caused the universe to happen because some things can't be known, and we can only know what we can examine, but I say pshaw! IIIII know exactly what caused the universe to happen. I know what's going to happen to you when you die. I know because the creator of the universe LOVES me. So please excuse my humility, I'm used to dealing with... higher beings.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Some questions for Christians

Why does God allow Satan to exist?
Why does God allow evil to exist?
Are good things good because God says so, or does God say so because they're good?
What were Jesus' last words? Had God forsaken him or was it all planned? If it was planned, why was Judas punished, being pivotal to the plan?
Why did Jesus have to die in order for God to forgive us?
Why must he have condemned us in the first place? Doesn't he make the rules?
What evidence/arguments can you give me for your God that Hindus and Muslims can't (and don't) for theirs?
How do humans share over a dozen ERVs with chimpanzees if we're not related, when these are the exact same kinds of genetic markers we use to determine relatedness with such certainty that no other evidence is necessary to sentence someone to life for murder in the US?
Why do bad things (random, uncontrollable things, like cancer) happen to good people, and more importantly, why do they happen just as often to good people as bad people?
If God answers prayers with "yes," "no," or "wait," wouldn't praying to your pillow have exactly the same effect?