“But human beings fall easily into despair, and from the very beginning we invented stories that enabled us to place our lives in a larger setting, that revealed an underlying pattern, and gave us a sense that, against all the depressing and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value.” HumansStoriesValuesFallHuman BeingsOur LivesDespairEvidencePatternsContrarySettingSettingsDepressingChaotic Book:A Short History Of Myth Source: A Short History Of Myth
“Thus evidence that contradicts the global warming theory, climate Chicken Littles enlist as evidence for the correctness of their theory; every permutation in weather patterns — warm or cold — is said to be a consequence of that warming or proof of it.” SaidTheoryColdEvidenceConsequenceClimatePatternsWarmProofWeatherGlobal WarmingCorrectness Author:Ilana Mercer
“I think the Republicans and conservatives generally were alienated by America's unsuccessful effort in Vietnam, and a lot of them, as Henry Kissinger admitted the other day, never got over President Nixon's impeachment, and didn't think, even though there was a pattern of illegal conduct there, sanctioned by the White House and proved by the tapes and other documentary evidence and testimony, they didn't believe that the impeachment was justified, and they didn't think he should have resigned.” ThinkingShouldBelieveAmericaHousePresidentWhiteEffortRepublicanEvidenceShould HavePatternsIllegalWhite HouseVietnamTapeDocumentariesTestimonyJustifiedUnsuccessfulResignedImpeachmentKissingerHenry KissingerPresident Nixon Author:William J. Clinton
“Experts must read the patterns and judge their usefulness as evidence. Under any of numerous pressures, an expert may wish to misread a pattern or even to alter it. Americans had a touching trust in "experts".” MayWishJudgingEvidencePressurePatternsExpertsTouchingUsefulness Book:The Good Guy Source: The Good Guy
“Thought reflexes get conditioned very strongly, and they are very hard to change. And the also interfere. A reflex may connect to the endorphins and produce an impulse to hold that whole pattern forther. In other words, it produces a defensive reflex. Not merely is it stuck because it's chemically so well built up, but also there is a defensive reflex which defends against evidence which might weaken it. Thus it all happens, one reflex after another after another. It's just a vast system of reflexes. And they form a 'structure' as they get more rigid.” WellsMayHardWholeMightHappensFormProduceEvidenceBuiltStructurePatternsStuckImpulseVery StrongInterfereReflexesEndorphins Author:David Bohm
“We like to think we're superior to the people who, centuries ago, burned 'witches' for no better reason than a neighbor's belief that his crop failure or impotence was caused by that woman's action. But reporters are still prone to the same mental errors that caused these killings: seeing patterns where there are none, finding causes where there is only coincidence, ignoring our sources' political agendas and turning scanty evidence into panic.” PeopleThinkingStillsReasonActionPoliticalBeliefCausesSeeingCenturySourceFindingsEvidenceErrorsKillingPatternsNeighborSuperiorsAgendasWitchPanicBurnedReportersCoincidenceCropsImpotencePolitical Agendas Author:John Stossel
“Variable behaviour of the sun is an obvious explanation, and there is increasing evidence that Earth's climate responds to changing patterns of solarmagnetic activity. ... If you look back into the sun's past, you find that we live in a period of abnormally high solar activity. ... It's a boom-bust system, and I would expect a crash soon. ... Having a crash would certainly allow us to pin down the sun's true level of influence on the Earth's climate. Then we will be able to act on fact, rather than from fear.” IfsLooksFactsAbleEarthPastLevelsSunInfluencePeriodsActivityEvidenceClimatePatternsObviousExplanationGlobal WarmingCrashBehaviourPinsVariables Author:Nigel Weiss
“Religion shows a pattern of heredity which I think is similar to genetic heredity. ... There are hundreds of different religious sects, and every religious person is loyal to just one of these. ... The overwhelming majority just happen to choose the one their parents belonged to. Not the sect that has the best evidence in its favour, the best miracles, the best moral code, the best cathedral, the best stained-glass, the best music when it comes to choosing from the smorgasbord of available religions, their potential virtues seem to count for nothing compared to the matter of heredity.” ThinkingPersonsDifferentMatterShowsSeemsHappensScienceParentReligiousMoralVirtueEvidenceMiracleMajorityGlassesPatternsAvailableCodeJust OneOverwhelmingLoyalFavourSectsCathedralsHeredityMoral CodeReligious PersonStained GlassReligious Sects Author:Richard Dawkins
“Many of us grow up thinking of mistakes as bad, viewing errors as evidence of fundamental incapacity. This negative thinking pattern can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, which undermines the learning process. To maximize our learning it is essential to ask: "How can we get the most from every mistake we make?"” ThinkingSelfMotivationalAsksGrowsProcessMistakeGrowing UpEssentialsEvidenceNegativeFundamentalsErrorsPatternsTrackFulfillingProphecyLearning ProcessNegative ThinkingIncapacitySelf Fulfilling Prophecy Author:Tony Buzan