In which a man who looks like a religious lunatic explains a neuropsychological theory of religious lunacy.
(I've already got Robert Sapolsky's hair; I could look just like him in not that many months, if I tried. It's been clearly explained to me that I'll abruptly become single again if I do try, though.)
1 March 2007 at 4:23 pm
One of the most interesting things I've read in years.
Begs the question, when are we going to be able to fix all those dangerous schizotypal deviants?
;-)
1 March 2007 at 11:14 pm
That's fantastic, fascinating stuff.
I'm not sure about "fixing" them, but screening our politicians and other powerful types for potentially dangerous neuropsychiatrical problems would probably be a good idea.
2 March 2007 at 1:35 am
Brilliant. A new bookmark. Thanks.
2 March 2007 at 2:04 am
Excellent link! I've taken Dr. Sapolsky's wildly popular "Human Behavior Biology" course when I was at Stanford as an undergraduate, and he does touch upon a number of the things he mentions in his acceptance speech.
I did have a chance of working in Dr. Sapolsky's lab at one point (since I had done will in his course), and I was sorely tempted, but I was already working in the lab of Dr. Pat Brown (where spotted microarrays were first invented) at the time. Ah well... one can't have everything.
Anyway, I've also sent the link to PZ Myers, whom I'm sure will be quite interested (if he hasn't already seen it). He's best known for his Pharyngula blog.
2 March 2007 at 7:00 am
Heck, even a few of us religious types (Russian Orthodox Christian in my case - in that light I seriously envy Dr. Sapolsky's hair and beard, but then I would even if I weren't religious) find stuff like this fascinating. Unlike a lot of my religious fellow travelers, I'm pretty comfortable with the notion that the neuropsychology of religious experience is the cause, rather than the effect.