Political nihilism is perceived as dangerous because it is understood to be the rejection of authority — the willingness to destroy society for personal freedom. But this only describes active political nihilism. Passive nihilists are said to be more willing to embrace political systems that enforce conformity and blind deference to authority figures. Why? A passive nihilist “does not want to risk self-destruction, and so clings to the safety of traditional beliefs”, thus suppressing their doubts of society’s ways. Read full article here
Education
Overcoming Bias
Kai Cheng’s professor had a brilliant scheme. In his first lecture, he promised that each lecture would feature a “Lie of the Day”. But why? It made his students more attentive and analytical, poring over every detail of his lecture and making sense of why things were true. It was such a powerful teaching method that his students digested his most technical lectures quite easily because they tried so hard to catch his lie. The kicker? There was no lie in that first lecture; he had lied about that too! Read full article here
Merv
August 17, 2022
