FF&FF, Revisited

I decided to republish this February 2005 article, just so people could see from whence I've come. If you missed this one, a lot of the rest of this stuff may not make sense.

One thing about growing up in a church-going household is that it's difficult to get any real perspective on what's knowable, and what isn't.

If you've grown up in a strongly Evangelical tradition, often the tendency is to simply reject anything that doesn't fit into your worldview as being part of some sort of Satanic conspiracy to confuse you.

But if you get in the habit of rejecting information simply because it's unpalatable, you may in fact be deceiving yourself.

There's no denying that you need a lot of real-life experence to get to the core of any matter--even if it means entertaining material that is controversial, heretical, or just plain out-there.

There's a kernel of truth in every story--even an unbelievable one--though it may not be the whole truth. Even if someone is trying to fool you, or manipulate you, the truth often becomes apparent with a little critical thinking.

Here are some books that, for various reasons, will encourage you to examine life's many mysteries with a critical eye. They're all entertaining reading, if you can find them.

Pick one up and you'll see what I mean.

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Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

Robert Cialdini

Cialdini is a master of marketing psychology and shows you how advertisers and con-artists alike exert almost unbelievable control over the mind of unsuspecting victims.

Addendum:
Technically, Cialdini is a Doctor of Psychology...not merely a master. I was using master in the general adjectival sense: the quality of having attained a mastery of the WHOLE FIELD of psychology. But the term doctor is so frequently associated with a hospital medical practitioner (of which the majority cited in this blog are Neurologists, not Psychologists) that I shied away from using the term doctor to avoid the confusion between the man's academic credentials and his medical experience (which obviously rely on each other).

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Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception

Jaques Vallee

A refreshing departure from the usual UFO literature. Vallee exposes the misty world of deception that protects the world's nuclear arsenals and secret aircraft development. Illuminating.

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The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth About Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High-Finance Fraudsters

Greg Palast

Not for George W. Bush fans. Palast exposes the seedy underside of western politics and Big-Money hucksters. Facts about the 2000 election will make your blood curdle. Be sure to check out his website

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The Universe in a Nutshell

Stephen Hawking

About as far out as it gets. If you understand any of this, maybe you can explain it to the rest of us.