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For those that faintly recognize the author's name... this piece was written by Jonah Lehrer, whose writings were later discredited for a combination of plagiar
by aamar 13y ago
For those that faintly recognize the author's name... this piece was written by Jonah Lehrer, whose writings were later discredited for a combination of plagiarism, inaccuracy, and methodological weakness. Interestingly, in the ensuing reassessment of Lehrer's writings, this article has survived basically unscathed, but I think this discussion (including some statements from the interviewed scientists) is very useful:
http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/11/05/jonah-lehrer-nature-of-truth/ http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2012/11/05/jonah-lehrer-nat...
- rubidium 13y agoOne of the nice quotes from that link by Rich Palmer, who was one of the authors of the scientific work referenced: If there’s a lesson here, it’s about a widespread human failing. Most people would rather some other clever person distill down all the complex details into a good story for them, preferably in excellent prose. But those distilled stories should never be treated as a substitute for original research results. If anyone really wants ‘the truth’, they’re going to have to slog through an awful lot of turgid and arcane original research and draw their own conclusion.