The Denial File
What We Can't Think About—and Why
Clifford’s Law
Phil Hansten | June 27, 2013
Some people find Clifford’s Law disturbing and counterintuitive. Its inventor, William Clifford, doesn’t care what you think. Clifford’s Law, for example, leads to the startling …
Some Thoughts on Reading “Adventures of an Accidental Sociologist,” Part 1
Daniel Liechty | June 18, 2013
Sociologist Peter L. Berger recently published a memoir, Adventures of an Accidental Sociologist (2011) which I have been enjoying these last few days as if …
A Call for Readings
Bill Bornschein | June 2, 2013
One of the best things about working with Becker in the classroom is that it provides such a great resource for continually seeing him anew …
You Deserve a Rap(e) Today: Terror, Rampage and the Logic of Attention
Kirby Farrell | May 22, 2013
This title might strike you as a contrived and sensational play on a McDonald’s ad that’s more familiar than the Lord’s Prayer. If so, you’ve armed yourself—another …
Run for Your Life
Kirby Farrell | April 24, 2013
Understanding the fascination of the marathon terror Why do terrorism and rampage killing exert such hypnotic fascination? Attacks on schoolchildren and marathon fans arouse “horror.” …
Beastly “Beauty”
Kirby Farrell | April 16, 2013
You wouldn’t think that aristocracy would be popular with freedom-loving American individualists. But these extremes are often in bed with each other. Fantasy exaggerates them …
Guns and “Mental Illness”
Daniel Liechty | March 27, 2013
I think it may have started with Wayne LaPierre’s infamous press conference a week after Sandy Hook. In any case, we now here it as …
Competition, Paranoia, and Cannibalism
Kirby Farrell | March 14, 2013
Is that paranoia you hear around you? [1] The airwaves sizzle with suspicion. Crime’s down, gun sales up [2]. Drones are tracking you. Your food …
Rise of the Planet of the Apps
Bill Bornschein | March 2, 2013
Our local paper recently featured a story about our zoo’s cutting edge program that gives iPads to our orangutans, Teak, Bella, Segundo, and Amber. The …
Terrorism in the Checkout Lane
Kirby Farrell | February 20, 2013
No doubt you heard that shoppers at a Kroger supermarket in Charlottesville, VA got a bit of a scare yesterday evening when a 22-year-old man walked …
Flu Shot Resistance – A Symptom of Death Denial?
Scott Murray | February 14, 2013
Cornell psychologist Thomas Gilovich has made a career out of studying the cognitive processes that sustain dubious beliefs. There is something about flu season that …
Who Needs Humanities?
Phil Hansten | February 3, 2013
It is the debate that never dies. With finite (and often dwindling) resources for university and K-12 education, legislators and educators make cuts. Sadly, we …
A Proposal for an American-Specific Gun Policy
Daniel Liechty | January 23, 2013
Lately I have cocked my eavesdropping ear whenever I hear others discussing guns in America. Ideas are flying furiously about how to prevent such …
AT&T and the Yang Complex
Bill Bornschein | January 10, 2013
Have you noticed the recent AT&T commercials that feature an adult asking leading questions to children, questions that have “obvious” correct answers? Which is better, …
Sometimes a Young Poet is Just Another Young Man Snared in the Agony of Love
Bruce Floyd | December 27, 2012
Last night I read a short essay on the poet John Keats. The essayist begins by stating the obvious–that is, something anyone reading the essay …
Shooting into the Dark
Kirby Farrell | December 20, 2012
We are meaning-making creatures, and when a disaster appears utterly senseless to us, it intensifies the anguish. This has been true of the rampage in Connecticut, …
We Give Birth Astride a Grave
Kim Pereira | November 25, 2012
I’ve been fortunate never to have experienced the crippling effects of chronic depression, although I’ve had my share of despair where the world seemed to spin …
Rooster Tales
Phil Hansten | November 13, 2012
What we can’t think about: We humans are lousy in dealing with issues of cause and effect. It’s 5:00 AM and he flutters up onto …
Strong Medicine
Kirby Farrell | November 1, 2012
If you buy pills labeled “Strong Medicine for Colds,” the pitch assumes that you “fight” illness and win health through strength. Of course it’s not …
