Books! More Books!
Megan McArdle is reading a book she likes, and says we should read it too. Here's a some of what she quotes.
Social psychologists have found that with divisive moral issues, especially those on which liberals and conservatives disagree, all combatants are intuitively certain that they are correct and that their opponents have ugly ulterior motives. They argue out of respect for the social conventin that one should always provide reasons for one's opinions, but when an argument is refuted, they don't change their minds, but work harder to find a replacement argument. . . .The landscape of the sicences of human nature is strewn with these third rails, hot zones, black holes, and Chernobyls. . . Social psychologists have discovered that even in heated ideological battles, common ground can sometimes be found. Each side must acknowlege that the other is arguing out of principle, too, and that they both share certain values and disagree only over which to emphasize in cases where they conflict. Finding such common gound is my goal in the discussions to follow.
I don't know. Wouldn't it just be easier to read what Michael Moore, Al Franken, Ann Coulter, and Rush Limbaugh have to say instead?
I dont' read as much as I used to. But when I do, my interests are more along the lines of this or this. I don't own the second one, but my birthday is coming up in July.