Re: Are liberals dumber than conservatives?

From: Mark Neglay (negloid_at_hotmail.com)
Date: 08/27/04 

Date: 27 Aug 2004 04:23:44 -0700

royls@telus.net wrote in message news:<412b7c41.7757769@news.telus.net>...
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 15:46:33 GMT, Socialism is a Mental Disease
> <root@localhost.> wrote:
>
> >On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 08:09:02 -0400, "Mark Monson" <m_monson@ztech.com>
> >wrote:

> >>The progressive uses plenty of emotional language, but his intelligence is more
> >>useful for social problem solving because he retains that most essential scientific
> >>quality: an open mind.
> >
> >The problem is not the use of emotional language. The problem is using
> >the same tool a reptile uses to make decisions. That is not a good
> >thing. According to that study, liberals tend to be more influenced by
> >the reptilian brain. That, in my opinion, is not a good thing.
>
> IMO you are reading too much into the term, "reptilian brain." The
> notion that the human amygdala is the same as a reptile's brain is
> just silly

Actually he didn't claim that it was the "same". What he did imply,
correctly, is that use of the amygdala for decision making is
analagous to how reptiles (and other animals) make their decisions.
It isn't the same because it is hooked up to a different brain.
However it is still responsible for emotionional responses.

> ; and even sillier is the notion that greater activity in
> the amygdala indicates decisions are being made there.

You better get this published soon, Roy. Thousands of grad students
and PhD's are laboring under the impression that it does.