The Movie ‘The Matrix’ and Plato’s ‘Allegory of a Cave’:  How a Paradigmatic Shift in Our Worldview can cause Cognitive Dissonance and Intellectual Disequilibrium.  (Or, learning you were wrong all along can make you sick to your stomach.) by Rob Westerlund SPOILER ALERT!  This blog explores many of the key components of the movie The … Continue reading Worldview: The Matrix and the Allegory of a Cave

In a nutshell: ‘Worldview’ is a term used to describe how a person looks at the world, how they understand the world works around them. One’s worldview is formed from one’s culture, religion, and philosophy, as well as their own personal biological and psychological make-up.

This blog post is a continuation of a discussion started on Media and the Truth: A Love Story – Part One.  Please view the previous post so that this one makes sense.  Thank you. Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/ll has been praised and lambasted by the press and his audience. While Moore’s documentation of the foibles … Continue reading Media and the Truth: A Love Story – Part Two

In a Nutshell:  There is a lot of truthful reporting of news on television, in print, and on the web, but they often make mistakes.  A Critical Thinker needs to be careful about believing news outlets until their stories have been proven.    Poor Brian Williams.  I watch Mr. Williams on NBC every night and … Continue reading Media and the Truth: A Love Story – Part One

In a Nutshell:  Critical Thinking is basically listening to people’s explanations or arguments on TV, radio, print, or in person, carefully dissecting the evidence they use to support their argument see if it is true, judging whether or not the conclusions they make from this evidence are logical, and then to decide if you agree … Continue reading What is Critical Thinking?

SPECTRA A blog by Rob Westerlund spec·tra  (spĕk′trə) n. A plural of spectrum spec•trum (ˈspɛk trəm) 1. A.  an array of entities, as light waves or particles, ordered in accordance with the magnitudes of a common physical property, as wavelength or mass. B. the band or series of colors, together with invisible extensions, produced by dispersion … Continue reading Spectra: A Web Log of Logic, Critical Thinking, Ethics, Politics, and Values