Depressed? Anxious? Aren’t we all?

I’m currently reading Zoltan Torey’s book The Crucible of Consciousness: An Integrated Theory of Mind and Brain. It’s fascinating and I will put up a review some time soon.

In the model he proposes for the self aware mind (consciousness) he deals with problems the mind has to confront.  Reflective awareness can lead to chronic anxiety, fretting and anticipation of danger. Human reflective awareness has given us unique and powerful abilities but they “are not altogether a blessing. Or at least blessing that have to be paid for very dearly indeed.”

The Big Bang Theory and sexism?

Of course, I mean the sit-com – not the cosmological theory.

It’s a favourite of mine. We have almost reached the end of series 2 in New Zealand and I have watched every episode.

The production has general been reviewed well by pro-science people so I was intrigued to hear some critical assessments on a recent podcast of the Skeptics Guide to the Universe (Podcast 211 – August 2009). Rebecca and fellow Skepchick Carrie Iwan were criticising the stereotyping of the main female character, Pennie, as sexist. They felt she is cast in the role of the dumb blonde as a foil to the intelligent nerds Sheldon, Leonard, Rajesh and Howard. The complaint was – why don’t women get more roles as intelligent characters.