what do you need to know

about me?

“The great illusion of leadership is to think that others can be led out of the desert by someone who has

never been there.”

~ Henri Nouwen

“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.”

~ Albert Einstein

“The human brain is special. It starts working as soon as you wake up and it doesn’t stop until you get to school.”

~ Milton Berlelyrics

from Rate My Professors

“Sam is the man…Best prof at Penn State hands down”

“Sam is awesome”

“The most amazing class”

“The man’s a beast”

“Easily the most interesting and exciting teacher I’ve ever had.”

“He was not a very interesting guy. His lectures had pizzazz because of the material he has to cover but he instantly kills the fun when he starts to talk again.”

“Don’t take the class…he lies…he doesn’t make sense.”

what do you need to know about

SOC 119?

think for yourself

take responsibility for your own actions

WHY do we include or exclude information to confirm or reject our opinions?

• There is too much information out there

• It’s difficult to verify the veracity of the information to which we have access

• Facts are less entertaining than opinion

Fact vs. Beliefs?There are upwards to 30 million species on the

planet and thus far we’ve named 1.4 million of them. How did they all fit on Noah’s ark?

If we all “naturally evolved,” from where did consciousness emerge? Just kind of happened…right?

If consciousness comes from God, what “created” God?

HOW do we include/exclude information to confirm/reject our

opinions and ideologies?

* read what we agree with

* hang with people who are like us

* live and vacation in places that do not stretch our beliefs

confirmation bias

Neuro-imaging Results While the Study Was in Process:

While hearing contradictions from their own candidate:

least active part of their brains was the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

part of the brain associated with reasoning

Neuro-imaging Results While the Study Was in Process:

MOST ACTIVE PART OF THEIR BRAINS:

Orbital Frontal Cortex – emotionsAnterior Cingulate - conflict resolutionPosterior Cingulate - judgments about moral

accountabilityVentral Striatum - reward and pleasure

where is the reasoning?

skepticismcuriosity

humilityturning off the voice of THAT person who has told you “how it is”

Native American

mascots?

class logistics

you’re dyingPhoto of tombstone

Announcements1. Read the syllabus2. Discussion groups do NOT meet during the

first two weeks• Section 33

3. Read the syllabus4. “Personal Survey” and “Journal One” are

your first assignments (on Angel)5. Switching sections

• Save as PPt 2007 (or most recent version)• Click on file (upper left circle) and then publish

and click on “create handouts in word”