If anything, Powerpoint, if used well, would ideally reflect the way we think.

If crime is going down, you shouldn't be increasing resources for crime prevention. Or you should be taking note of what has worked and concentrate the crime-prevention methods on policies that have a track record of success.

Why are empirical questions about how the mind works so weighted down with political and moral and emotional baggage?

I get drawn in when I feel there is something deep and mysterious going on beneath the surface of something.

The reason the United States is not so likely to invade Iran is precisely because of the lessons learned from Iraq. And conversely, the Iranian push towards nuclear capability is calculated to deter invasions like the kind deposing Saddam Husain.

The rules of friendship are tacit, unconscious; they are not rational. In business, though, you have to think rationally.

An ideology can provide a satisfying narrative that explains chaotic events and collective misfortunes in a way that flatters the virtue and competence of believers, while being vague or conspiratorial enough to withstand skeptical scrutiny.