Dr. X's Free Associations

Sunday Bonus Photo: 1942

The Marshall Field, Jr. home on the 1900 block of South Prairie in Chicago. (Charles Cushman)

In the 1880s and 1890s, mansions for George Pullman, Marshall Field, John J. Glessner and Philip Armour anchored a neighborhood of over fifty mansions known as Millionaire's Row.-- Wikipedia

More about the Marshall Field House:

Julian Sanchez on the Sotomayor Racism Charge

This is the most compelling, clearly articulated rejection of the racism claim I have yet seen (via NorthMissCommentor):

Quote of the Day

In this show, therapy is aerobic exercise--patients and therapists jump up and pace, hurl objects, and/or run out of the office. Is this how they do things in New York? Where I come from, passive aggression works just fine--why work yourself into a tizzy when you can just lapse into sullen silence or fail to show up for your next appointment? -- Ars Psychiatrica commenting on the HBO program, In Treatment

Also, be sure to check out Cheryl Fuller's ongoing discussion of In Treatment.

Oakland's American Indian Charter Schools

Excerpted from L.A. Times:

Not many schools in California recruit teachers with language like this: "We are looking for hard working people who believe in free market capitalism. . . . Multi-cultural specialists, ultra liberal zealots, and college-tainted oppression liberators need not apply."

Vintage Photos: 1939

Photo by Dorothea Lange, Oregon.  Left-click photo to enlarge.

An unemployed lumber worker goes with his wife to the bean harvest. His Social Security number is tattooed on his arm (535-07-5248).

That SS number was assigned to Thomas Cave; Born: July 2, 1912;  Died: June 1980.  Last Residence Multnomah, Oregon (source: SSDI).

Left-click to enlarge image.

Lie Detection, Courts and Juries

Earlier this week, The Situationist posted a brief discussion of the implications of a practical, reliable lie detection system for jury deliberations and decision-making.  One reaction I had was that this is a premature discussion.  From what I've read, fMRI lie detection, the system getting a great deal of attention lately, is a far cry from the perfect lie detection system.  Since the post was presented as a thought experiment--a what if discussion--I really didn't have a strong objection to it.

But law professor Tamara Piety is troubled by excessive enthusiasm for this system and responded with a lengthy comment.  She notes that "the prospect of accurate fMRI lie detection is (as I understand it) still relatively remote, while the dangers of courts and the public leaping to adopt the latest technology that purports to offer reliable lie detection is fairly proximate and of grave concern."

The Situationist thought the comment was so good that it deserved posting outside the comment section.  I agree and recommend that you get on over there and read it.

Saturday A.M. Psychology Links

Jamie Davies has a post on the the unreliability of eyewitness recollections.

Bet you never heard of confabulatory hypermnesia (false memory syndrome).  Mo is on the case.

Wray Herbert on some unexpected findings from research on social network users.

A French psychologist who testified in hundreds of court cases may be a total fraud.

More on judges and empathy here and here.

Researchers say that coloring around the eyebrows and mouth are "paramount" in gender identification.

Vaughan at Mindhacks discusses the dopamine equals pleasure myth.

Born believers or cultural receivers?  David DiSalvo interviews psychologist Bruce Hood.

Women getting less happy.

Take a step back, or walk backwards, when facing a problem. It might do you some good.

Senior Pranks

It's that time of year.  This might be the only student prank to ever result in a case that reached the Supreme Court of the United States:  Bethel School District v. Fraser

Vintage Photos: 1939

Tavern in Merrill, OR during potato harvest season (Dorothea Lange, FSA).  Left-click photo to enlarge.

Vintage Photo Thumbnails

I've posted somewhere around 1000 vintage photos.  If you want to take a quick look at some thumbnail images, Google has over 500 of them in its image search results for Dr X.  Of course, you can always use the name search index (updated monthly) or the image post category which takes you through all 1000+ images beginning with the most recent image posts and working backward toward earlier posts.

And, here is the photo that triggered my little obsession with photo blogging.