want to try a game?

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1. Where theories go to die: Psychology

Nativism, behaviorism, phenomenology... Even a hard science like physics gets turned on its head with regularity, so it only makes sense that psychology would be even more fickle. We are all armchair psychologists by virtue of being a member of the Homo sapiens species and being active participants in the absurdity of life as a talking monkey in the year 2011, or the 21st century, or the anthropocene era, or whatever arbitrary mouth sound/symbolic picture you want to use to refer to whatever time in history this is, assuming time isn't just a figment of our talking monkey imaginations.

Write a short summary of a discredited or abandoned theory or philosophy in the history of psychology, or just write about any that you love or love to hate or would like to read up on and write about. Bonus points for wit.

Here are some questions to get you thinking about the topic if you need a jump start--use them of ignore them as you wish. Who came up with it and why? Why did it catch on (or not) and why did it get junked? What was going on politically and culturally at that time? What is the relationship to the political and cultural climate at that time? What are your thoughts on it, and would you like to see it resurrected or cannibalized?

Bump this thread if you are interested in playing. Add any suggestions or restrictions you would like (length, etc.). If it works we can try another discipline. I bet sociology and anthropology have a lot to say about the social grooming habits of talking monkeys...

"Write a short summary of a discredited or abandoned theory or philosophy in the history of psychology, or just write about any that you love or love to hate"

What is this a homework assignment? You want someone here to write an essay for you and post it on this thread--really. Why is this a game?

Why?

Because I spend most of my free time writing essays of this nature and enjoy it immensely. I was halfway through an essay on William James (American philosopher/psychologist) and thought there might be other fiercely intellectual aspies on the forum looking to play a creative game. I would not expect others to write such an essay if I had not intended to do so myself.

If I didn't do stuff like this, the mind-numbing, soul-sucking monotony of school would macerate my brain and extinguish my curiosity. Screw that. Thinking is a skill like any other--you get better at it with practice. Most of us have first-rate intellects, we've just never been taught how to recognize and train our strengths. Instead, we get set up to fail because society expects us to ignore our strengths and focus on our weaknesses. We're suckers if we fall for that. Have you read Tyler Cowen's essay, Autism as Academic Paradigm? The kind of devotion and focus of an aspie "special interest" is a clear advantage, no matter what some of the autism "experts" have had to say about it.

It is an invitation for play, not a homework assignment. No biggie if it's not your idea of fun.

The only theory im aware of is Freud's sexual stuff. Frankly I think the guy had too much free time on his hands. Well, at least one of them. A cigar is sometimes just a cigar no? *grin*