By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: There’s a movie currently in the theaters called “Inside Out.” In the animated film, pyschological drives are personified as characters – joy, anger, disgust, fear, and sadness – all in charge of navigating the mental experiences of the main character, an 11-year-old girl. Beyond being a bit of entertainment for […]
Design Your Metaphor Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Based on recent events, we are still a long way from Dr. King’s dream of a nation where his children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The horrific murder of nine worshipers in the Emanuel African Methodist Church in
Consider Character Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: My 8-year-0ld daughter is currently obsessed with a game called “Minecraft.” She is using increasing portions of her precious screen time to sign into her “worlds” in order to build and develop elaborate houses and other buildings. As I understand it, the point isn’t to rack up a high score or
Make Your Jurors “Structure Builders” Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When supporters praise the American jury, it is often in the sepia-toned romantic terms of history. But, to George Washington Law Professor Renee Lettow Lerner, it is more like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” She writes, “Americans’ romance with the jury – bordering on religious devotion – is doing us no
No, Don’t Repeal the Civil Jury: A Response to Professor Renee Lettow Lerner Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: You’ll see it often in mock trials: The last measure of mock jurors’ individual leanings on the case will show a healthy disagreement, but once they start deliberating, all or nearly all of them seem to be of one mind. Somehow, conformity has established itself in the earliest moments of
Take Care With Conformity Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When I was still a graduate student, I remember the Reverend Jesse Jackson delivering the 1988 Democratic Convention address in Atlanta: his famous “Common Ground” speech. In that wide-ranging address, he tied together diverse issues — expansion of the party, the arms race, voting rights, health care, student loans —
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By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: With Americans increasingly getting their news online via Facebook and similar platforms, our already divided society is at risk of becoming even more polarized. Some of the blame for that has centered on the computerized algorithms that influence what appears in our online newsfeeds, and have a parallel in the
Improve Adaptation by Expanding Your Social Network Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: Opening statements began this week in the trial of James Holmes, the acknowledged gunman in the 2012 shooting during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado. The tragedy sent ripples throughout the nation, and on the heels of a jury selection that was unprecedented in its scope,
Be Measured in Your Use of Emotions Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: A jury’s job is to judge the facts in a dispute in as neutral a fashion as possible. We expect them to give a party a fair hearing whether the party is just like them or completely dissimilar. The elderly conservative should be able to evaluate the dreadlocked artist as
Look for Increasing Tolerance (but Not Necessarily Greater Empathy) Read More »
By Dr. Ken Broda Bahm: When the facts supporting one’s beliefs are challenged, one common recourse is to reframe those beliefs in a way that is more resistant to factual refutation. Calling this the “flight from facts,” a new article in Scientific American shares an example: An anti-vaccine believer first notes the purported connection between vaccines and autism,
Fight the “Flight from Facts” Read More »