2011-12-11

A thinking cap that really works – & why the most educated can often be the most closed minded

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

by Neil Godfrey

It’s not what you don’t know that’s the problem — it’s what you do know! And the more you know the bigger the problem! Here’s the hypothesis that was tested — with a genuine “thinking cap” — and reported back in February this year:

The more we know, the more close-minded we are; in other words, the better informed we become, the less intuitive it is to “think outside the box”.

Check this science news archive, or if you’d rather just listen to talk then advance the sound recording here to about the 4th minute of the “Listen Now” or “Download” and start listening.

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"I’d like to thank you for this very nice representation of what I was trying to show in the book. It’s always gratifying when a reader zeroes in on exactly those aspects I thought were most interesting and most central to my argument. Thank you for this careful and engaged reading of my work – much appreciated!"

— Eva Mroczek, – June 2017
"Fantastic. I’m so glad you’re helping to spread these ideas!"

Nancy Fraser - June 2019 (personal email)
"I always enjoy reading Neil’s blog because I think that he is careful, thorough, intellectually fair, and honest."

— April DeConick, – November 2007
"For an excellent example of generally high-quality scholarship by someone who isn’t a biblical studies professor, see Neil Godfrey’s work posted on the website vridar.org."

— Tom Dykstra, – JOCABS 2015
This is superb work, Neil, and reminds me of Albert Schweitzer’s work from a century ago. . . . .

I commend you for being the first to even TRY to translate Bruno Bauer’s brilliant Kritik der Evangelien und Geschichte ihres Ursprungs, which is now more than 150 years old.

. . . . .Thank you for your historic effort.

-- Paul Trejo, M.A., - November 2022
Editor, An English Edition of Bruno Bauer’s 1843 Christianity Exposed
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— R. Joseph Hoffmann, – June 2014
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— Mary Booker, – February 2020 (personal email)
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— James McGrath, – June 2009
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-- Klaas Spronk, - Bibliotheca Orientalis LXXI, 3/4 (2014)
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— Philippe Wajdenbaum, – November 2018
"Neil, You’ve done a clean job in your posting on ‘Jesus the Healer’. It reflects well on you. Best, John"

— John Moles, September 2011 (personal email)
"I’ve even been cited by atheists with approval (which I really don’t know how to take, so thanks, I think, but I’m not sure, Vrider (even though I feel like I need to take a shower now))."

-- Jim West, – September 2010
"Thanks much for this book review. I think it expands, and contributes to, the effort in honouring Thomas that we with Lukasz originally had in mind with this volume. Best, Emanuel"

-- Emanuel Pfoh - August 2020
It is worth saying another word of appreciation here for Neil Godfrey's effort to make Bruno Bauer accessible in English.

-- Peter Kirby, - May 2023
"Note that I do not use the term ‘amateur’ pejoratively. . . . In fact, Godfrey is extremely well read and his librarian skills have brought many important academic works to my attention."

Raphael Lataster - August 2019
"Neil Godfrey and Tim Widowfield, who both write at Vridar . . . happen to be some of the most astute and well-read amateurs you can read on the internet on the subject of biblical historicity. I call them amateurs only for the reason that they don’t have, so far as I know, advanced degrees in the subject. But I have often been impressed with their grasp of logic and analysis of scholarship. I don’t always agree with them, but I respect their work."

— Richard Carrier, – March 2014
"Thanks for your very elaborate review! I realized that I hadn’t added your blog to our blogroll. This oversight has been corrected. Looking forward to more segments."

— Anthony Le Donne, – September 2009
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— Gregory Doudna, – January 2019
"Neil, for what it is worth it is obvious to me that if you had earlier in life tracked into a graduate program at one of the world’s leading research universities you would be one of the world’s formidable ones. You are doing essentially the same quality now (apart from the philology and languages) except mostly sticking to commenting on others’ work as informed comment/discussion."

— Gregory Doudna, – January 2019
"Neil, in my mature judgement (I am now an old man), this fine 4-part study is a brilliant reworking, an instructive restatement of Hayden White’s Metahistory (and his subsequent writings). Your critique of certain historiographic representations as imbedded in the case study of the “scientistic”, “empirical” Richard Carrier provides a solid starting point for the more honest “fictive” reading of the New Testament that you encourage. Your last paragraph is a very intelligent call to sensitive readers of these texts. I suspect a whole generation of biblical students has been educated without the insights provided by the incomparable White. Bravo!"

-- Timothy Bagley, - November 2024
"I find your blog most interesting and appreciate your ongoing effort to keep to the evidence for the issues discussed!"

-- Thomas L. Thompson, - April 2020
https://earlywritings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=145080#p145080
Neil made a good synthesis of the work without being an “expert” of the field.

-- Enrico Tuccinardi, - October 2022
"Very good. This post is going straight to the March 2016 Biblical Studies Carnival."

—N.T. Wrong, – March 2016
"By the way, my thanks to Neil for an ongoing superb job of exposing Jim’s review for what it is: a farcical and none too effective exercise in mythicism assassination, nothing to do with rational, let alone unbiased, scholarship. I’m also happy to see even Jim giving Neil credit where credit is due."

— Earl Doherty, June 2011
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"I still wonder at all the material you turn out for Vridar. The more I read your stuff (and I still do, of course), the more I realize how much we all owe you. Your voice is unique."

— Earl Doherty, November 2013 (personal email)

Wolfgang B. on Nina Livesey’s The Letters of Paul in their Roman Literary Context: “A fellow Born in the Second Century listener! Listening to interviews with Livesey talking about her latest book also made…” Apr 16, 04:23
ael on Hard to post right now: “Neil,if you are interested there is a short survey about forming a monopoly of Lenin’s group: Gimpelson, “a way to…” Apr 15, 15:14
Mike Duncan on Hard to post right now: “It’s rarely a joy to see the veil lifted, but the alternative is to remain ignorant. I say this from…” Apr 15, 03:51
Mike Duncan on Is it a forgery? How can we know?: “The lack of a manuscript for SM places it outside of provable territory, much less the impossible “prove a negative”…” Apr 15, 03:39
Neil Godfrey on Is it a forgery? How can we know?: “I also think it is a forgery but for well founded reasons. Have you read Carlson’s The Gospel Hoax? I…” Apr 14, 06:00
Ken Scaletta on Is it a forgery? How can we know?: “Everybody thinks Secret Mark is a forgery but no one has ever been able to demonstrate it or show a…” Apr 14, 03:18
IsaWP on Is it a forgery? How can we know?: “A good point that quality doesn’t mean authenticity. There’s plenty of crafters and artists who manage to improve a work…” Apr 13, 14:05
IsaWP on Israel – Beacon of Western (White) Values in a (Dark) Middle East: “Similarly, even though we get taught about our (the Netherland’s) role in the Transatlantic slavery triangle, I never heard about…” Apr 13, 12:46
Neil Godfrey on Israel – Beacon of Western (White) Values in a (Dark) Middle East: “It’s a view of our history that was never taught us in school. That may have changed to some extent…” Apr 13, 08:28

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