Immune Elephant Experience and Reaction: Different Views on the Physiology and Psychology of the Negative

There are many different explanations for the way in which thoughts are formed, impressions are made, and perceptions are shaped, and though the modern era has provided an abundance of objective observation and experimentation in the area this has not settled the issue. Far from it, in fact; if anything, the growth of reliable research and evidence in this area has contributed to a divergence of theories that, at least in some aspects, currently appear to be mutually exclusive. The theories of psychologists and neuroscientists at times seem especially opposed to each other, and it will require deeper investigations and the uncovering of more substantial evidence to truly bring many of these well-founded theories in line with each other.

An excellent case in point of the apparent divergence of psychology...

In "Immune to Reality," Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert explains how flexible the mind is when it comes to dealing with negatives, making the basic point that people are very good at convincing themselves that bad things were good, lessons were learned, etc. New York Times journalist and essayist Charles Siebert, on the other hand, examined a recent rise in elephant aggression and the possible relationship between human and elephant neural development (and resultant behaviors), coming to the conclusion that trauma can have a profound and perhaps irreversible effect on development, behavior, and thus psychology. At first glance, it would appear that both men cannot be correct in their assertions, and indeed it is impossible to explain the conclusions of one line…