“Intuiting God’s beliefs on important issues may not produce an independent guide, but may instead serve as an echo chamber to validate and justify one’s own beliefs.”

Researchers report in PNAS that the same part of subjects’ brains are active when they reason about their own beliefs as when they reason about God’s beliefs. A different region is active when thinking about other people’s beliefs (New Scientist).

“We detected an extraordinary pattern of contagion that leads people to be moved to the edge of the social network when they become lonely.”

John Cacioppo, of the University of Chicago psychologist, comments on his research, which suggests that ‘loneliness is contagious’ (Reuters).

“Our study is the first to demonstrate that the risk of psychosis is much greater among people who are frequent cannabis users, especially among those using skunk, rather than occasional users of traditional hash.”

Marta Di Forti, of King’s College London, says high strength forms of cannabis put users at increased risk of mental health problems, compared to more traditional forms (Daily Telegraph).

“So here I am, watching the astonishing spectacle of a beautiful, cultured nation turning itself into a corrupt petro-state. Canada is slipping down the development ladder, retreating from a complex, diverse economy towards dependence on a single primary resource, which happens to be the dirtiest commodity known to man.”

Guardian columnist George Monbiot is not happy with Canada’s approach to coal tar sands.