James R. Lewis: Sects & Stats: Overturning the Conventional Wisdom about Cult Members

James, the Wisdom of Jesus

When the Epistle of James is studied, it is regarded as a book of wisdom. But what kind of wisdom is it? With what biblical parallels can it be connected? Given that it is practical, with what matters does it register concern? Does it speak directly to all mankind or is it specifically directed to the believer? Are the issues that presented themselves to the 1st century church pertinent for thi...

Schizotypal Thinking among Members of Occult Sects*

Schizotypal thinking among members of occult groups was investigated using the Rust Inventory of Schizotypal Cognitions (RISC). It was found that the members of almost all sects have atypical scores. However, a discriminant functions analysis of the RISC items among the sects indicated that there were two significant functions which differentiated sect members from normals and from each other. ...

At HRS, Topera Topples Conventional Wisdom About Atrial Fibrillation

Topera Medical questions the assumptions underlying current therapies for atrial fibrillation. Sanjiv Narayan, MD, PhD, the electrophysiologist who founded Topera, has developed a means of identifying focal sources of aberrant electrical activity called rotors, and in late breaking clinical trials at the 2013 annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society, was able to show a definitive link between...

Challenging conventional wisdom.

Testing Conventional Wisdom

In my recent article, ‘Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?’, I presented evidence and arguments that called into doubt two widely shared assumptions: (1) that countries generally comply with their human rights treaty commitments and (2) that countries’ practices will be better if they have ratified treaties than they otherwise would be. In response, Professors Ryan Goodman and Derek Jin...