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When Emotion Takes the Reins A remarkable study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesexamined millions of books covering almost 170 years and tracked language associated with rationality—facts, conclusions, analysis and determination—against language associated with sentiment—feeling, belief and emotion. The pattern was striking. From roughly 1850 to 1980, rationality-related language steadily increased while sentiment-related language declined. Then the trend reversed. By around 2007, sentiment-related language had overtaken rationality-related language and continued rising (Scheffer et al., 2021). This does not prove that people have become less rational, nor does the study establish a single cause. But it raises an important question: what happens when trust in the institutions associated with knowledge and expertise begins to collapse? If people believe governments, experts, universities and media are corrupt or captured, “look at the data” can sound less like an appeal to reason and more like an appeal to authority. And when institutional trust declines, emotion becomes politically powerful. Anger supplies an enemy. Fear supplies urgency. Hope supplies a future. Identity supplies belonging. Could this help explain why socialism and even communism have regained some appeal among young people despite the historical record? The study cannot establish that causal link. But it is a plausible hypothesis: when politics becomes increasingly emotional, an ideology can be judged by what it promises rather than by what it has historically produced. Benjamin Franklin captured the necessary balance: “If passion drives, let reason hold the reins.” Passion is not the enemy. It is the engine of human action. The danger comes when we surrender the steering wheel. Today, algorithms, political campaigns and media incentives are exceptionally good at exploiting emotion. Outrage spreads faster than nuance. A soundbite can provoke a reaction before we have checked whether it is true.

When Emotion Takes the Reins A remarkable study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesexamined millions of books covering almost 170 years and tracked language associated with rationality—facts, conclusions, analysis and determination—against language associated with sentiment—feeling, belief and emotion. The pattern was striking. From roughly 1850 to 1980, rationality-related language steadily increased while sentiment-related language declined. Then the trend reversed. By around 2007, sentiment-related language had overtaken rationality-related language and continued rising (Scheffer et al., 2021). This does not prove that people have become less rational, nor does the study establish a single cause. But it raises an important question: what happens when trust in the institutions associated with knowledge and expertise begins to collapse? If people believe governments, experts, universities and media are corrupt or captured, “look at the data” can sound less like an appeal to reason and more like an appeal to authority. And when institutional trust declines, emotion becomes politically powerful. Anger supplies an enemy. Fear supplies urgency. Hope supplies a future. Identity supplies belonging. Could this help explain why socialism and even communism have regained some appeal among young people despite the historical record? The study cannot establish that causal link. But it is a plausible hypothesis: when politics becomes increasingly emotional, an ideology can be judged by what it promises rather than by what it has historically produced. Benjamin Franklin captured the necessary balance: “If passion drives, let reason hold the reins.” Passion is not the enemy. It is the engine of human action. The danger comes when we surrender the steering wheel. Today, algorithms, political campaigns and media incentives are exceptionally good at exploiting emotion. Outrage spreads faster than nuance. A soundbite can provoke a reaction before we have checked whether it is true. Reference: Scheffer, M., van de Leemput, I., Weinans, E., & Bollen, J. (2021). The rise and fall of rationality in language. PNAS, 118(51), e2107848118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2107848118

Rick van Osta, Ties Jeeninga, Max Klotz, Mathijs Geurts en Pieter Scheffers. Wij zijn Animal Road. Ons hoofddoel is om mensen te vermaken met onze muziek. De muziek die we maken kan alle kanten in. Zo zijn er nummers die uit de Rock 'n Roll stappen (Downtown Dolly), maar ook nummers die rechtstreeks van de Singer-Songwriter kant komen (Jack Shit!). Zo blijft ieder optreden (en onze Spotify lijst) lekker fris en afwisselend voor iedereen die zijn/haar oor eraan wil lenen. Animal Road is een band met haar roots in de omgeving van Den Bosch. Deze band, bestaande uit een vijftal rockers voorziet de avond van een mooi gevarieerd programma. Het beste samen te vatten als poprock met een ruige rand. Met hun zomerse vibes, harmonieuze samenzang, stevig gitaarwerk en up-tempo nummers maakt Animal Road samen met het publiek van ieder optreden een speciale beleving, waar iedereen zich in kan vinden. https://hvdommelen.nl/a/AnimalRoad.html

A Német Marshall Alapítvány elnöke, Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer a Spiegelnek adott interjújában elemezte a NATO helyzetét, és kijelentette, hogy Donald Trump elnökként nem tudja kivonni az Egyesült Államokat a szövetségből, mivel az USA érdekei szorosan összefonódnak Európával, és a kölcsönös függőség megköveteli a terhek újraelosztását a jelenlegi politikai környezetben. #NATO #DonaldTrump #katonai

V článku se diskutuje o významu nadcházejícího NATO summitu v Ankaře, přičemž bezpečnostní expertka Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer komentuje, zda dojde k názorovým střetům nebo harmonii, a jak by mohl ovlivnit konec války na Ukrajině, přičemž zdůrazňuje, že Donald Trump se chce postavit na stranu vítězů. #NatoGipfel #Trump #UkraineKrieg

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer waarschuwt dat een in het nauw gedreven Poetin gevaarlijk kan zijn, terwijl hij de rol van Mark Rutte als NAVO-baas bespreekt en benadrukt dat Rutte ver moet gaan om de Verenigde Staten tevreden te stellen, ook in het licht van de toekomstige EU-lidstaat Oekraïne. #Oekraïne #Poetin #NAVO

Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, prezidentka German Marshall Fund, varuje, že ein Waffenstillstand im Ukraine-Konflikt ohne starke europäische Beteiligung bedeutungslos wäre und fordert eine einheitliche und schnellere Reaktion der EU, während der Druck auf Russland aufrechterhalten werden muss. #Ukrainekrieg #EUratsitzung #TransatlantischeBeziehungen