All posts tagged: Symbolic

Force Logic: A New Symbolic Logic to Enhance CBT

Force Logic: A New Symbolic Logic to Enhance CBT

Standard treatments of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) rely primarily on truth-functional logic to help clients overcome their irrational thinking. Thus, the client learns to avoid overgeneralizations (“My partner is always complaining”) and false hypotheses (“My boss did not say hello to me today so he is intending to fire me”) by paying careful attention to the empirical evidence (“My partner complains more than I prefer but not always”); and alternative explanations (“Maybe my boss was preoccupied with something when he ignored me this morning”). While the value of the latter is inestimable, this empirical approach does not address locutions that are not truth-functional, that is, neither true nor false. Consider “I must never fail,” “Others should always treat me fairly,” and “I am a bad person.” These locutions are often performed in the context of people’s emotional reasoning, where they support emotions such as depression, anxiety, anger, and guilt. The meaning or purpose of such locutions is primarily a function of illocutionary force rather than propositional content. I call this new logic illocutionary force logic, or …

Queen Elizabeth II’s most symbolic outfits – and how she accomplished the art of diplomatic dressing

Queen Elizabeth II’s most symbolic outfits – and how she accomplished the art of diplomatic dressing

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more While the late Queen Elizabeth II’s actual birthday fell on April 21, the ruling monarch’s official celebrations traditionally take place on the second Saturday of June – a carefully orchestrated display of pomp known as ‘Trooping the Colour’. It’s a fitting event title for a monarch who invented what is now known as the ‘rainbow strategy’ – a way of dressing that saw her wear bold, monochromatic colours to ensure she stood out clearly in large crowds and remained visible to as many people as possible. Angela Kelly, her long-time dresser and confidante who joined the royal household in 1994, is widely credited with refining this approach. Together, they developed a uniform that became instantly recognisable, consisting of tailored coats, a Launer London bag, …

At first summit without Orbán, Zelenskyy rejects “symbolic” EU membership

At first summit without Orbán, Zelenskyy rejects “symbolic” EU membership

Good morning from Brussels. EU leaders are meeting for a second day of an informal summit in Cyprus today, after making history on Thursday with the adoption of a €90 billion loan for Ukraine. Hungary’s election outcome last week helped clear the path for the move, lifting Budapest’s veto and giving Kyiv additional resources to continue resisting Russian forces. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, long one of the EU’s main disruptors, did not travel to Cyprus, leaving heads of state and government also celebrating a new package of sanctions against Russia adopted earlier in the day. That said, Ukraine’s membership was brought to the table. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the meeting in person on Thursday night, pushed to open accession “clusters” for Ukraine, arguing Kyiv met the necessary conditions. Orbán’s exit has removed a key obstacle. “Clusters” refer to groupings of negotiation chapters required in the accession process for any new EU member. After leaks earlier this week that France and Germany had pitched the idea of a “symbolic” pre-accession, Zelenskyy told …

Our dreams become more emotive and symbolic as we approach death

Our dreams become more emotive and symbolic as we approach death

People sometimes report seeing a bright light during near-death experiences, but this symbolism of transition also commonly occurs in dreams as we approach the end of our life Kirill Ryzhov/Alamy People in palliative care who are approaching death often have vivid dreams featuring deceased loved ones and symbols of transition. The doctors and medical professionals who look after them say these dreams often bring patients comfort and make them less scared of dying. These dreams “offer psychological relief and meaning to people facing end of life,” writes Elisa Rabitti at the Palliative Care Local Network in Reggio Emilia, Italy. Rabitti led a team that surveyed 239 local palliative care doctors, nurses, psychologists and other health professionals about dreams recounted to them by terminally ill patients. The most common dreams and visions, which occurred while people were awake, involved encounters with deceased family members or pets. One woman, for example, had a dream about her late husband, in which he told her, “I’m waiting for you.” These dreams provided a sense of inner peace and helped …

Doomsday Clock moved closer to symbolic catastrophe

Doomsday Clock moved closer to symbolic catastrophe

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Death toll rises in wake of winter storm across U.S. 01:10 Judge rules 5-year-old who was detained can’t be moved 01:02 Man sprays Rep. Omar with unknown substance at town hall 00:46 New video shows moments before Alex Pretti shot 00:53 Town hangs on edge of precipice after Sicily landslide 00:42 Sydney Sweeney faces backlash over bra stunt 00:22 Jury selection begins in landmark social media addiction trial 00:56 Israel’s hostage clock stops as final body returns 00:40 Hudson River full of ice after winter storm 00:27 Two women charged after biting agents in Minnesota 00:52 Trump wants ‘honorable’ Pretti shooting investigation 00:13 Anthropic CEO on the risks on unchecked AI development 01:35 Now Playing Doomsday Clock moved closer to symbolic catastrophe 00:30 UP NEXT Two women in ICE custody help agent having seizure 01:00 Anti-ICE protesters gather in London 00:23 Border Patrol’s Bovino set to leave Minneapolis 00:34 Philippine mayor survives RPG attack 00:28 Russia launches massive overnight drone …

AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

AI journalism startup Symbolic.ai signs deal with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp

Newsrooms have been experimenting with AI for several years now but, for the most part, those efforts have been just that: experiments. A relatively unknown startup, Symbolic.ai, wants to change that, and it just signed a major deal with News Corp, the media conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdoch. News Corp, the major assets of which include MarketWatch, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal, is set to begin using Symbolic’s AI platform with its financial news hub Dow Jones Newswires. Symbolic.ai, which was founded by former eBay CEO Devin Wenig and Ars Technica co-founder Jon Stokes, says its AI platform can “assist in the production of quality journalism and content” and that its tool has even led to “productivity gains of as much as 90% for complex research tasks.” The platform is designed to make editorial workflows more efficient, providing improvements in areas like newsletter creation, audio transcription, fact-checking, “headline optimization,” SEO advice, and others. In general, News Corp has shown a willingness to integrate AI into its media operations. In 2024, the …