critical thinking | Hollings Therapy

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Propaganda: War Machine

[ DISCLAIMER ] * War Machine (2026) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit , property of Roadshow Films and Netflix, fair use In Propagandizing to the Lazy , I stated, “I’ve observed a growing trend for just under a decade whereby some people spread misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation while relying on lazy individuals not to question the propaganda.” This matter involves rhetoric (the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasio

DEIA

Deric Hollings

1 day ago9 min read

Are You Outsourcing Your Ability to Think Critically?

[ DISCLAIMER ] When starting the informal practice of life coaching in 1991, I knew little about artificial intelligence (AI). Of course, I couldn’t truthfully say that I had no knowledge about the possibility of sentient supercomputers. After all, I heard of references to HAL 9000 from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), WOPR (War Operation Plan Response, pronounced “whopper”) from the movie WarGames (1983), Number 5 who transitioned into Johnny 5 from the flick

Deric Hollings

Feb 107 min read

Social Contagion

[ DISCLAIMER ] “Things are done differently down here” When assigned to Marine Security Guard (MSG) detachment (det) Lima, Peru (2000-2001), I was ignorant about my role in support of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other United States (U.S.) federal law enforcement entities (“ spooks ”) in the country. Eventually, I learned. During one MSG det function (social gathering hosted by Marines for U.S. embassy personnel) I was approached by a female (“person X”

Deric Hollings

Feb 911 min read

O Captain! My Captain! A Crisis of Conscience

[ DISCLAIMER ] * Dead Poets Society (1989) spoilers contained herein. Photo credit , property of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, fair use I can’t recall when I initially watched the coming-of-age drama film Dead Poets Society (1989), though I remember the first time was in my youth. In any event, I recently re-watched it for what may’ve been my third or fourth viewing of the film. Regarding the plot, one source states: Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to

Deric Hollings

Jan 3114 min read

Following Examples

[ DISCLAIMER ] As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy , this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman . The authors quote ancient Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca who stated, “Let us also produce some bold act of our own—and join the ranks of the most emulated [that to which one strives to eq

The Daily Stoic

Deric Hollings

Nov 3, 20256 min read