Café Philos: an internet café

The Thinking Blogger Award has been making its way around the internet since February 11th, when it was begun by none other than The Thinking Blog. The idea is simple: If someone tags you as a blog that makes them think, then you respond by tagging five other blogs that make you think.

Mystic Wing generously tagged me with the Thinking Blogger Award about a month ago. So, I responded in this post by tagging five blogs that made me think. That might have been the end of it except for a very strange coincidence which happened earlier tonight. Namely, I got tagged again...then once again.

The first person to tag me tonight was Steppen Wolf at The Skeptical Alchemist. Less than an hour and a half later, Trinifar of Trinifar tagged me. You can imagine how honored I feel that two fine bloggers chose to tag me tonight, and how surprised I am that they chose to tag me almost at the same moment. I'm very grateful to Mystic Wing, Steppen Wolf, and Trinifar for the compliment each has given me.

According to the rules, I suppose I should now tag ten blogs. Five each for Steppen Wolf and Trinifar. However, I am only going to tag six blogs. I figure the six I've chosen are enough to satisfy everyone concerned, and -- best of all -- each of them more than deserves to be tagged. Here they are in alphabetical order:

Decrepit Old Fool. George likes to pretend he's a fool, but he's actually one of the most fresh and creative thinkers I've run across on the net. He is prone to saying things that both make a great deal of good sense and which I haven't heard elsewhere. But even when he's not the first to say something, his reasoning is exceptionally well thought out and sound.

Hug the Monkey. Susan is writing a book on the neurochemistry of oxytocin that is due out early next year. Her blog is dedicated to imparting some of the extraordinary facts she's learned about oxytocin while researching her book.

Don't let the cold, scientific name "oxytocin" fool you. The molecule is anything but cold in how it operates. Among other things, it is responsible for a woman's contractions during orgasm, for the warm and fuzzy feelings we have towards the people we love, and for emotionally bonding children and parents. This blog can change how you see and think about your emotions.

Just Another Day. Laurie is a beautiful stylist who is at home with both the minutiae of daily life and the world of ideas. Trained as a research biologist, she is now a stay at home mom to two daughters. Although she's still finding her voice as a blogger, when she is inspired to write, she can write movingly and passionately with great insight.

Songs of Unforgetting. Kay can be absolutely brilliant at tying together ideas in ways that make sense of spiritual concepts I've struggled all my life to understand. Yet, I don't think she even knows she has that gift. She seems to do it intuitively -- perhaps even effortlessly.

Neurevolution. Mike's writing style ranges from crystal clear to scientifically dense and precise, so his message is not always easily accessible to the lay reader. Nevertheless, it's worth the occasional struggle to understand him not only because neuroscience is vitally important to understanding human nature, but because Mike is a sure-footed and conscientious guide to it.

Not Exactly Rocket Science. Ed describes his blog as, "my small attempt to celebrate science and to make it interesting and fun, by giving jargon, confusion and elitism a solid beating with the stick of good writing." That's one of the most honest and accurate mission statements I've seen on the net. The word that most comes to mind when thinking of this blog is simply the word "excellent".

Those are my six choices for the Thinking Blogger Award. I hope you find each of my six choices worth your attention. Enjoy!

Last, I would like to again thank Steppen Wolf and Trinifar for tagging me tonight. It's been fun to do this. However, if anyone is thinking about tagging me for a fourth time around, please desist and instead tag someone more deserving of the award than myself. I feel I've done my part now, and that it's time for someone else to enjoy the honor.