Tim Sawyer, MD

     Tim Sawyer, M.D., is an avid student of political philosophy, sociology, economics, and both cognitive and evolutionary psychology.  Fascinated by how highly intelligent people form very strong political beliefs from minimal and one-sided information, he has spent many years actively studying the Science of Epistemic Rationality -- basically, the science of how we form our beliefs, and whether our beliefs are true.

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     Years ago, Sawyer became concerned by the increasing political polarization within the United States and the rest of western society. Each side was becoming more and more entrenched in the conclusions they reach regarding day-to-day political issues and events, regarding their deepest political convictions, and regarding their worldviews and overarching political ideologies.  Many of these people, Sawyer noticed, are very bright, but spend little time reading serious books. While many do pay attention to political issues, he also noticed, they seem to actively avoid challenging themselves, tuning in only to the information and opinion sources that reinforce what they already believe.  While they seem to spend little time in deep, open-minded reflection, they also feel extremely confident in their beliefs about political issues that are quite complex.

       

     Inspired by the work of thought leaders Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky, Keith Stanovich, Philip Tetlock, Jonathan Haidt, Steven Pinker, and many other leading cognitive psychologists, he ultimately decided to start Epistemic CrossroadsTM.  He also decided to write a series of books (geared toward the general public) on what he has learned, and about the dangers he sees. His first book, organizing the key findings of the most respected academics in the field into a framework that can be both understood by and applied by everyone else, is now available in paperback form at most online booksellers (click here), and in electronic format at Amazon.com (click here).  It will soon be available in audio format.

 

     Sawyer received his M.D. from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and he completed his residency training in radiation oncology at the Mayo Clinic. He has held research and teaching posts at the Mayo Clinic, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and the National Cancer Institute. He has three U.S. patents for new ways of quantifying changes in molecular and physiologic imaging data, and using artificial intelligence to make sense of the changes, for the purpose of personalizing cancer treatments.  

     In 2000, he returned with his wife and daughters to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, where he continues to practice medicine as a radiation oncologist. When he isn’t practicing medicine, he spends time in the mountains of Idaho with his wife, children, and friends, mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. And he sits in his back yard listening to the sounds of the Boise River, reading and writing.