As the uniting factor that sets us free, "consciousness" is a term that is repugnant to many scientists -- mostly from an older generation -- and mysterious to all. But that doesn't excuse blindness and neglect.

Those who want today's news to be that the Mediterranean diet has been proven superior to other truly good diets will need to wait until tomorrow, or longer. We had previously lacked any good head-to-head comparisons of "best diet" candidates, and we still do.

We have gained too much from the reductionistic probings of science to abandon them. But we are losing much -- including lives every day -- for failing to see past them as the circumstances warrant.

The lay attitude, "naïve reductionism," assumes that the causes of behavior lie in states of the brain, not in states of psychology. This is a profound mistake.