supermemo4 Flashcards

Question

Dr. Adrian Rogers on Socialism

Answer 1

ou cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

Answer 2

It's extremely important (and effective) to take a moment to calibrate your agenda (you will always have one) with their feeling. Understand that approaching a problem without appreciating that you have an agenda---and that your agenda is almost always going to be at odds with their negative feeling.SO...once you've framed the situation properly, your agenda ain't gettin' nowhere until you then show empathy towards their feelings. Afterall, their feelings in this moment are really a communcation that their needs (ie THEIR AGENDA) is not being met. You'll never get your agendas to reconcile until you've first gotten the emotion under control.

Answer 3

Play tetris or rubicks cube shortly after exposure. Something that's non-verbal to occupy the brain, so the memories take less of a hold on you. The idea is that the game competes for space in the brain, so the visual memories associated with the event can't flourish as much. But all this is with visual traumas.In an argument, maybe do something similar, but with word puzzles, or some other linguiustic distraction.Regardless, it's best to approach these events gradually---it's best to worth through them--but don't immerse yourslef, or avoid all together.Writing can help--with balance--b/c you put all that shit in a black box and can walk away.

Answer 4

Complaint deals with a specific action or behavior. It's OK, because it's less of a 'permanent' declaration. The purpose of a complaint is (or should be) to state the facts.Criticism, on the other hand, is a statement about the other person's character. It is more damaging. Criticism is far more judgemental.It's important to avoid using words like 'should', 'always', and 'never'. Avoid viewing the situation as a betrayal. Understand that when complaints are ignored, they tend to escalate to criticism. Get out in front of problems early--don't let resentment build. Express complaints and resolve them in the right way. Don't be afraid of the complaint, either.

Answer 5

If we want to live a good life, we need to take 100 percent responsibility for everything we experience in our lives. Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, calls this the prime belief.“The more we choose to accept responsibility in our lives, the more power we will exercise over our lives,” writes Manson. “Accepting responsibility for our problems is thus the first step to solving them.” [2]When we take 100 percent responsibility, we exercise our right over the things over which we have full control: our responses. We regain full control of our lives and remind ourselves that it is us, not external circumstances, that determines the outcomes in our lives.

Answer 6

persuasive definitions. A persuasive definition is a stipulative definition that is disguised as a reportive definition or as a claim in an argument. This serves as a way of arguing by redefining terms and presenting one’s preferred definitions as if they are facts.Persuasive definitions are often used when it comes to emotionally charged words, and their use frequently involves keeping the emotional connotations of a word while altering its main meaning. In addition, persuasive definitions are often modified with qualifiers such as “real” or “true”, as in the case of “true socialism means…”. Using a persuasive definition is sometimes also referred to as the persuasive definition fallacy, the definist fallacy, or redefinition.

Answer 7

Remember: Foucault, and therefore the modern left, is not interested in Truth vs False. Rather, they are only interested in institutional power, domination and control. Who has it--Whom is subject to it? How to we obtain it--How do we keep it? It's not so much that truth is irrelevant, but rather truth is a consequence. Truth comes from Power, not the other way around.Foucault’s basic method is to take a text and, studiously ignoring the truth or falsity of its claims, understand its use of words in terms of power, justification, authority and subjection. Rather than asking, is this true? or what reasoning led to this conclusion?, Foucault invites us to ask, who said this, on what authority, and what are they justifying? I call these the three Foucauldian questions.

Answer 8

The Case of the Speluncean Explorers is a famous hypothetical legal case used in the study of law, which was written by Lon Fuller in 1949 for the Harvard Law Review.In the hypothetical case, a trapped team of five spelunkers determine via radio contact with physicians that they will have starved to death by the time they are rescued, and thus elect to eat one of their party. Once the remaining four spelunkers are rescued, they are all indicted for the murder of their fifth member. The article proceeds to examine the case from the perspectives of five different legal principles, with widely varying conclusions as to whether or not the spelunkers are guilty, and whether or not they should be executed (as is the mandatory punishment for murder in the fictitious commonwealth where the case takes place).

Answer 9

If you wait until you’re ready, you’ll be waiting the rest of your life.You'll never be fully ready for the things that matter. Most of the time, waiting until you're ready is the fear talking. We're scared that if we put our heart and soul into something it might fail. How you respond to this fear is often the difference between living a meaningful life and one filled with regret.Good opportunities appear suddenly and disappear rather quickly. Beyond a certain point, which most people reading this newsletter have reached, outcomes matter less to life satisfaction than minimizing regrets. While the pain of trying something and failing sucks, it's over rather quickly. The pain of regret, however, lingers forever.You don't control the outcome. You control your actions. Are you moving toward success or avoiding failure?

Answer 10

A false dilemma (sometimes also referred to as a false dichotomy) is a logical fallacy, which occurs when a limited number of options are incorrectly presented as being mutually exclusive to one another or as being the only options which exist, in a situation where that isn’t the case. For example, a false dilemma occurs in a situation where someone says that we must choose between options A or B, without mentioning that option C also exists.False dilemmas often play a role in people’s internal reasoning process, when they misunderstand or misinterpret situations. Furthermore, false dilemmas are also frequently used intentionally for rhetorical purposes in various ways, such as to oversimplify complex situations by turning them into misleading dichotomies, or to frame issues in a way which pressures people to accept a certain stance.

Answer 11

In analytic philosophy and linguistics, a concept may be considered vague if its extension is deemed lacking in clarity, if there is uncertainty about which objects belong to the concept or which exhibit characteristics that have this predicate (so-called "border-line cases"), or if the Sorites paradox applies to the concept or predicate.[1]The concept of ambiguity is generally contrasted with vagueness. In ambiguity, specific and distinct interpretations are permitted (although some may not be immediately obvious), whereas with information that is vague, it is difficult to form any interpretation at the desired level of specificity.In everyday speech, vagueness is an inevitable, often even desired, effect of language usage. However, in most specialized texts (e.g., legal documents), vagueness is often regarded as problematic and undesirable.

Answer 12

First, there are reportive definitions. A reportive definition (also referred to as a lexical definition or dictionary definition) is a definition that aims to accurately capture the meaning of a term as it’s ordinarily used, in a clear and concise manner. For example, a reportive definition of the word “freezer” could be “a refrigerated cabinet or room for preserving food at very low temperatures”. Reportive definitions are usually focused on the literal meaning of terms, and often leave out figurative meanings or connotations.Precising definitionPrecising definitions. A precising definition is a definition that adds relevant criteria to a reportive definition in order to make it more precise for a specific purpose. For example, if the reportive definition of “resident” is “someone who lives in a certain place”, a precising definition of the term for legal purposes might be “someone who spends at least 180 days of the year in a certain location”.

Answer 13

The recency effect, in psychology, is a cognitive bias that results from disproportionate salience of recent stimuli or observations. People tend to recall items that were at the end on a list rather than items that were in the middle on a list. For example, if a driver sees an equal total number of red cars as blue cars during a long journey, but there happens to be a glut of red cars at the end of the journey, they are likely to conclude there were more red cars than blue cars throughout the drive.The inverse of this effect is the primacy effect. The recency effect is compatible with the peak-end rule.Furthermore, the effect also refers to the effect in autobiographical memory that people recall more recent than remote personal events.Another example of the recency effect is applied by trial lawyers. They call key witnesses at the end of the trial (or the beginning to take advantage of the primacy effect), so the jury keeps them in mind when they deliberate.

Answer 14

Evidence of absence is evidence that shows a claim is unlikely or false. It is often said that "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence".What qualifies as evidence of absence: Absence of Evidence when Evidence should be presentExample: Scientists set up innumerable experiments to detect if the luminiferous ether exists; results of the experiments show no indication that the luminiferous ether does exist.This is evidence of absence since if the luminiferous ether really existed, then evidence should have been present in the results of the experiments set up to detect the luminiferous ether. Alternate evidence contradicting a claimExample: Proof that the Earth revolves around the Sun would be evidence of absence that the Sun revolves around the Earth, and thus would entirely falsify the geocentric theory.This is evidence of absence since if the alternate claim (the Earth revolves around the Sun) is true, then the claim (the Sun revolves around the Earth) cannot be true.Related to Argument from Ignorance

Answer 15

With Carlo Collodi’s famous character Pinocchio, it was easy to tell when he was lying: you just had to watch the nose. It turns out that Collodi wasn’t far off reality. Most people offer obvious telltale signs when they’re lying. Not a growing nose, but close enough. In a study of the components of lying,2 Harvard Business School professor Deepak Malhotra and his coauthors found that, on average, liars use more words than truth tellers and use far more third-person pronouns. They start talking about him, her, it, one, they, and their rather than I, in order to put some distance between themselves and the lie.And they discovered that liars tend to speak in more complex sentences in an attempt to win over their suspicious counterparts. It’s what W. C. Fields meant when he talked about baffling someone with bullshit. The researchers dubbed this the Pinocchio Effect because, just like Pinocchio’s nose, the number of words grew along with the lie. People who are lying are, understandably, more worried about being believed, so they work harder—too hard, as it were—at being believable.

Answer 16

Jenkem is an alleged hallucinogenic recreational drug composed of noxious gas formed from fermented sewage.[1] In the mid to late 1990s, several reports stated that Jenkem was being used by Zambian street children.[1][2] In November 2007, anecdotal American media reports gave the impression that Jenkem was a popular drug taking hold with American teenagers. Media reports were characterized by disbelief and distaste for the "grossness" of the phenomenon.[3] Since November 2007, no new reports have appeared to corroborate the early speculations.Several sources allege that this sudden spur of reports in US popular media were based on a hoax (see section below). David Emery of About.com, popularly noted as an "urban legend guru"[3], concluded that news media reports that Jenkem was gaining a foothold as a substance of abuse among American youth were "based on faulty Internet research."[4]The surfacing of the drug, or rumors of its existence, has caused at least one US municipality to amend its city ordinance regarding substances that cannot be legally inhaled to include organic substances.[5][6]

Answer 17

The doom loop. Something happens that produces disappointing results. And it could be that it was a random event or something just happened that was out of your control or something that you just made a mistake or you bungled something, whatever. You get disappointing results. But unlike really understanding why that happened so that you can correct, what happens is a company reacts without understanding. “Oh my gosh, we had disappointing results,” and often what happens is they panic. They look for a new direction or a new program or a new leader or a new acquisition or a new technology or something, and because that never really produces a great result, it produces a burst of false hope, but it’s like drinking a sugar drink as opposed to getting back to your core training. It doesn’t give you any accumulated momentum, which then creates another negative inflection, more disappointing results, which then more reaction without that understanding. Then another new direction, new fad, new program, new whatever, and then another failure to build momentum, more disappointing results, and then you’re in the doom loop.

Answer 18

Once people invested resources in something, they tend to escalate their commitment to it upon finding out that it's doing badly, even when evidence suggests that they should do the opposite. This can happen, for example, to an investor deciding whether to stick with a weak investment, a manager deciding whether to cancel a failing project, or an individual deciding whether to leave a problematic relationship. *** One reason for this is that negative outcomes make people more likely to choose action over inaction, and that escalation of commitment is often seen as a way of taking action while de-escalation is seen as inaction. Understanding this can help you predict how people, including you, are likely to act in certain problematic situations, and can help you prepare for those situations accordingly, for example by talking to someone before they escalate their commitment. This can also help you understand how to convince someone to drop a commitment when doing so is the best course of action, by framing the decision to end the commitment as a form of action rather than inaction, and potentially by also contrasting it with the inaction of maintaining an initial commitment.

Answer 19

- **Definition**: Feature creep, also known as creeping featurism or featureitis, is the continuous expansion or addition of new features in a product, often leading to over-complication. - **Causes**: - Desire to make the product more useful or desirable to increase sales. - Compromises from committees leading to multiple viewpoints and the need for cross-conversion features. - **Characteristics**: - Major source of cost and schedule overruns. - Can endanger or kill products and projects (e.g., Apple's abandoned Copland operating system). - **Control Methods**: - Setting strict limits on allowable features. - Maintaining multiple variations of the product. - Pruning excess features. - Using strong software fundamentals and rigorous change management. - Implementing the "80/20 Rule" to maintain basic versions for most users. - Phasing out some product variations when necessary. - **Consequences**: - Can lead to products expanding far beyond their original scope. - Examples include video games like The Elder Scrolls: Arena and Shogun: Total War, and software like Microsoft's Windows Vista. - Often results in increased costs and potential product cancellation.

Answer 20

Xenophobia is fear of the alien; oikophobia is fear of the familiar: "the disposition, in any conflict, to side with 'them' against 'us', and the felt need to denigrate the customs, culture and institutions that are identifiably 'ours.' "The oik repudiates national loyalties and defines his goals and ideals against the nation, promoting transnational institutions over national governments, accepting and endorsing laws that are imposed on us from on high by the EU or the UN, though without troubling to consider Terence's question, and defining his political vision in terms of universal values that have been purified of all reference to the particular attachments of a real historical community. The oik is, in his own eyes, a defender of enlightened universalism against local chauvinism. And it is the rise of the oik that has led to the growing crisis of legitimacy in the nation states of Europe. For we are seeing a massive expansion of the legislative burden on the people of Europe, and a relentless assault on the only loyalties that would enable them voluntarily to bear it. The explosive effect of this has already been felt in Holland and France. It will be felt soon everywhere, and the result may not be what the oiks expect. See... http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/cs49-8.pdf

Answer 21

“If one person says that it’s raining and another person says that it’s dry, it’s not your job to quote them both. It’s your job to look out the window and find out which is true.” — Attributed to Journalism Studies lecturer Jonathan FosterFalse balance is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone suggests that, if there are two or more opposing positions on a certain topic, then the truth must rest somewhere in the middle between them. This concept often plays a role in the media, where it’s also referred to as bothsidesism, in situations where journalists present both sides of a story as if they are balanced and equal to one another, even when evidence shows that this is not the case.For example, false balance might play a role in a group interview, if equal weight is given to the opinions of two opposing interviewees, one of whom is an established expert in their field who relies on scientific evidence, while the other is a false authority with no valid credentials, who relies solely on personal anecdotes.False balance can occur as a result of a false equivalence, in cases where two sides are presented as being equal, despite the fact that they’re not. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, though they have distinctly different meanings, as is evident in the different definitions of each term.

Answer 22

Crimestop is a Newspeak term taken from the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. It means to rid oneself of unwanted thoughts, i.e. thoughts that interfere with the ideology of the Party. This way, a person avoids committing thoughtcrime.In the novel, we hear about crimestop through the eyes of protagonist Winston Smith:“ The mind should develop a blind spot whenever a dangerous thought presented itself. The process should be automatic, instinctive. Crimestop, they called it in Newspeak.He set to work to exercise himself in crimestop. He presented himself with propositions -- 'the Party says the earth is flat', 'the party says that ice is heavier than water' -- and trained himself in not seeing or not understanding the arguments that contradicted them. ”Orwell also describes crimestop from the perspective of Emmanuel Goldstein in the book The Theory and Practice Of Oligarchical Collectivism:“ Crimestop means the faculty of stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought. It includes the power of not grasping analogies, of failing to perceive logical errors, of misunderstanding the simplest arguments if they are inimical to Ingsoc, and of being bored or repelled by any train of thought which is capable of leading in a heretical direction. Crimestop, in short, means protective stupidity.

Answer 23

Characteristics of System 1Generates impressions, feelings, and inclinations; when endorsed by System 2 these become beliefs, attitudes, and intentionsOperates automatically and quickly, with little or no effort, and no sense of voluntary controlCan be programmed by System 2 to mobilize attention when a particular pattern is detected (search)Executes skilled responses and generates skilled intuitions, after adequate trainingCreates a coherent pattern of activated ideas in associative memoryLinks a sense of cognitive ease to illusions of truth, pleasant feelings, and reduced vigilanceDistinguishes the surprising from the normalInfers and invents causes and intentionsNeglects ambiguity and suppresses doubt is biased to believe and confirmExaggerates emotional consistency (halo effect)Focuses on existing evidence and ignores absent evidence (WYSIATI)Generates a limited set of basic assessmentsRepresents sets by norms and prototypes, does not integrateMatches intensities across scales (e.g., size to loudness)Computes more than intended (mental shotgun)Sometimes substitutes an easier question for a difficult one (heuristics)Is more sensitive to changes than to states (prospect theory)*Overweights low probabilities*Shows diminishing sensitivity to quantityResponds more strongly to losses than to gains (loss aversion)*Frames decision problems narrowly, in isolation from one another*

Answer 24

### The Irrationality of Love - **Intense Emotions**: Love makes us feel euphoric, akin to a drug high, leading to irrational decisions. - **Extreme Actions**: People might make drastic choices, like dropping out of school or spending all their money to elope, often resulting in regret and financial loss. - **Nature's Trick**: Love tricks us into making irrational decisions to procreate, as we might avoid having kids if we considered the long-term consequences. - **Temporary Romantic Love**: Romantic love helps overlook faults and fosters baby-making but typically lasts only a few years. - **Reality Check**: When the initial high fades, it's crucial to be with someone you genuinely respect and enjoy. - **True Love as a Choice**: True, enduring love is a conscious commitment to a person, accepting their imperfections and the challenges they bring. - **Unconditional Commitment**: This deeper love involves unglamorous tasks and supporting each other through insecurities and fears. - **Meaningful Satisfaction**: Although less thrilling, this love brings lasting happiness and fulfillment. - **Romantic Love Addiction**: Many people seek relationships for the emotional highs, leaving when the excitement wanes. - **Toxic Relationships**: Entering a relationship to compensate for personal deficiencies leads to conditional love, preventing deep intimacy and tying the relationship to internal dramas.

Answer 25

Wrap your arms around the uncertainty. Accept it. Know that the way things turn out has a lot of luck involved so don’t be so hard on yourself when things go badly and don’t be so proud of yourself when they go well. Focus on process instead.Say I have a fair coin. I can tell you exactly what the probability of heads or tails on the next flip is. But I can’t tell you what the next flip will be. That’s what accepting outcomes is like. Accepting that you don’t know if the coin will land heads or tails on the next flip. That means that if you offer me a $2-to-$1 gambling proposition on this coin, I should be willing to do that. Even if I lose the next 10 flips, that doesn’t mean that I made a bad decision. And I should strive to be happy that I made a good decision and not focus on the result. It’s a mindset thing.In life, it’s usually even more complicated because in most real decisions we haven’t examined the coin. We don’t know if it is a fair coin, if it has two sides with a heads and tails on it and is weighted properly. That’s the hidden information problem. We can’t see everything. We haven’t experienced everything. We know the facts that we know, but there may be facts that we don’t know. Then the job of the decider is to reduce the uncertainty as much as they possibly can, but to understand that they’re always working within a range and they have limited control over how things turn out on any given try.

Answer 26

Crab mentality, sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, describes a way of thinking best described by the phrase "if I can't have it, neither can you." The metaphor refers to a pot of crabs. Singly, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead, they grab at each other in a useless "king of the hill" competition which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise. The analogy in human behavior is that of a group that will attempt to "pull down" (negate or diminish the importance of) any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of jealousy or competitive feelings.This term is broadly associated with short-sighted, non-constructive thinking rather than a unified, long-term, constructive mentality. It is also often used colloquially in reference to individuals or communities attempting to "escape" a so-called "underprivileged life", but kept from doing so by others attempting to ride upon their coat-tails or those who simply resent their success.[1]It describes a desperate lust to pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or pursue their dreams. It is an unwillingness to allow someone to get out of dire or bad life situations, often being foiled by friends and family members who keep sucking them back in. This trait can strike at several levels of life, like in office environments, particularly on promotion. It is a reflection of the famous saying “we all like to see our friends get ahead, but not too far ahead.”

Answer 27

- **Value of Raising the Threshold of Crappiness**: - To operate successfully as a coffee shop or similar business, you must be at least as good as a chain, or you fail. - **Late-Night Operations**: - Businesses open 24 hours often pay off even if no one shops between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. - Knowing a shop is always open makes people more likely to shop there at conventional times. - Example: A coach firm runs services all night not because people want to travel at 2 a.m. but because they like knowing they can. - **Impact of Uber on Londoners**: - People value Uber not only for its use but also for its availability. - Personal example: The author rarely drives into London anymore, relying on Uber as a fallback. - Uber makes trains more appealing by providing a viable backup plan. - **Uber as a Complement to Public Transport**: - Uber is not a replacement but a complement to public transport. - It offers an alternative when other plans fail, enhancing overall transportation options. - **Criticisms of Uber**: - Issues include tax avoidance, unfair competition, and the impact on black-cab drivers. - Despite these issues, Uber has disrupted and improved the generally poor minicab business in London. - **Value of Large Chains**: - Large chains like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and PremierLodgeExpress raise industry standards. - They improve the overall quality of service in their sectors. - Example: Coffee quality in truck stops has improved significantly over the years. - **Historical Context**: - Service quality in Britain was much worse before the emergence of these chains.

Answer 28

Embrace Your Irrelevance - **Main Idea**: - **Quote**: “What you do with your life doesn’t matter all that much,” writes Burkeman. - **Paraphrase**: Our lives are insignificant in the vastness of space and time. - **Perspective**: - **Negative View**: It's easy to dismiss as overly existential. - **Positive View**: Offers "cosmic insignificance therapy," which reminds us that daily worries are irrelevant in the grand scheme. - **Daily Life Application**: - **Overestimation of Others' Opinions**: We often think others care more about us than they do. - **Self-Centered Realization**: We realize we're not the center of everyone else's world. - **Comfort in Challenging Times**: - **Common Advice**: Remind others that “this too shall pass.” - **Perspective Shift**: Consider daily issues in relation to the universe. - **Cosmic Insignificance Therapy**: - **Relief**: From unrealistic expectations. - **Contrast**: Opposite viewpoint is the belief in our cosmic significance, which leads to unattainable standards. - **Existential Question**: - **Doubt**: If we’re not achieving grand goals, are we doing anything meaningful? - **Reframe**: Recognize our insignificance to give greater meaning to current and future actions. - **Time Perspective**: - **Unknown Future**: We don't know how many weeks we have left. - **Certainty**: We can choose how to use our time meaningfully now. ### Footnotes 1. **James Hollis**: Writes about an unnamed patient in "Finding Meaning in the Second Half of Life." 2. **Spotlight Effect**: Psychological phenomenon where we overestimate how much others notice us.

Answer 29

A trigger strategy is a class of strategies employed in a repeated non-cooperative game. A player using a trigger strategy initially cooperates but punishes the opponent if a certain level of defection (i.e., the trigger) is observed. The level of punishment and the sensitivity of the trigger vary with different trigger strategies.[edit] Trigger strategies Tit for Tat (the punishment continues as long as the other player defects) Tit for Two Tats (a more forgiving variant of tit for tat) Grim trigger (the punishment continues indefinitely after the other player defects just once, until death of the player playing it, causing massive damage to any players who are juveniles in the population, since indefinitely applies more to them as a punishment. Life expectancy calculations are sometimes done in the insurance industry about this problem. After grim trigger, was he insured?) Grim trigger Grim trigger (also called the grim strategy or just grim) is a trigger strategy in game theory for a repeated game, such as an iterated prisoner's dilemma. Initially, a player using grim trigger will cooperate, but as soon as the opponent defects (thus satisfying the trigger condition), the player using grim trigger will defect for the remainder of the iterated game. Since a single defect by the opponent triggers defection forever, grim trigger is the most strictly unforgiving of strategies in an iterated game.In iterated prisoner's dilemma strategy competitions, Grim Trigger performs poorly even without noise, and adding signal errors makes it even worse. It has many defects[1] but it primarily suffers from the inability to threaten permanent defection.

Answer 30

- **Definition**: The Möbius strip (or Möbius band) is a surface with only one side and one boundary component, characterized by its non-orientability. It can be made by giving a paper strip a half-twist and joining the ends. - **Discovery**: Independently discovered by German mathematicians August Ferdinand Möbius and Johann Benedict Listing in 1858. - **Properties**: - **Non-orientable Surface**: Has only one side and one edge. - **Creation**: Created by a half-twist in a strip of paper and joining the ends. - **Handedness**: It is chiral, meaning it has a left-handed or right-handed form. - **Algebraic Description**: Algebraic equations can describe its topology, but may not match the geometric shape of the paper model. - **Developable Surface**: The paper model has zero Gaussian curvature. - **Euler Characteristic**: The Euler characteristic of the Möbius strip is zero. - **Curious Properties**: - **Single Continuous Curve**: Drawing a line down the middle meets back at the seam but on the "other side," doubling the length of the original strip. - **Cutting Along the Center Line**: Results in one long strip with two full twists, not two separate strips. - **Cutting One-Third In**: Creates a thinner Möbius strip and a longer strip with two full twists. - **Analogous Strips**: Joining strips with more half-twists leads to different forms, such as a trefoil knot for three half-twists. - **Number of Half-Twists**: Strips with odd half-twists have one surface and one boundary; even half-twists result in two surfaces and two boundaries. - **Cutting Strips**: Odd half-twists result in a longer strip with loops; even half-twists result in two conjoined strips.

Answer 31

True-believer syndrome is a term coined by M. Lamar Keene in his 1976 book The Psychic Mafia. Keene used the term to refer to people who continued to believe in a paranormal event or phenomenon even after it had been proven to have been staged.[2][3]Keene considered it to be a cognitive disorder,[4][5] and regarded it as being a key factor in the success of many psychic mediums.[3] The term "true believer syndrome" is not used professionally by psychologists, psychiatrists, or medical professionals and is not recognised as a form of psychopathology or psychological impairment, nor is it listed in any version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [6].Contents[show][edit] Examples[edit] RaoulIn his book The Psychic Mafia, Keene tells of a psychic medium named Raoul. Some people still believed that Raoul was genuine even after he openly admitted that he was a fake. Keene wrote "I knew how easy it was to make people believe a lie, but I didn't expect the same people, confronted with the lie, would choose it over the truth. . . . No amount of logic can shatter a faith consciously based on a lie."[7][8][edit] CarlosAccording to The Skeptic's Dictionary, an example of this syndrome is evidenced by an event in 1988, when James Randi, at the request of an Australian news program, coached stage performer José Alvarez to pretend he was channelling a two-thousand-year-old spirit named "Carlos". Even after it was revealed to be a fictional character created by himself and Alvarez, people continued to believe that "Carlos" was real.[5] Randi commented: "no amount of evidence, no matter how good it is or how much there is of it, is ever going to convince the true believer to the contrary."

Answer 32

Chesterton’s Fence, described by G. K. Chesterton himself as follows: There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, “I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.” To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: “If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.”Chesterton describes the classic case of the reformer who notices something, such as a fence, and fails to see the reason for its existence. However, before they decide to remove it, they must figure out why it exists in the first place. If they do not do this, they are likely to do more harm than good with its removal. In its most concise version, Chesterton’s Fence states the following:Do not remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.Chesterton went on to explain why this principle holds true, writing that fences don’t grow out of the ground, nor do people build them in their sleep or during a fit of madness. He explained that fences are built by people who carefully planned them out and “had some reason for thinking [the fence] would be a good thing for somebody.” Until we establish that reason, we have no business taking an ax to it. The reason might not be a good or relevant one; we just need to be aware of what the reason is. Otherwise, we may end up with unintended consequences: second- and third-order effects we don’t want, spreading like ripples on a pond and causing damage for years.

Answer 33

Two wrongs make a right is a logical fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that if one wrong is committed, another wrong will cancel it out. Like many fallacies, it typically appears as the hidden major premise in an enthymeme—an unstated assumption which must be true for the premises to lead to the conclusion. This is an example of an informal fallacy.It is often used as a red herring, or an attempt to change or distract from the issue. For example: Speaker A: President Williams lied in his testimony to Congress. He should not do that. Speaker B: But you are ignoring the fact that President Roberts lied in his Congressional testimony!If President Roberts lied in his Congressional testimony, that does not make it acceptable for President Williams to do so as well. (At best, it means Williams is no worse than Roberts.) The tu quoque fallacy is a specific type of "two wrongs make a right". Accusing another person of not practicing what they preach, while appropriate in some situations, does not in itself invalidate an action or statement that is perceived as contradictory.[edit] The FallacyIn using "two wrongs don't make a right" you actually commit a fallacy; you assume the answer to the issue at hand. Take the example of capital punishment: You shouldn't execute a murderer because two wrongs don't make a right.The question at hand is whether or not a murderer should be executed; is capital punishment right or wrong? The "two wrongs don't make a right" statement assumes A) that the murder was a 'wrong' (a generally accepted premise) and B) that executing the murderer is wrong. Thus the statement is circular; in order to answer the question, it assumes the answer. "Capital punishment is bad because executing a murderer is wrong"

Answer 34

- **Definition**: Granular convection, also known as the Brazil nut effect or muesli effect, is where granular material exhibits circulation patterns similar to fluid convection when subjected to shaking or vibration. - **Explanation**: - **Center of Mass**: Shaking causes the center of mass to move down, pushing larger particles like Brazil nuts to the top due to gravity. - **Buoyancy**: Air in spaces between particles can make larger particles buoyant, allowing smaller particles to fill spaces underneath, pushing larger particles upwards. - **Convection Flow**: Vibration induces convection flow where particles move up through the middle, across the surface, and down the sides, causing large particles to stay at the top. - **Parrondo's Paradox**: Relates to the Brazil nuts moving to the top against gravitational gradient when shaken. - **MRI Imaging**: Visualizes convection rolls similar to Bénard cells in fluids. - **Applications**: - **Manufacturing**: - **Challenges**: Undesirable segregation of different particle types in a heterogeneous mixture. - **Factors**: Sizes, densities of particles, gas pressure between particles, and container shape affect severity. - **Solutions**: Using rectangular boxes or cylinders to counteract the effect; cone-shaped containers result in the reverse Brazil nut effect. - **Astronomy**: Observed in low-density, rubble pile asteroids like asteroid 25143 Itokawa. - **Geology**: Causes inverse grading observed in soil liquefaction during earthquakes or mudslides. - **References**: - Use of various studies and experiments to understand and visualize granular convection patterns. - Heinrich Jaeger's explanations and research on granular convection. - MRI imaging studies showing convection rolls in granular materials.

Answer 35

Lottery paradox (1961, p. 197) arises from considering a fair 1000 ticket lottery that has exactly one winning ticket. If this much is known about the execution of the lottery it is therefore rational to accept that some ticket will win. Suppose that an event is very likely only if the probability of it occurring is greater than 0.99. On these grounds it is presumed rational to accept the proposition that ticket 1 of the lottery will not win. Since the lottery is fair, it is rational to accept that ticket 2 won't win either--indeed, it is rational to accept for any individual ticket i of the lottery that ticket i will not win. However, accepting that ticket 1 won't win, accepting that ticket 2 won't win, and so on until accepting that ticket 1000 won't win: that entails that it is rational to accept that no ticket will win, which entails that it is rational to accept the contradictory proposition that one ticket wins and no ticket wins.The lottery paradox was designed to demonstrate that three attractive principles governing rational acceptance lead to contradiction, namely that It is rational to accept a proposition that is very likely true, It is not rational to accept a proposition that is known to be inconsistent, and If it is rational to accept a proposition A and it is rational to accept another proposition A', then it is rational to accept A & A',are jointly inconsistent.The paradox remains of continuing interest because it raises several issues at the foundations of knowledge representation and uncertain reasoning: the relationships between fallibility, corrigible belief and logical consequence; the roles that consistency, statistical evidence and probability play in belief fixation; the precise normative force that logical and probabilistic consistency have on rational belief.

Answer 36

The Droste effect is a specific kind of recursive picture,[1] one that in heraldry is termed mise en abyme. An image exhibiting the Droste effect depicts a smaller version of itself in a place where a similar picture would realistically be expected to appear. This smaller version then depicts an even smaller version of itself in the same place, and so on. Only in theory could this go on forever; practically, it continues only as long as the resolution of the picture allows, which is relatively short, since each iteration geometrically reduces the picture's size. It is a visual example of a strange loop, a self-referential system of instancing which is the cornerstone of fractal geometry.Contents [hide] 1 Origin 2 See also 3 References 4 External links[edit] OriginDroste effect recursion in VLC media playerThe effect is named after the image on the tins and boxes of Droste cocoa powder, one of the main Dutch brands, which displayed a nurse carrying a serving tray with a cup of hot chocolate and a box with the same image.[2] This image, introduced in 1904 and maintained for decades with slight variations, became a household notion. Reportedly, poet and columnist Nico Scheepmaker introduced wider usage of the term in the late 1970s.[3]The Droste effect was used by Giotto di Bondone in 1320, in his Stefaneschi Triptych. The polyptych altarpiece portrays in its center panel Cardinal Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi offering the triptych itself to St. Peter.[4] There are also several examples from medieval times of books featuring images containing the book itself or window panels in churches depicting miniature copies of the window panel itself. See the collection of articles Medieval mise-en-abyme: the object depicted within itself[5] for examples and opinions on how this effect was used symbolically.

Answer 37

- **False Dilemma Example**: - **Statement**: “You’re either with us, or against us.” - **Explanation**: This uses divisive language to create a misleading dichotomy, ignoring the possibility of neutral or mixed feelings to pressure listeners into accepting a certain stance. - **Similar Example**: - **Statement**: “Either you support this law which will give the police more power, or you must be a criminal.” - **Explanation**: This false dichotomy suggests that opposing the law equates to being a criminal, ignoring other legitimate reasons for opposition to pressure acceptance of the law. - **Combination with Other Fallacies**: - **Example**: The above example also demonstrates ad hominem tactics, attacking the opponent's character rather than addressing their arguments. - **False Dilemmas Without Either-Or Statements**: - **Statement**: “The choice is simple: if you want better salaries for low-level employees, we will have to significantly increase prices, which will hurt consumers.” - **Explanation**: This falsely dichotomizes by pretending only two options exist, ignoring other possibilities like reducing profit margins. - **Using Words Like 'Rather'**: - **Example**: “Censorship laws are not tools for suppressing the population, but rather for preventing crime.” - **Explanation**: Philosopher Daniel Dennett describes this use of 'rather' as "rathering," subtly suggesting mutual exclusivity between two options where none exists. - **Dennett's Analysis**: - **Quote**: “The general form of a rathering is ‘It is not the case that blahblahblah, as orthodoxy would have you believe; it is rather that suchandsuchandsuch—which is radically different.’” - **Explanation**: Some ratherings are valid dichotomies, but others are sleight of hand, implying incompatibility between claims without argument.

Answer 38

The concept known as the law of the instrument, Maslow's hammer, or a golden hammer is an over-reliance on a familiar tool; as Abraham Maslow said in 1966, "When the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as if it were a nail."[1]HistoryThe sentiment that people look for cure-alls, and over-use familiar tools, is likely traditional; see panacea. Likewise, the use of a hammer and nail as imagery are likely as old as hammers and nails, or even the use of rocks as tools, which the hammer evokes.The first known statement of the concept was Abraham Kaplan's, in 1964:[2] "I call it the law of the instrument, and it may be formulated as follows: Give a small boy a hammer, and he will find that everything he encounters needs pounding."Maslow's hammer, popularly phrased as "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and variants thereof, is from Abraham Maslow's The Psychology of Science, published in 1966.[1]The hammer and nail metaphor may not be original to Kaplan or Maslow, and has been attributed to Mark Twain, though there is no documentation of this origin in Twain's published writings.[3]It has also been called the law of the hammer,[4] attributed both to Maslow[5] and to Kaplan.[6]The notion of a golden hammer, "a familiar technology or concept applied obsessively to many software problems," has been introduced into the information technology literature in 1998 as an anti-pattern: a programming practice to be avoided.[7][edit] Related phenomenaOther forms of narrow-minded instrumentalism include: déformation professionnelle, a French term for "looking at things from the point of view of one's profession", and regulatory capture, the tendency for regulators to look at things from the point of view of the profession they are regulating.The opposite of using a golden hammer would be using the "right tool for the job".

Answer 39

- **Definition**: - The rule of sum is a basic counting method in combinatorics. - If there are $n$ choices for one action and $m$ choices for another action, and the two actions cannot be done simultaneously, there are $n + m$ ways to choose one of these actions. - **Basic Examples**: - **Mutually Exclusive Choices**: The rule of sum applies to choices that are mutually exclusive (i.e., only one choice can be picked). - **Rephrasing Questions**: If a question can be rephrased with the word "or," the rule of sum typically applies. - **Example 1**: - Mary has 3 red skirts and 4 blue skirts to choose from. - She can wear one of the 3 red skirts or one of the 4 blue skirts. - Total outfit choices: $3 + 4 = 7$. - **Example 2**: - A movie theater has 5 action movies, 7 comedies, and 16 dramas. - Total movie choices: $5 + 7 + 16 = 28$. - **Example 3**: - Ravi can pick one animal from 3 reptiles, 4 birds, 5 rabbits, and 6 fish. - Total pet choices: $3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 18$. - **Example 4**: - Chris has three 5's, two Jacks, two Aces, one 9, and one King in his hand. - Total card choices: $3 + 2 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 9$. - **Problem Solving**: - **Example**: - Determine the number of non-negative integer solutions for $ -5 < x < 5 $ or $ 12 < x < 100 $. - Solutions for $ -5 < x < 5 $: 5 (considering non-negative values). - Solutions for $ 12 < x < 100 $: 87. - Total solutions: $5 + 87 = 92$. - **Additional Examples**: - **Red Vehicle Choices**: - 10 red trucks and 3 red cars. - Total red vehicle choices: $10 + 3 = 13$. - **Deck of Cards**: - Black face cards (3 in spades + 3 in clubs) and red even cards (5 in hearts + 5 in diamonds). - Total choices: $3 + 3 + 5 + 5 = 16$. The rule of sum is a simple yet powerful tool in combinatorics for counting distinct, mutually exclusive options.

Answer 40

- **Calibrated Questions**: - Avoid closed-ended questions with verbs like “can,” “is,” “are,” “do,” or “does.” - Use “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “why,” and “how” to inspire expansive thinking. - Best to use “what” and “how,” and sometimes “why,” with caution. - **Using “Why”**: - “Why” can sound accusatory and should be used sparingly. - Effective use of “why” requires a respectful and deferential tone. - Examples: “Why would you ever change from the way you’ve always done things and try my approach?” or “Why would your company ever change from your long-standing vendor and choose our company?” - **Rephrasing Questions**: - Turn “Does this look like something you would like?” into “How does this look to you?” or “What about this works for you?” - Transform “Why did you do it?” to “What caused you to do it?” to remove accusatory tones. - **Using “How” Questions**: - “How” questions keep negotiations going and pressure counterparts to contemplate solutions. - They gently guide counterparts to develop and commit to your preferred solution. - Examples: “How will we know we’re on track?” and “How will we address things if we find we’re off track?” - **Forced Empathy and Reciprocity**: - Being empathic first engages reciprocity, leading counterparts to empathize with you. - “How” questions force counterparts to explain and take ownership of implementation. - **Indicators of Commitment**: - Positive response: “That’s right,” indicating buy-in and agreement. - Negative indicators: “You’re right,” suggesting lack of investment, and “I’ll try,” indicating potential failure. - **General Principles**: - “What” and “how” questions help in gathering useful information and steering negotiations. - Respectful and thoughtful questioning fosters collaboration and commitment. - Successful negotiation often involves letting counterparts feel they own the solution.

Answer 41

A fallacy of composition arises when one infers that something is true of the whole from the fact that it is true of some part of the whole (or even of every proper part). For example: "This fragment of metal cannot be broken with a hammer, therefore the machine of which it is a part cannot be broken with a hammer." This is clearly fallacious, because many machines can be broken into their constituent parts without any of those parts being breakable. This fallacy is often confused with the fallacy of hasty generalization, in which an unwarranted inference is made from a statement about a sample to a statement about the population from which it is drawn.The fallacy of composition is the converse of the fallacy of division. Contents[show][edit] Example Atoms are not visible to the naked eye Humans are made up of atoms Therefore, humans are not visible to the naked eye[1][edit] ApplicationIn Keynesian macroeconomics, the "paradox of thrift" theory supposedly illustrates this fallacy: increasing saving (or "thrift") is obviously good for an individual, since it provides for retirement or a "rainy day," but if everyone saves more, Keynesian economists argue that it may cause a recession by reducing consumer demand.Followers of Keynes would argue that the following syllogism is fallacious:The thrift of any member of a group is beneficial to that member.Therefore, the thrift of the group as a whole is beneficial to that group as a whole.Other economists assert that Keynes's paradox of thrift is itself a fallacy. They claim that consumption is a destruction of wealth while savings increase investment which boosts production: the real source of increasing wealth.Another example from economics is the Tragedy of the Commons where an individual would benefit from his unlimited access to a finite resource but the collective unrestricted demand from the whole group would eventually doom the resource through over-exploitation.

Answer 42

Introjection is a psychoanalytical term with a variety of meanings.Generally, it is regarded as the process where the subject replicates in itself behaviors, attributes or other fragments of the surrounding world, especially of other subjects. Cognate concepts are identification, incorporation and internalization.Projection has been described as an early phase of introjection.[1][edit] Torok/FerencziHowever, this meaning has been challenged by Maria Torok as she favours using the term as it is employed by Sandor Ferenczi in his essay "The Meaning of Introjection" (1912). In this context introjection is an extension of autoerotic interests that broadens the ego by a lifting of repression so that it includes external objects in its make-up. Maria Torok defends this meaning in her 1968 essay The Illness of Mourning and the Fantasy of the Exquisite Corpse where she argues that Sigmund Freud and Melanie Klein confuse introjection with incorporation and that Ferenczi's definition remains crucial to analysis.According to Freud, the ego and the superego are constructed by introjecting external behavioral patterns into the subject's own person.[edit] Defense mechanismIntrojection is also the name of a defense mechanism, which handles threats from the outside that can potentially cause anxiety by infolding them into the internal world of the subject, where they can be neutralized or alleviated.More specifically introjection means incorporating attributes, attitudes or qualities of an absent person of high significance (for example, an absent working mother or a recently deceased relative) into oneself.One example often used is when a child envelops representational images of his absent parents into himself, simultaneously fusing them with his own personality.Individuals with weak ego boundaries are more prone to use introjection as a defense mechanism. According to Donald Woods Winnicott "projection and introjection mechanisms... let the other person be the manager sometimes, and to hand over omnipotence.

Answer 43

No individual, group of people, or governmental institution can be trusted with power; every individual, party, or group will inevitably abuse power.****************Having witnessed the effects of statism in Europe, they were strongly antiauthoritarian. Thus their solution was to divide up power and create limits, to ensure that nobody got too much. They did this in numerous ways:Voters elected political leaders and could remove them from office, and laws constrained officials from doing as they pleased. Federalism divided power between the national and state governments. On both the national and state level, power was split among the executive (president or governor), legislative (Congress or state legislature), and judicial branches. Moreover , the Constitution limited the central government’s power while also reserving certain rights for states and citizens. While government’s powers were limited, a huge amount of freedom was left for individuals. The Bill of Rights further strengthened citizens’ ability to protest and criticize governments while limiting government’s ability to repress or order citizens.In short , the founders considered government as a wild beast that could never be tamed but had to be penned and trussed up so as to use it for beneficial purposes without being devoured by it. The founders knew that the kinds of people who seek political power are so often eager to accumulate power, glory, and wealth for themselves.As further safeguards, the founders protected diverse nongovernmental institutions such as newspapers, civic organizations, and universities so they could serve as watchdogs exposing abuses of power, corruption , and incompetence. As long as these institutions took different political lines and varied partisan sides, they would serve their purpose.This combination of ingredients created a new system: a democratic republic that could actually endure without collapsing in anarchy or turning into a dictatorship and that permitted the unleashing of human potential and an opportunity for even the non-aristocratic masses.

Answer 44

The Texas sharpshooter fallacy is a logical fallacy in which information that has no relationship is interpreted or manipulated until it appears to have meaning. The name comes from a joke about a Texan who fires some shots at the side of a barn, then paints a target centered on the biggest cluster of hits and claims to be a sharpshooter.[1][2]The fallacy does not apply if one had an ex ante, or prior, expectation of the particular relationship in question before examining the data. For example one might, previous to examining the information, have in mind a specific physical mechanism implying the particular relationship. One could then use the information to give support or cast doubt on the presence of that mechanism. Alternatively, if additional information can be generated using the same process as the original information, one can use the original information to construct a hypothesis, and then test the hypothesis on the new data. See hypothesis testing. What one cannot do is use the same information to construct and test the same hypothesis — to do so would be to commit the Texas sharpshooter fallacy.The fallacy is related to the clustering illusion, which refers to the tendency in human cognition to interpret patterns in randomness where none actually exist.Contents[show][edit] Examples Attempts to find cryptograms in the works of William Shakespeare, which tended to report results only for those passages of Shakespeare for which the proposed decoding algorithm produced an intelligible result. This could be explained as an example of the fallacy because passages which do not match the algorithm have not been accounted for. The fallacy could also be an explanation for cryptograms in the Bible. This fallacy is often found in modern-day interpretations of the quatrains of Nostradamus. Nostradamus's quatrains are often liberally translated from the original (archaic) French, stripped of their historical context, and then applied to support the conclusion that Nostradamus predicted a given modern-day event, after the event actually occurred.

Answer 45

In his book, Feeling Great, Dr. David Burns recounts a conversation with a carpenter, Frank, who was painting his house. One day, upon returning home, Dr. Burns noticed a change in Frank’s usually sunny disposition and asked if he was feeling alright.“I’m getting old,” he confessed, fighting back tears. “My body won’t be able to keep up the same pace for much longer. I’m worried that I might not have enough money to support my wife and me when I retire. “I’ve never accomplished anything meaningful or significant in my life.”Feeling bad for Frank, Dr. Burns asked if he could try something helpful called the double standard technique.Here’s how he describes it,“When we’re upset or fall short of our goals, we tend to beat up on ourselves with harsh criticisms. But if we were talking to a dear friend with the same exact problem, we’d do so in a far more compassionate, supportive, and realistic way. Once you’re aware of this, you can ask yourself if you’d be willing to talk to yourself in the same compassionate way you’d talk to a dear friend.”After asking what he would say to a friend in his position, Frank replied that he would remind that friend that he and his wife would have a decent retirement and be fine even if he decided to retire someday. Moreover, he would assure his friend that he had never once received a complaint about his work, not even once, nor had he ever cheated anyone—and that’s as meaningful as it is significant.Much to Frank’s surprise, his sadness wasn’t caused by his age, nor his fear of financial hardship come retirement, but rather, his negative thoughts. As Dr. Burns first wrote in his bestseller, Feeling Good (and continues to posit in his, Feeling Great), our feelings are created by our thoughts, and our thoughts, when negative, always contain gross distortions. [2]When we generalize, assume blame, or “should” on ourselves, to name a few examples, we take our thoughts as rational and self-evident. But when the shoe is on the other foot, and we talk to ourselves as we would with a friend we like, know, and care for, we shed light on the falsehoods that plague our negative thoughts.

Answer 46

- **Definition**: - Weak-manning is similar to straw-manning but involves debating a real, unrepresentatively weak opponent. - Motte-and-bailey involves switching between a weak and a strong position to defend a controversial stance. - **Explanation**: - **Weak-manning**: - Example: "Religious people say you should kill all gays. This is evil. Therefore, religion is wrong and we should all be atheists." - This unfairly attacks a weak position (extremist view) instead of a strong one (more reasonable religious views). - When weak-manning, you replace a strong position with a weak one to make it easier to attack. - **Motte-and-bailey**: - Switch between a weak position (e.g., "supernatural creator made people out of ribs") and a strong position (e.g., "there is order and beauty in the universe") to make a controversial stance more defensible. - Replace a weak position with a strong one to defend it better. - **Comparison**: - Weak-manning replaces a strong position with a weak one to attack it. - Motte-and-bailey replaces a weak position with a strong one to defend it. - **Debate Scenario**: - Debating feminism: - Defense: "It's important that women are people." - Attack: "It's not true that all men are terrible." - Weak-manning accusation: Attacking the weakest feminist statement. - Motte-and-bailey accusation: Defending the most uncontroversial feminist statement. - **Recommendation**: - Focus on specific, well-defined arguments to avoid weak-manning or motte-and-bailey tactics. - If it's difficult to identify these tactics, the discussion likely went wrong earlier. - **Background**: - **Motte and Bailey Castle**: - Medieval defense system with a stone tower (Motte) and habitable land (Bailey) surrounded by a barrier. - The Motte is undesirable but defensible; the Bailey is desirable but lightly defensible. - Proponents retreat to the Motte when under heavy attack but prefer the Bailey for its desirability. By understanding these concepts, one can better identify and avoid unfair debate tactics like weak-manning and motte-and-bailey.

Answer 47

When we seek to intervene in any system created by someone, it’s not enough to view their decisions and choices simply as the consequences of first-order thinking because we can inadvertently create serious problems. Before changing anything, we should wonder whether they were using second-order thinking. Their reasons for making certain choices might be more complex than they seem at first. It’s best to assume they knew things we don’t or had experience we can’t fathom, so we don’t go for quick fixes and end up making things worse.Second-order thinking is the practice of not just considering the consequences of our decisions but also the consequences of those consequences. Everyone can manage first-order thinking, which is just considering the immediate anticipated result of an action. It’s simple and quick, usually requiring little effort. By comparison, second-order thinking is more complex and time-consuming. The fact that it is difficult and unusual is what makes the ability to do it such a powerful advantage.Second-order thinking will get you extraordinary results, and so will learning to recognize when other people are using second-order thinking.Many of the problems we face in life occur when we intervene with systems without an awareness of what the consequences could be. We can easily forget that this applies to subtraction as much as to addition. If a fence exists, there is likely a reason for it. It may be an illogical or inconsequential reason, but it is a reason nonetheless.“Before I built a wall I’d ask to knowWhat I was walling in or walling out,And to whom I was like to give offence.”— Robert Frost, “Mending Wall”Chesterton also alluded to the all-too-common belief that previous generations were bumbling fools, stumbling around, constructing fences wherever they fancied. Should we fail to respect their judgement and not try to understand it, we run the risk of creating new, unexpected problems. By and large, people do not do things for no reason. We’re all lazy at heart. We don’t like to waste time and resources on useless fences. Not understanding something does not mean it must be pointless.

Answer 48

- **Definition**: - **Egosyntonic**: Behaviors, values, and feelings that are in harmony with or acceptable to the needs and goals of the ego, consistent with one's ideal self-image. - **Egodystonic**: Thoughts and behaviors (e.g., dreams, impulses, compulsions, desires) that are in conflict with the needs and goals of the ego or one's ideal self-image. - **Applicability**: - Many personality disorders are considered egosyntonic, making them difficult to treat. For example: - **Anorexia nervosa**: Often egosyntonic as sufferers may deny having a problem. - **Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)** is considered egodystonic because the thoughts and compulsions are not consistent with the individual's self-perception, and the patient realizes the obsessions are unreasonable. - **Freudian Heritage**: - Freud incorporated the concept of egosyntonic into his theories, viewing it as a natural aspect of the ego's operation. - He saw psychic conflict arising when lagging instincts conflict with the ego or ego-syntonic instincts. - **Anna Freud** highlighted the challenge of addressing defenses in therapy, as they are familiar and comfortable (egosyntonic) ways of being. - **Otto Fenichel**: - Differentiated between ego-syntonic morbid impulses and ego-alien symptoms of compulsion neurotics. - Recognized that neurotic symptoms are both painful and ego alien but acknowledged the possibility of denying the ego-dystonic nature of symptoms. - Later writers noted that the gradual emergence of unconscious material might be expressed indirectly to be more ego-syntonic. - **Gambling**: - There is a dispute over whether gambling is egosyntonic or egodystonic: - One viewpoint argues that the compulsion to gamble is always ego-alien (egodystonic). - Others suggest that the form of gambling may not always be experienced as ego-alien due to cultural and social contexts. - It is generally accepted that what is egosyntonic or egodystonic must be determined in a historical, cultural, and social context. By understanding these points, one can better grasp the significance of egosyntonic and egodystonic concepts in psychology and their implications for mental health and treatment.

Answer 49

Selective perception may refer to any number of cognitive biases in psychology related to the way expectations affect perception.For instance, several studies have shown that students who were told they were consuming alcoholic beverages (which in fact were non-alcoholic) perceived themselves as being "drunk", exhibited fewer physiological symptoms of social stress, and drove a simulated car similarly to other subjects who had actually consumed alcohol. The result is somewhat similar to the placebo effect.[citation needed]In one classic study on this subject related to the hostile media effect (which is itself an excellent example of selective perception), viewers watched a filmstrip of a particularly violent Princeton-Dartmouth American football game. Princeton viewers reported seeing nearly twice as many rule infractions committed by the Dartmouth team than did Dartmouth viewers. One Dartmouth alumnus did not see any infractions committed by the Dartmouth side and erroneously assumed he had been sent only part of the film, sending word requesting the rest.[1]Selective perception is also an issue for advertisers, as consumers may engage with some ads and not others based on their pre-existing beliefs about the brand.Seymour Smith, a prominent advertising researcher, found evidence for selective perception in advertising research in the early 1960s, and he defined it to be “a procedure by which people let in, or screen out, advertising material they have an opportunity to see or hear. They do so because of their attitudes, beliefs, usage preferences and habits, conditioning, etc.”[2] People who like, buy, or are considering buying a brand are more likely to notice advertising than are those who are neutral toward the brand. This fact has repercussions within the field of advertising research because any post-advertising analysis that examines the differences in attitudes or buying behavior among those aware versus those unaware of advertising is flawed unless pre-existing differences are controlled for. Advertising research methods that utilize a longitudinal design are arguably better equipped to control for selective perception.Selective perceptions are of two types: Low level - Perceptual vigilance High level- Perceptual defense

Answer 50

### The Will Rogers Phenomenon - **Definition**: The Will Rogers phenomenon occurs when moving an element from one set to another raises the average values of both sets. - **Quote**: Named after Will Rogers, who supposedly said, "When the Okies left Oklahoma and moved to California, they raised the average intelligence level in both states." ### Conditions for the Phenomenon 1. **Below Average in Initial Set**: The element being moved is below the average for its current set, raising the average of the remaining elements. 2. **Above Average in New Set**: The element is above the current average of the set it is entering, thus raising the average of the new set. ### Numerical Examples - **Example 1**: - Initial sets: R = {1, 2, 3, 4}, S = {5, 6, 7, 8, 9} - Means: R = 2.5, S = 7 - After moving 5 from S to R: R = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}, S = {6, 7, 8, 9} - New means: R = 3, S = 7.5 - **Example 2**: - Initial sets: R = {1, 2}, S = {99, 10000, 20000} - Means: R = 1.5, S = 10033 - After moving 99 from S to R: R = {1, 2, 99}, S = {10000, 20000} - New means: R = 34, S = 15000 - **Example 3**: - Initial sets: R = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13}, S = {6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18} - Means: R = 7, S = 12 - After moving 10 from S to R: R = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 10}, S = {6, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18} - New means: R = 7.375, S = 12.333 ### Real-World Example: Stage Migration - **Stage Migration**: Improved detection of illnesses moves people from the "healthy" set to the "unhealthy" set. - **Impact**: - Increases the average lifespan of the "healthy" group because the removed individuals were not truly healthy. - Increases the average lifespan of the "unhealthy" group because the added individuals are healthier than those already in the group. - Overall effect: Both average lifespans appear statistically lengthened without actual improvement in treatment. - **Example in Medicine**: Fluoro-deoxy-glucose PET scans improve delineation of early and advanced stages of lung cancer, illustrating this phenomenon. ### Summary - **Concept**: The Will Rogers phenomenon shows how moving elements between sets can statistically improve both sets' averages. - **Applications**: Seen in various contexts, notably in medical diagnostics and population studies.

Answer 51

- **Definition**: Equality of outcome, also known as equality of condition or results, aims to ensure people have similar levels of material wealth and income, or comparable general economic conditions. - **Contrast with Equality of Opportunity**: - Equality of opportunity emphasizes fair competition and the elimination of arbitrary discrimination, giving everyone the same starting point. - Equality of outcome focuses on ensuring similar end results, often involving redistributive measures. - **Key Points**: - **Equality of Outcome**: Involves reducing material inequalities, potentially through wealth redistribution. - **Equality of Opportunity**: Ensures fair competition and equal chances for individuals, typically applied in jobs, housing, lending, and voting. - **Equality of Autonomy**: Promotes equal empowerment and choice, influenced by Amartya Sen. - **Equality of Process**: Ensures fair treatment and non-discrimination in interactions and institutional practices. - **Equality of Perception**: Recognizes individuals as having equal worth. - **Political Philosophy**: - **Support**: Some argue it reflects societal interdependence and can foster social cohesion and fairness. - **Criticism**: Others believe it dampens motivation and innovation, with methods to achieve it often seen as coercive. - **Notable Views**: - John Rawls: Justifies inequalities if they benefit the disadvantaged. - Paul Krugman: Supports a balance of opportunity and outcome with a social safety net. - **Misconceptions**: - Marxism, socialism, and communism often misconstrued as promoting equality of outcome. Marx focused on eliminating exploitation rather than enforcing strict equality. - **Comparisons**: - **Outcome vs. Opportunity**: Equality of opportunity is generally more accepted in political discourse, while equality of outcome is viewed as more controversial. - **Role in Society**: Equal outcomes can enhance opportunities by reducing barriers to success but may conflict with individual freedoms and meritocratic principles. - **Debate**: The concept is central in political discussions, with differing views on its desirability and feasibility. Conservatives and libertarians often oppose it, while liberals and social democrats may support it to varying degrees.

Answer 52

- **Definition**: The rule of product states that if there are $ n $ ways of doing one thing and $ m $ ways of doing another thing after that, then there are $ n \times m $ ways to perform both actions. - **Basic Examples**: - **Outfit Combinations**: Lily has 3 shirts (red, purple, blue) and 2 pants (black, white). She can choose from $ 3 \times 2 = 6 $ different outfits. - **Table of Outfits**: | Shirt | Pants | |-------|-------| | Red | Black | | Blue | Black | | Purple| Black | | Red | White | | Blue | White | | Purple| White | - **Library Books**: You want one history book (50 options), one science book (30 options), and one fantasy book (95 options). Total combinations: $ 50 \times 30 \times 95 $. - **Newspaper and Magazine**: Colin can choose from 8 daily newspapers and 5 weekly magazines. Total choices: $ 8 \times 5 = 40 $. - **Intermediate Examples**: - **Travel to Milwaukee**: Calvin can choose from 3 bus services or 2 train services to go downtown (5 ways). From downtown, he can choose from 2 bus services or 3 train services to Milwaukee (5 ways). Total combinations: $ 5 \times 5 = 25 $. - **Seating Friends**: Six friends want to sit in a row. Number of ways to seat them: $ 6! = 6 \times 5 \times 4 \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 = 720 $. - **Toy Piano Melody**: Playing 3 random notes from 7 distinct notes (A-G), no repeats, not ending with E, F, or G. Total melodies: $ 7 \times 6 \times 4 $. - **Positive Divisors of 2000**: Given $ 2000 = 2^4 \times 5^3 $, each positive divisor has the form $ 2^a \times 5^b $ where $ 0 \leq a \leq 4 $ and $ 0 \leq b \leq 3 $. Total positive divisors: $ 5 \times 4 = 20 $. ### See also - 🔢 [Combinatorics](https://www.google.com/search?q=combinatorics): Explore the study of counting, combinations, and permutations. - 🧮 [Permutations and Combinations](https://www.google.com/search?q=permutations+and+combinations): Learn more about arranging and selecting objects in different orders. ### You may also enjoy - 🎲 [Probability Problems](https://www.google.com/search?q=probability+problems): Delve into problems involving chance and likelihood. - 📚 [Mathematical Puzzles](https://www.google.com/search?q=mathematical+puzzles): Challenge yourself with various mathematical puzzles and brainteasers.

Answer 53

- **Definition**: - A straw man argument is an informal fallacy where an opponent's position is misrepresented to make it easier to attack. - The "straw man" is a superficially similar proposition substituted for the original, making it seem like the original position has been refuted when it hasn't. - **Valid Argument**: - Presenting and refuting a weakened form of an opponent's argument can be valid if it shows the weaker proposition must be true, and refuting it disproves the original position. - **Origin**: - The term's origins are unclear. - Folk etymology suggests it originated from men who indicated their willingness to be false witnesses by putting a straw in their shoe. - Another origin suggests that a man made of straw used in military training is easy to attack, giving the illusion of a strong argument. - In the UK, it's sometimes called "Aunt Sally," referencing a traditional fairground game. - **Reasoning**: - Straw man fallacy pattern: 1. Person A has position X. 2. Person B presents position Y, a distorted version of X. 3. Person B attacks position Y, concluding that X is false/incorrect/flawed. - Ways to set up a straw man: - Misrepresenting the opponent's position and refuting it. - Quoting out of context. - Refuting a poorly defended position as if it represents all defenders of that position. - Inventing a fictitious persona to criticize. - Oversimplifying the opponent's argument and attacking this version. - **Example**: - In a prohibition debate: - Person A: "We should liberalize the laws on beer." - Person B: "No, any society with unrestricted access to intoxicants loses its work ethic and goes only for immediate gratification." - Person B exaggerates Person A's position to make it easier to attack. - **Debating around a straw man**: - There are three ways to deal with a straw man setup: 1. Refute the theory itself using the terms of the straw man (this might deflect the debate to a secondary one about the opponent's assumptions). 2. Clarify the original theory and explicitly point out the straw man. - Example response: "I said relax laws on beer but nothing about other stronger intoxicants." 3. Question the disputation. By understanding these points, one can better recognize and address straw man arguments in discussions and debates.

Answer 54

A cargo cult is a type of religious practice that may appear in traditional tribal societies in the wake of interaction with technologically advanced cultures. The cults are focused on obtaining the material wealth (the "cargo") of the advanced culture through magic and religious rituals and practices, believing that the wealth was intended for them by their deities and ancestors.Other uses of the termFrom time to time, the term "cargo cult" is invoked as an English language idiom to mean any group of people who imitate the superficial exterior of a process or system without having any understanding of the underlying substance. The error of logic made by the islanders consisted of mistaking a necessary condition (i.e., building airstrips, control towers, etc.) for cargo to come flying in, for a sufficient condition for cargo to come flying in, thereby reversing the causation. On a lower level, they repeated the same error by e.g. mistaking the necessary condition (i.e. build something that looks like a control tower) for building a control tower, for a sufficient condition for building a control tower.The inception of cargo cults often is defined as being based on a flawed model of causation, being the confusion between the logical concepts of necessary condition and sufficient condition when aiming to obtain a certain result. Based on this definition, the term "cargo cult" also is used in business and science to refer to a particular type of fallacy whereby ill-considered effort and ceremony take place but go unrewarded due to flawed models of causation as described above. For example, Maoism has been referred to as "cargo cult Marxism",[citation needed] and New Zealand's optimistic adoption of liberal economic policies in the 1980s as "cargo cult capitalism".[citation needed]The term as an adjective is perhaps best known outside of anthropology because of a speech by physicist Richard Feynman at a Caltech commencement, wherein he referred to "cargo cult science", and which became a chapter in the book Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. In the speech, Feynman pointed out that cargo cultists create all the appearance of an airport right down to headsets with bamboo "antennas", yet the airplanes do not come. Feynman argued that some researchers often produce studies with all the trappings of real science, but which are nonetheless pseudoscience and unworthy of either respect or support.

Answer 55

The psychologist Kevin Dutton says in his book Split-Second Persuasion.1 He talks about what he calls “unbelief,” which is active resistance to what the other side is saying, complete rejection. That’s where the two parties in a negotiation usually start.If you don’t ever get off that dynamic, you end up having showdowns, as each side tries to impose its point of view. You get two hard skulls banging against each other, like in Dos Palmas.But if you can get the other side to drop their unbelief, you can slowly work them to your point of view on the back of their energy. You don’t directly persuade them to see your ideas. Instead, you ride them to your ideas. As the saying goes, the best way to ride a horse is in the direction in which it is going. Our job as persuaders is easier than we think. It’s not to get others believing what we say. It’s just to stop them unbelieving. Once we achieve that, the game’s half-won. “Unbelief is the friction that keeps persuasion in check,” Dutton says. “Without it, there’d be no limits.”Franklin Effect and Illusion of ControlGiving your counterpart the illusion of control by asking calibrated questions—by asking for help—is one of the most powerful tools for suspending unbelief.As an old Washington Post editor named Robert Estabrook once said, “He who has learned to disagree without being disagreeable has discovered the most valuable secret of negotiation.” This same technique for suspending unbelief that you use with kidnappers and escaping patients works for anything, even negotiating prices. When you go into a store, instead of telling the salesclerk what you “need,” you can describe what you’re looking for and ask for suggestions. Then, once you’ve picked out what you want, instead of hitting them with a hard offer, you can just say the price is a bit more than you budgeted and ask for help with one of the greatest-of-all-time calibrated questions: “How am I supposed to do that?”The critical part of this approach is that you really are asking for help and your delivery must convey that. With this negotiating scheme, instead of bullying the clerk, you’re asking for their advice and giving them the illusion of control. Asking for help in this manner, after you’ve already been engaged in a dialogue, is an incredibly powerful negotiating technique for transforming encounters from confrontational showdowns into joint problem-solving sessions. And calibrated questions are the best tool.

Answer 56

Tu quoque (pronounced /tuːˈkwoʊkwiː/, from Latin for "You, too" or "You, also") is a Latin term that describes a kind of logical fallacy. A tu quoque argument attempts to discredit the opponent's position by asserting his failure to act consistently in accordance with that position; it attempts to show that a criticism or objection applies equally to the person making it. It is considered an ad hominem argument, since it focuses on the party itself, rather than its positions.[1]Contents[show][edit] Illegitimate useIn many cases tu quoque arguments are used in a logically fallacious way, to draw a conclusion which is not supported by the premises of the argument.[edit] You-too versionThis form of the argument is as follows: A makes criticism P. A is also guilty of P. Therefore, P is dismissed.This is an instance of the two wrongs make a right fallacy.Example: "He cannot accuse me of libel because he was just successfully sued for libel."[edit] Legal aspectsThis argument has been unsuccessfully used before the ICTY in Milošević, Kupreškić and Kunarac cases, when the accused tried to justify their crimes by insisting that the opposing side had also committed such crimes. However, the argument tu quoque, from the basis of international humanitarian law is completely irrelevant, as the ICTY has stated in these cases.[2][edit] Inconsistency versionThis form of the argument is as follows: A makes claim P. A has also made past claims which are inconsistent with P. Therefore, P is false.This is a logical fallacy because the conclusion that P is false does not follow from the premises; even if A has made past claims which are inconsistent with P, it does not necessarily prove that P is either true or false.Example: "You say aircraft are able to fly because of the laws of physics, but this is false because twenty years ago you also said aircraft fly because of magic."[edit] Legitimate useNot all uses of tu quoque arguments involve logical fallacy. One convenient and not fallacious way [to use tu quoque] is by pointing out the similarities between the activity of the criticizer and the activity about which he is being questioned. To label one [something] and not the other is ... itself a fallacy [of equivocation]. [...] Tu quoque is only a fallacy when one uses it so as to divert attention from the issue at hand, or to avoid or fail to respond to an argument that non-fallaciously gave one the burden of proof.

Answer 57

- **Definition**: In psychoanalytic theory, reaction formation is a defense mechanism where anxiety-producing or unacceptable emotions and impulses are managed by exaggerating the opposite tendency. - **Mechanism**: - Based on the hypothesis that instincts can be paired as opposites (e.g., love vs. hate). - The ego sidetracks anxiety-inducing impulses by focusing on their opposites. - The original impulse remains unconscious and unchanged. - **Characteristics**: - **Exaggeration and Compulsiveness**: Reaction formations are often overdone, showy, and inflexible. - **Example**: Reactive love is extravagant and compulsive, masking underlying hate. - **Examples**: - **Solicitude vs. Cruelty**: Extreme kindness may hide cruel tendencies. - **Cleanliness vs. Coprophilia**: Obsessive cleanliness may mask a fascination with filth. - **Virtue vs. Primitive Desires**: High ideals of virtue may conceal base desires. - **Pacifism vs. Sadism**: Unconditional pacifism may mask aggressive tendencies. - **Phobias**: A person may fear an object they actually desire. - **Applications**: - **Sexual Identity**: A person with strong heterosexual behavior may be counteracting hidden homosexual desires. - **Obsessive Behavior**: Reaction formation can become a permanent character trait, leading to obsessive personality disorders. - **Case Studies**: - **Anti-Pornography Activism**: A man aroused by pornography may become an obsessive critic of it, traveling to rallies and sacrificing personal relationships. - **Homophobia**: A person fearful of homosexuals may be counteracting their own deep-seated homosexual desires. - **Relationship Assessment**: People may treat loved ones harshly to suppress their anxiety about their true feelings. ### See also - 🧠 [Defense Mechanisms](https://www.google.com/search?q=defense+mechanisms): Learn about various psychological strategies used to cope with reality and maintain self-image. - 🧩 [Freudian Theory](https://www.google.com/search?q=Freudian+theory): Explore the foundational concepts of psychoanalysis developed by Sigmund Freud. ### You may also enjoy - 📖 [Psychoanalytic Case Studies](https://www.google.com/search?q=psychoanalytic+case+studies): Delve into detailed analyses of psychological phenomena and patient cases. - 🧬 [Personality Disorders](https://www.google.com/search?q=personality+disorders): Understand the characteristics, causes, and treatments of different personality disorders.

Answer 58

Parkinson’s Law: Get More Done by Giving Yourself Less Time to Do ThingsParkinson’s law is the adage that “work expands so as to fill the time which is available for its completion”, which signifies that the more time we dedicate in advance to a certain task, the longer it will take to complete it, even if it could have been completed in a shorter period of time.For example, according to Parkinson’s law, if someone is given a week to complete a task should really only take them a day to finish, they will often end up unnecessarily stretching out the task, so that it will take them the whole week to complete it.Parkinson’s law has important implications in a variety of situations, both when it comes to increasing productivity, as well as when it comes to predicting people’s behavior. As such, in the following article you will learn more about Parkinson’s law, and see how understanding it can benefit you in practice.The reasons for Parkinson’s lawThe phenomenon described by Parkinson’s law has been observed in a number of scientific studies, which show that when people are given extra time to complete a task, they will generally take advantage of that time, even if they don’t really need, and even it doesn’t lead to better performance on the task.Furthermore, this effect sometimes extends to subsequent attempts to perform the same task. This means that if someone is given extra time to perform a task the first time around, they will often take longer than necessary to complete the task again in the future, even if you remove the explicit instructions giving them extra time.This research suggests that when people are given a task to perform, they often think in terms of “how much time do I have to complete it?”, rather than in terms of “how much time do I need to complete it?”. This mindset can cause people to waste time needlessly, and work in a relatively inefficient manner.However, there are additional factors that can lead people to take longer to complete tasks if they have more time to do them.Most notably, people often struggle with procrastination, which can cause them to delay working on tasks until right before the deadline regardless of how much time they have to complete them, since they can’t bring themself to get started earlier. Similarly, the concept of anchoring can often cause people to take longer to complete tasks, if they stretch their estimates of how long a task should take them based on how much time they’re given to complete it.

Answer 59

As the most well known of the paradoxes, and most formally simple, the paradox of entailment makes the best introduction.In natural language, an instance of the paradox of entailment arises: It is rainingAnd It is not rainingTherefore George Washington is made of plastic.This arises from the principle of explosion, a law of classical logic stating that inconsistent premises always make an argument valid; that is, inconsistent premises imply any conclusion at all. This seems paradoxical, as it suggests that the above is a valid argument.[edit] Understanding the paradox of entailmentValidity is defined in classical logic as follows: An argument (consisting of premises and a conclusion) is valid if and only if there is no possible situation in which all the premises are true and the conclusion is false.For example an argument might run: If it is raining, water exists (1st premise) It is raining (2nd premise) Water exists (Conclusion)In this example there is no possible situation in which the premises are true while the conclusion is false. Since there is no counterexample, the argument is valid.But one could construct an argument in which the premises are inconsistent. This would satisfy the test for a valid argument since there would be no possible situation in which all the premises are true and therefore no possible situation in which all the premises are true and the conclusion is false.For example an argument with inconsistent premises might run: Matter has mass (1st premise; true) Matter does not have mass (2nd premise; false) All numbers are equal to 12 (Conclusion)As there is no possible situation where both premises could be true, then there is certainly no possible situation in which the premises could be true while the conclusion was false. So the argument is valid whatever the conclusion is; inconsistent premises imply all conclusions.[edit] Explaining the paradoxThe strangeness of the paradox of entailment comes from the fact that the definition of validity in classical logic does not always agree with the use of the term in ordinary language. In everyday use validity suggests that the premises are consistent. In classical logic, the additional notion of soundness is introduced. A sound argument is a valid argument with all true premises. Hence a valid argument with an inconsistent set of premises can never be sound. A suggested improvement to the notion of logical validity to eliminate this paradox is relevant logic.

Answer 60

- **Definition**: A social trap is a situation where individuals act for short-term personal gains, leading to long-term losses for the group as a whole. - **Examples**: - Overfishing - Near-extinction of the American bison - Energy brownouts and blackouts during extreme temperatures - Overgrazing in the Sahelian Desert - Destruction of rainforests due to logging and agriculture - **Origin of the Concept**: - Introduced by John Platt in 1973. - Built upon Garrett Hardin's "tragedy of the commons" (1968). - Influenced by behavioral psychology, particularly the work of B.F. Skinner. - **Related Concepts**: - **Social Fence**: Short-term avoidance behavior leading to long-term group loss (e.g., motorists avoiding moving a mattress on the road). - **Individual Trap**: Individual behavior for short-term gains leading to long-term personal loss (e.g., smoking leading to lung cancer). - **First Empirical Test**: - Conducted by Brechner at Arizona State University. - Created a laboratory game where college students earned points for class credit, simulating social traps. - Introduced the concept of "superimposed schedules of reinforcement." - **Superimposed Schedules of Reinforcement**: - A single response leads to multiple consequences. - Example: Short-term reward of points for class credit vs. long-term consequence of depleting a pool of points. - **Subsequent Experimentation**: - **Cass and Edney (1978)**: Created the "Nuts Game" using a bowl of nuts to simulate commonly held resources. - Expanded research into sociology, economics, institutional design, and the nuclear arms race. - **Further Research**: - **Urlacher (2008)**: Developed an iterated prisoner's dilemma game with groups, finding larger groups behaved more cooperatively. - **Chuang, Rivoire, and Liebler (2009)**: Examined social traps using colonies of E. coli bacteria, studying Simpson's paradox. ### See also - 🌍 [Tragedy of the Commons](https://www.google.com/search?q=tragedy+of+the+commons): Explore the concept that inspired social trap research. - 🧠 [Behavioral Psychology](https://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+psychology): Understand the psychological principles behind social traps. ### You may also enjoy - 🌳 [Environmental Conservation](https://www.google.com/search?q=environmental+conservation): Learn about efforts to prevent social traps related to natural resource exploitation. - 🧩 [Game Theory](https://www.google.com/search?q=game+theory): Delve into the study of strategic decision making, which includes scenarios like social traps.

Answer 61

As we saw above, the issue with false equivalences is that they incorrectly suggest that two (or more) things are equivalent, in a situation where that’s not the case. Accordingly, the main approach that you should use in order to counter this fallacious reasoning is to demonstrate the issue with the equivalence that’s being presented. You can do this in various ways, including the following: Show that the similarities between the things being equated are exaggerated, overemphasized, or oversimplified. Highlight the differences between the things being equated, and explain why these differences are more significant than the related similarities. If the similarity between the things being equated is flawed due to a significant difference in terms of order magnitude, point this out and explain why it’s an issue. Provide counterexamples which, under the current classification, would also be considered equivalent to the things being equated, but which contradict the point that the person using the false equivalence is trying to make. Ask your opponent to justify why they believe that their equivalence is valid, and then demonstrate the issues with the reasoning that they provide.Note that, as we saw earlier, the false equivalence fallacy is often used in conjunction with other logical fallacies and rhetorical techniques. For example, this can involve a misleading representation of the two sides in the equivalence, through the use of cherry-picking, with the aim of making one side appear more positive and the other more negative than they really are.When this happens, you will generally benefit from addressing the particular issues with these additional fallacies. How you do this will depend on the fallacy in question, as different fallacies are countered in different ways. Nevertheless, one course of action that is effective in most cases is to simply point out the logical flaw in the fallacious argument, and explain why it invalidates that argument.Finally, when responding to a false equivalence, there are several important caveats that you must keep in mind: Not every comparison is an equivalence; it’s possible to compare things without suggesting that they are equal to one another. Not every equivalence is a false equivalence; in many cases, an equivalence may be entirely reasonable. Not every false equivalence is intentional; in many cases, people might use a false equivalence without realizing that there is an issue with it. Equivalence is subjective; it’s not always possible to clearly determine whether a certain equivalence is false or not.

Answer 62

- **Definition**: Groupshift is the tendency for group discussions to lead members to adopt more extreme positions than they initially held. - **Overview**: - **Phenomenon**: Initial individual positions are exaggerated towards more extreme stances after group discussions. - **Example**: Sports fans celebrating a win and escalating to property destruction. - **Mechanism**: Group discussion amplifies initial positions, making conservative members more cautious and aggressive members more risk-taking. - **Origin**: - **Initial Term**: Risky Shift, coined in the early 1960s, described the tendency of groups to take more risks than individuals would alone. - **Evolution**: Inconsistencies led to the term 'stingy shift,' where groups became more conservative. - **Causes of Groupshift**: - **Diffusion of Responsibility**: Shared responsibility within the group reduces individual anxiety and perceived risk. - **Social Status and Risk-Taking**: Higher social status in groups is linked to risk-taking, pushing members away from low-risk positions. - **Confidence and Persuasion**: Confident high-risk takers can persuade others to take greater risks. - **Familiarity Reduces Risk**: Familiarity with a possible action reduces perceived risk. - **Group Size Effect**: Larger groups have a greater tendency towards deindividuation, amplifying risk-taking behaviors. - **Gender Differences**: Males are generally greater risk-takers than females, supported by accident statistics. - **Utilizing the Risky Shift**: - **Manipulation**: Understanding the mechanism of post-discussion groupshift can help manipulate decision-making. - **Perceptual Process**: Educating individuals on decision-making skills involves examining the perceptual process that leads to groupshift. - **Preventing Groupshift**: - **Team Leaders' Role**: Maintain focus, apply positive values, and ensure constructive behaviors in all decisions and actions. ### See also - 🎲 [Group Decision-Making](https://www.google.com/search?q=group+decision+making): Explore strategies for making effective decisions in group settings. - 🧠 [Social Psychology](https://www.google.com/search?q=social+psychology): Learn about how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the presence of others. ### You may also enjoy - 📊 [Risk Management](https://www.google.com/search?q=risk+management): Understand how to identify, assess, and prioritize risks. - 🧬 [Behavioral Economics](https://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+economics): Discover how psychological insights influence economic decision-making.

Answer 63

Narrow verb associations represent people’s tendency to focus on only a limited meaning of a verb—out of its multiple potential meanings—when describing a problem that they are trying to solve, which causes them to unnecessarily limit the range of possible solutions. By learning to overcome these narrow verb associations, you can become more successful at finding new approaches to solving problems that you encounter.For example, consider the two-rings problem which was discussed earlier, which is a brain teaser where people are told to find a way to fasten two metal rings to each other, using only a long candle, a match, and a small steel cube. In this case, thinking about the various ways in which one can fasten things to each other can help you find the correct solution to the problem (which is to scrape the wax from the candle in order to reveal the wick, and then using the wick to tie the rings together).In particular, a good way to do this is to create a list of troponyms, which are verbs that describe a specific way of performing a general action that’s described by another verb. Below, you can see some of the troponyms of fasten, which describe the various ways in which things can be fastened:A list of troponyms for the verb 'fasten'In the context of the two-rings problem, some of these verbs, such as screw and buckle, can easily be ruled out as irrelevant. However, realizing that the action of fastening can be accomplished by tying things together can help you realize that the candle’s wick is essentially a string which can be used to tie the two rings together.As such, learning to overcome narrow verb associations, by coming up with a list of troponyms that describe the process that you are trying to perform in various ways, can help you come up with more innovative solutions. As in the case of creating a generic-parts diagram in order to overcome functional fixedness, this too is a relatively straightforward process, that can easily help you improve your creative process, regardless of whether you’re naturally creative or not.Note that although this technique is used primarily for verbs, it can also be helpful when thinking about other aspects of your problems, by looking at the hyponyms—which are words with a more specific meaning than another word—of relevant nouns, adjectives, or adverbs.In addition, you don’t have to try and come up with a list of relevant hyponyms yourself, though it can help you think about the problem that you are addressing. Instead, there are many tools that can assist you in this, such as online thesauruses and Princeton’s WordNet project.

Answer 64

he modo hoc, or "just this," fallacy is the informal error of assessing meaning to an existent based on the constituent properties of its material makeup while omitting the matter's arrangement. [2]For instance, metaphysical naturalism states that while matter and motion are all that comprise man, it cannot be assumed that the characteristics inherent in the elements and physical reactions that make up man ultimately and solely define man's meaning; for, a cow which is alive and well and a cow which has been chopped up into meat are the same matter but it is obvious that the arrangement of that matter clarifies those different situational meanings.[3][edit] ExceptionsSome properties are such that, if every part of a whole has the property, then the whole will, too. In such instances, the fallacy of composition does not apply. For example, if all parts of a chair are green, then it is acceptable to infer that the chair is green. Or if all parts of a table are wooden, it is acceptable to infer that the table is wooden. A property of all parts that can be ascribed to the whole is called an "expansive" property, according to Nelson Goodman.[4] For a property to be expansive, it must be absolute (as opposed to relative) and structure-independent (as opposed to structure dependent), according to Frans H. van Eemeren. [5]The meanings of absolutes do not imply a comparison, whereas the meanings of relatives do. E.g., being green or wooden are absolutes, whereas fast or heavy or cheap are relatives. We know whether something is green or wooden without reference to other things, whereas we do not know whether something is fast or heavy or cheap without implicitly comparing it to other things. Relative properties are never expansive. E.g., it does not follow that if all parts of a chair are cheap, then the chair is cheap.Absolute properties shared by all constituent parts of a whole are expansive only if they are independent of the nature of the whole's structure or arrangement. That is, if it does not matter whether the whole is a summation or integration, an unordered collection or a cohesive whole, then the property is said to be independent. [6] Consider the example, X is green. It does not matter whether X is a chair (an integration or coherent whole) or just a pile of twigs (a summation or unordered collection). Green is therefore an independent property. Now consider the example, X is rectangular. Rearrange a rectangular object -- e.g., tear up the pages of a book -- and it might not stay rectangular. Rectangularness is a structure dependent property and is therefore non-expansive.F

Answer 65

- **Definition**: Risk aversion is the tendency to prefer certain, potentially lower payoffs over uncertain, potentially higher payoffs. It is a concept in psychology, economics, and finance, focusing on behavior under uncertainty. - **Key Points**: - **Behavior**: Risk-averse individuals avoid uncertainty, even if the uncertain option might lead to a higher payoff. - **Example**: A risk-averse investor would choose a low-interest bank account over a volatile stock with higher potential returns. - **Example Scenarios**: - **Guaranteed vs. Uncertain Payoff**: - Guaranteed scenario: $50 guaranteed. - Uncertain scenario: 50% chance to win $100 or nothing. - **Risk Attitudes**: - **Risk-Averse**: Prefers a guaranteed amount less than $50 (e.g., $40) over the gamble. - **Risk Neutral**: Indifferent between the $50 guarantee and the gamble. - **Risk-Seeking**: Requires more than $50 guaranteed (e.g., $60) to avoid the gamble. - **Public Understanding and Risk in Social Activities**: - **Government Agencies**: Often risk-averse, focusing on minimizing risks, sometimes at the cost of losing utility. - **Children's Services**: Overemphasis on safety, such as impact-absorbing matting in playgrounds, can lead to fewer resources for other benefits and poorer risk management understanding among children. - **Health and Safety**: The MMR vaccine controversy led some parents to avoid vaccination despite disproven autism claims, reflecting extreme risk aversion. - **Real-World Applications**: - **Bribery and Corruption**: Weighing the risk of being caught against the potential rewards. - **Drug Use**: Considering the risk of a bad experience versus potential benefits. - **Sex**: Evaluating the risk of unconventional experiences against social, ethical, and health standards. - **Extreme Sports**: Overcoming fear and biological predispositions to engage in high-risk activities. - **Children’s Play**: Balancing safety and developmental benefits of risky play. ### See also - 🎲 [Risk Management](https://www.google.com/search?q=risk+management): Explore strategies for identifying, assessing, and prioritizing risks. - 🧠 [Behavioral Economics](https://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+economics): Learn how psychological factors influence economic decisions. ### You may also enjoy - 📊 [Decision Theory](https://www.google.com/search?q=decision+theory): Understand the mathematical framework for making logical choices. - 🧬 [Psychology of Fear](https://www.google.com/search?q=psychology+of+fear): Delve into the study of fear and its effects on decision-making.

Answer 66

- **Definition**: The simulation heuristic is a psychological strategy where people determine the likelihood of an event based on how easily they can mentally picture it. This often leads to greater regret over outcomes that are easier to imagine, such as "near misses." - **Key Points**: - **Origin**: First theorized by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. - **Mechanism**: People use this heuristic to predict others' behavior and answer counterfactual questions by mentally undoing events and simulating alternative outcomes. - **Example Study**: Participants judged a man who missed his flight by 5 minutes as more upset than one who missed it by 30 minutes, due to the ease of imagining minor changes that could have allowed him to catch the flight. - **History**: - Introduced by Kahneman and Tversky in a lecture in 1979 and published in 1982. - **Difference from Availability Heuristic**: - Simulation heuristic relies on ease of imagining alternative scenarios, whereas the availability heuristic depends on the ease of recalling past examples. - **Applications**: - **Regret and Counterfactual Thinking**: People feel more regret over outcomes that are easy to mentally undo, such as selling a winning lottery ticket an hour before the draw versus two weeks before. - **Clinical Anxiety**: Anxious individuals are more prone to simulate negative events, leading to heightened expectations of future negative occurrences. - **Health Behavior**: Message framing impacts attitudes based on the ease of imagining symptoms. Negatively framed messages are more persuasive when symptoms are easily imagined. - **Influence of Other Heuristics**: - **Message Framing**: The impact of health messages is moderated by the ease of imagination. Positive framing works better when symptoms are hard to imagine, while negative framing is more effective when symptoms are easily imagined. ### See also - 🧠 [Counterfactual Thinking](https://www.google.com/search?q=counterfactual+thinking): Explore the concept of imagining alternative outcomes and its psychological impacts. - 🧩 [Heuristics in Decision Making](https://www.google.com/search?q=heuristics+in+decision+making): Learn more about the mental shortcuts used in making judgments and decisions. ### You may also enjoy - 📚 [Cognitive Psychology](https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+psychology): Delve into the study of mental processes including perception, thinking, and problem-solving. - 🎲 [Behavioral Economics](https://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+economics): Understand how psychological factors affect economic decisions and behavior.

Answer 67

- **Definition**: Circumlocution is the act of using more words than necessary, often to be vague, evasive, or misleading. - **Key Points**: - **Intent**: Used to obscure the true meaning or avoid answering a question directly. - **Recognition**: Identify circumlocution by determining if unnecessary words are used without valid reason. - **Response**: Addressing circumlocution can involve directly calling it out, ignoring it, or subtly resolving the issue. - **Examples of Circumlocution**: - **Salesperson**: Uses technical jargon to confuse and persuade customers. - **Executive**: Gives a lengthy, unclear response to avoid admitting company wrongdoing. - **Dialogue Example**: - **Reporter**: Is it true that your company is being fined for violating multiple laws? - **Executive**: This is an important question... [continues with vague, evasive language]. - **Student**: Uses filler phrases to stall while thinking of an answer. - **Dialogue Example**: - **Teacher**: Can you tell me what were the causes of this event? - **Student**: Yes, I’m happy to share the causes... [continues with filler phrases]. - **Search Engines**: Using descriptive phrases instead of specific terms, e.g., "a machine that puts moisture into the air" instead of "humidifier". - **Writing**: Using long phrases instead of concise ones, e.g., “this solution has the potential ability to prevent” instead of “this solution can prevent”. - **Reasons for Circumlocution**: - **Fallacious Use**: To be vague, evasive, or misleading, often to hide one's stance or shift attention. - **Non-Fallacious Use**: - Not knowing or remembering a specific word or phrase. - Thinking while speaking. - Avoiding technical terms. - Feeling awkward about the topic. - Conveying politeness. - Achieving a literary effect. - Communicating in a foreign language. - **Neurological Disorders**: Sometimes a symptom of disorders like aphasia, though also common in healthy individuals. ### See also - 🗣️ [Evasive Language](https://www.google.com/search?q=evasive+language): Understand tactics used to avoid direct answers. - 📚 [Communication Strategies](https://www.google.com/search?q=communication+strategies): Learn about effective communication techniques and how to avoid circumlocution. ### You may also enjoy - 🎭 [Rhetorical Devices](https://www.google.com/search?q=rhetorical+devices): Explore various techniques used in speech and writing. - 💬 [Concise Communication](https://www.google.com/search?q=concise+communication): Improve your ability to express ideas clearly and succinctly.

Answer 68

Destroying the Exception is essentially the construction of a fallacious argument by applying a general statement a to specific incidents that is obviously an exception.This fallacy occurs when one attempts to apply a general rule to an irrelevant situation.For instance: Cutting people with a knife is a crime. Surgeons cut people with knives. Surgeons are criminals.The logical fallacy of accident, also called destroying the exception or a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid, is a deductive fallacy occurring in statistical syllogisms (an argument based on a generalization) when an exception to the generalization is ignored. It is one of the thirteen fallacies originally identified by Aristotle.It is easy to construct fallacious arguments by applying general statements to specific incidents that are obviously exceptions.Generalizations that are weak generally have more exceptions (the number of exceptions to the generalization need not be a minority of cases) and vice versa.This fallacy typically occurs when we mix up CATEGORICAL statements (ie "always", "all", "never", etc) and GENERALIZATIONS (a softer assertion that employs qualifying words like "some, many", rarely", etc...the use of which actually allows for exceptions). The mistake is made when the arguer uses the categorical statements ("always and everywhere") when he should really be using a GENERALIZTION ("some").This fallacy is essentially [...]For example: Germans are NazisThe premise above could be used in an argument concluding that all Germans or current Germans should be held responsible for the actions of the Nazis. Qualifying the first term: Some Germans are NazisThis premise may make it more obvious it is making an (extremely weak) generalization and not a categorical rule.Related inductive fallacies include: overwhelming exception, hasty generalization. See faulty generalization.The opposing kind of dicto simpliciter fallacy is the converse accident.generalizations ("some") for . It may be encouraged when no qualifying words like "some", "many", "rarely" etc. are used to mark the generalization.For example: Germans are NazisThe premise above could be used in an argument concluding that all Germans or current Germans should be held responsible for the actions of the Nazis. Qualifying the first term: Some Germans are NazisThis premise may make it more obvious it is making an (extremely weak) generalization and not a categorical rule.Related inductive fallacies include: overwhelming exception, hasty generalization. See faulty generalization.The opposing kind of dicto simpliciter fallacy is the converse accident.

Answer 69

People who use false dilemmas often combine them with other logical fallacies, such as strawman arguments, which involve misrepresenting an opposing view, or appeals to emotion, which involve presenting misleading arguments with the goal of manipulating people’s emotions. A common example of this is when people exaggerate the characteristics of the two sides in a false dichotomy, in order to make their favored side appear more positive, and make the opposing side appear more negative.This is important to keep in mind, for several reasons: The use of additional fallacies provides clues into people’s reasoning process. As such, it can help you identify cases where they’re using fallacious reasoning unintentionally, because they misunderstand the situation at hand, and can help you figure out what this misunderstanding is based on. The use of additional fallacies affects the way other people perceive the false dilemma. This is means that, if you want to accurately understand how an audience will react to the fallacious argument, and whether they will be persuaded it by, you must take into account the use of these additional fallacies. The use of additional fallacies affects the way in which you should counter the false dilemma. Because these fallacies can play such a critical role in the way people perceive the false dilemma, in many cases you have to take them into account in your response, and you might, for example, have to respond to them directly before countering the dilemma itself.Caveats about false dilemmasThere are two important caveats you should keep in mind when responding to a false dilemma: Not every dilemma is a false dilemma. In some cases, a dilemma or a dichotomy might be entirely valid, and you shouldn’t automatically assume that every dilemma that you encounter is fallacious. If you’re unsure whether a certain dilemma is false, examine its underlying premises, and check whether its assumption of mutual exclusivity and collective exhaustivity is reasonable or not. Not every use of a false dilemma is intentional. People often use false dilemmas unintentionally both in their internal reasoning process, as well in their arguments. This is important to keep in mind, because it means that you could be using false dilemmas yourself without being aware that you are doing so, and because you need to account for this when you respond to someone’s use of a false dilemma.In this regard, a good concept to keep in mind is the principle of charity, which denotes that, when interpreting someone’s statement, you should assume that the best possible interpretation of that statement is the one that the speaker meant to convey.

Answer 70

- **Definition**: Retroactive continuity (retcon) refers to the intentional alteration of previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. - **Reasons for Retconning**: - Accommodating sequels or derivative works. - Reintroducing popular characters. - Modernizing old series for contemporary audiences. - Simplifying complex continuity. - **Common in**: - Comic books (e.g., Marvel, DC). - Soap operas, movie sequels, professional wrestling. - Video games, radio series, novel series. - Roleplaying games (often termed "reality shift"). - **Origins of the Term**: - First used in 1974 in a theological context. - First fictional use in 1983's *All-Star Squadron* #18 by DC Comics. - Shortened to "retcon" in 1988 on USENET by Damian Cugley. - **Types of Retcons**: - **Addition**: Adds new details without contradicting previous facts. Examples include *All-Star Squadron* and *Untold Tales of Spider-Man*. - **Alteration**: Changes past events or character fates, common in horror films and superhero comics. Examples include Sherlock Holmes' return and the Klingon appearance change in *Star Trek*. - **Subtraction**: Removes previous stories from continuity, often through reboots or declaring events as dreams. Examples include *Dallas* and *The Lion King*. - **Related Concepts**: - **Shadow History**: New events within established events, reinterpreting motivations (e.g., Tim Powers' novels). - **Floating Timeline**: Characters remain the same age despite real-time progression. - **Direct Revisions**: Changes made directly to source material, as seen in George Lucas' edits to the *Star Wars* trilogy. - **Use in Literature**: - Stephen King's *Misery*: Protagonist forced to write a sequel that doesn't contradict prior events. - George Orwell's *Nineteen Eighty-Four*: Large-scale retconning by a totalitarian regime. - **References in Popular Culture**: - *Torchwood*: Memory-erasing drug called "Retcon." - *Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man*: Weapon called "Retcon Bomb." ### See also - 📚 [Comic Book History](https://www.google.com/search?q=comic+book+history): To explore the origins and evolution of comic books and their storytelling techniques. - 🎬 [Fictional Continuity](https://www.google.com/search?q=fictional+continuity): To understand how continuity is maintained or altered in various fictional works. ### You may also enjoy - 🕵️‍♂️ [Detective Stories](https://www.google.com/search?q=detective+stories): For a dive into stories involving complex narratives and retcons. - 🚀 [Science Fiction Worlds](https://www.google.com/search?q=science+fiction+worlds): To explore the imaginative and often retcon-heavy world-building in science fiction.

Answer 71

- **Definition**: The trolley problem is an ethical thought experiment introduced by Philippa Foot in 1967, analyzed by philosophers like Judith Jarvis Thomson, Peter Unger, and Frances Kamm. - **Overview**: - **Original Problem**: A runaway tram is headed towards five people; switching its path will kill one person instead of five. - **Utilitarian View**: It is obligatory to switch tracks, saving five lives at the expense of one. - **Opposing View**: Switching tracks involves participating in a moral wrong, making one responsible for the death. - **Related Problems**: - **The Fat Man**: Push a fat man off a bridge to stop a trolley and save five people. - **Moral Distinction**: Intentional harm vs. harm as a side effect (doctrine of double effect). - **The Fat Villain**: Push a villain responsible for endangering five people to his death to save them. - **The Track that Loops Back**: Divert a trolley to a track with one person, which loops back to the main track; the person's death is integral to saving five. - **Transplant**: A surgeon kills a healthy person to save five patients needing transplants. - **The Man in the Yard**: Divert a trolley into another trolley, derailing both and killing a man in a yard. - **The Mother**: Divert a trolley to save five people, but the one person on the other track is your mother. - **In Cognitive Science**: - **John Mikhail's Research**: Tested trolley problems across different demographics, suggesting a universal “moral grammar.” - **In Neuroethics**: - **Joshua Greene and Jonathan Cohen's Research**: Used fMRI to study brain responses, finding emotional responses in the fat man scenario and cognitive responses in the switch scenario. - **Psychology**: - **Daniel Bartels and David Pizarro's Study**: Found 10% of participants made utilitarian choices, correlated with psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and seeing life as meaningless. - **As Urban Legend**: - A drawbridge keeper must choose between sacrificing a passenger train or his son, often allegorized to the Christian belief in God sacrificing Jesus. ### See also - 🧠 [Ethical Dilemmas](https://www.google.com/search?q=ethical+dilemmas): Explore various thought experiments in ethics. - 🧩 [Cognitive Science](https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+science): Understand the interdisciplinary study of the mind and its processes. ### You may also enjoy - 🚂 [Philosophical Problems](https://www.google.com/search?q=philosophical+problems): Delve into more thought experiments and philosophical questions. - 🧬 [Neuroscience Discoveries](https://www.google.com/search?q=neuroscience+discoveries): Learn about the latest findings in brain research and their implications.

Answer 72

- **Definition**: Weasel words are informal terms for vague or ambiguous phrases that create an impression of meaningful communication without making a specific claim. - **Usage**: Often used in advertisements, political speech, and controversial statements to imply more than is actually stated. - **Examples**: - **Advertisements**: "Up to 50% off" invites readers to imagine significant discounts, though few items may be reduced by 50%. - **Statements**: Using terms like "somewhat" or "in most respects" to soften the force of controversial statements. - **Origin**: - Derived from the egg-eating habits of weasels, leaving eggs looking intact but actually empty. - First appeared in Stewart Chaplin's short story in 1900 and popularized by Theodore Roosevelt in 1916. - **Forms**: - **Examples**: "A growing body of evidence," "People say," "Critics claim," "Studies show," "Up to sixty percent." - **Categories**: - **Numerically Vague Expressions**: E.g., "some people," "experts." - **Passive Voice**: E.g., "It is said." - **Detensifiers**: E.g., "often," "probably." - **Other Forms**: Generalizations, non sequitur statements, qualifiers, subjunctive mood, euphemisms. - **Generalizations and Non Sequitur Statements**: - Disguise the validity or aim of statements. - Examples: "It has been suggested," "Allegedly." - **Extrapolating**: - Use of qualifiers and subjunctive mood to introduce unproven facts. - Examples: "For scientists as for so many others, evolution served as an example of a fundamental challenge." - **Passive and Middle Voice**: - Used to avoid blame or responsibility. - Examples: "Mistakes were made," "It stands to reason that most people will be better off." - **In Business**: - Soften uncomfortable facts using euphemisms. - Examples: "Headcount reduction" instead of "firing staff." - Advertising: Phrases like "Save up to $100 or more!" are misleading without specifics. - **Literature and Media**: - **Examples**: - Edward J. Ruppelt described J. Allen Hynek's report as "weasel wording." - Don Watson's books document the use of weasel words in government and corporate language. - **Encouragement**: Watson maintains a website for identifying and nominating examples of weasel words. ### See also - 🧩 [Rhetorical Devices](https://www.google.com/search?q=rhetorical+devices): Explore various techniques used in communication to persuade or influence. - 📰 [Media Literacy](https://www.google.com/search?q=media+literacy): Understand how to critically evaluate media content and identify misleading language. ### You may also enjoy - 💬 [Communication Skills](https://www.google.com/search?q=communication+skills): Learn about effective communication and avoiding vague language. - 📖 [Critical Thinking](https://www.google.com/search?q=critical+thinking): Improve your ability to analyze statements and arguments critically.

Answer 73

- **Definition**: The Violinist is a thought experiment by Judith Jarvis Thomson in 1971, used to discuss the morality of abortion. - **Key Points**: - **Purpose**: To challenge a popular anti-abortion argument that equates the fetus's right to life with an obligation to sustain its life. - **Thought Experiment**: Imagine you are kidnapped and hooked up to a famous violinist who needs your body to survive for nine months. Disconnecting means his death, but remaining attached is not seen as a moral obligation, despite the violinist's right to life. - **The "Famous Violinist" Thought Experiment**: - **Scenario**: You wake up connected to a famous violinist to sustain his life for nine months. The argument posited by the music lovers mirrors the anti-abortion stance: the violinist has a right to life, and disconnecting him would result in his death, which they claim is morally wrong. - **Moral Question**: While it would be generous to stay connected, are you morally obligated to do so? Thomson suggests the answer is no, differentiating between the right to life and the right to use someone else's body to sustain life. - **Parallel to Abortion**: The experiment aims to show that even if a fetus has a right to life, it does not necessarily have the right to use the pregnant woman's body for survival. - **Relation to Abortion Debate**: - **Thomson's Approach**: By granting, for the sake of argument, that the fetus is a person from conception, Thomson sidesteps the debate about fetal personhood to focus on whose rights are more stringent: the woman's or the fetus's. - **Foot’s Response – Killing vs. Letting Die**: - **Philippa Foot's Criticism**: Foot argues that Thomson's analogy fails by distinguishing between negative and positive rights. - **Negative vs. Positive Rights**: - **Negative Rights**: Rights to noninterference (e.g., not being killed). - **Positive Rights**: Rights to goods or services (e.g., being saved). - **Moral Weight**: Foot claims negative rights (e.g., not to be killed) carry more moral weight than positive rights (e.g., to be saved), and thus, it is harder to justify violating negative rights. - **Conclusion**: Initiating a fatal sequence (killing) is morally worse than not aiding (letting die). ### See also - 🎻 [Ethics of Abortion](https://www.google.com/search?q=ethics+of+abortion): Explore the moral and ethical debates surrounding abortion. - 📚 [Philosophical Thought Experiments](https://www.google.com/search?q=philosophical+thought+experiments): Discover more thought experiments in philosophy that challenge our moral intuitions. ### You may also enjoy - 🤔 [Moral Dilemmas](https://www.google.com/search?q=moral+dilemmas): Learn about different moral dilemmas that test ethical decision-making. - 🧠 [Cognitive Biases](https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+biases): Understand how cognitive biases influence our thinking and decision-making.

Answer 74

**Attitude Polarization** **Definition**: Attitude polarization, or belief polarization, refers to the phenomenon where a disagreement becomes more extreme as the different parties consider evidence on the issue. This effect, related to confirmation bias, occurs when individuals interpret evidence selectively to reinforce their existing beliefs or attitudes. **Key Points**: - **Confirmation Bias**: The tendency to search for and interpret evidence that supports one's preexisting beliefs, leading to a widening of disagreement when ambiguous evidence is encountered. - **Emotional Activation**: Attitude polarization is more likely to occur with emotionally charged issues, such as political hot-button topics. For most issues, new evidence does not produce a polarization effect. - **Social Comparison Processes**: These processes can exacerbate the effect, especially in settings where individuals repeat and validate each other's statements. **The Effects of Prior Theories on Subsequently Considered Evidence**: - **1979 Study by Lord, Ross, and Lepper**: - **Participants**: Two groups with strong opposing views on capital punishment. - **Procedure**: Participants were shown statements supporting or opposing the deterrent effect of the death penalty. - **Findings**: Participants rated research supporting their preexisting views as more convincing and well-conducted. Exposure to both supporting and conflicting research increased the strength of their original attitudes. - **Conclusion**: People are more critical of conflicting research and more accepting of supporting research, which reinforces their preexisting beliefs. **Role of Group Membership**: - **Group Polarization**: Research indicates that people are likely to adopt positions they believe are held by their group, even if they have just been placed in the group and have not met other members. **Utilizing and Preventing Attitude Polarization**: - **Awareness**: Recognizing the effects of confirmation bias and social comparison can help individuals and groups mitigate the effects of attitude polarization. - **Critical Thinking**: Encouraging critical evaluation of all evidence, regardless of whether it supports or opposes existing beliefs, can reduce the impact of polarization. - **Dialogue and Deliberation**: Promoting open dialogue and deliberative discussions can help bridge gaps between opposing views. **See also**: - 🧠 [Confirmation Bias](https://www.google.com/search?q=confirmation+bias): Explore how confirmation bias affects decision-making and belief formation. - 📚 [Group Polarization](https://www.google.com/search?q=group+polarization): Learn about how group dynamics influence the extremity of members' attitudes. **You may also enjoy**: - 🤔 [Cognitive Dissonance](https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+dissonance): Understand how conflicting beliefs lead to discomfort and changes in attitudes or behaviors. - 💬 [Constructive Debate Techniques](https://www.google.com/search?q=constructive+debate+techniques): Discover strategies to engage in productive and respectful debates.

Answer 75

- **Definition**: In prospect theory, loss aversion refers to people's tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains. Losses are often perceived to be twice as psychologically impactful as gains. - **Key Points**: - **Risk Aversion and Seeking**: - People exhibit risk aversion when evaluating potential gains. - Conversely, people may prefer risks to mitigate potential losses (risk seeking behavior). - **Sunk Cost Effect**: - Loss aversion can explain why people continue investing in a losing proposition due to the resources already spent (sunk costs). - **Marketing Implications**: - Trial periods and rebates capitalize on consumers' tendency to value goods more once they possess them. - Framing effects are significant; e.g., $5 discount vs. $5 surcharge. - **Social Psychology**: - Loss aversion is as much a concept of social psychology as economics. - Perception of loss, not the actual loss, drives behavior. - Example: Nations may go to war due to an inability to admit mistakes (cognitive dissonance). - **Alternative Example**: - Disease outbreak scenario: - Option A: Save 200 people. - Option B: 1/3 probability of saving all 600, but 2/3 probability of saving none. - Reframed scenario: Loss aversion causes different choices when the framing changes to losses. - **Loss Aversion and the Endowment Effect**: - **Endowment Effect**: People value owned goods higher than identical non-owned goods. - **Explanation**: Loss aversion explains the endowment effect and violates the Coase theorem (resource allocation independence from property rights under costless trades). - **Experiments**: Showed that loss aversion could explain the endowment effect better than other factors like transaction costs, habitual bargaining, or income effects. - **Eliminating Alternative Explanations**: - **Transaction Costs and Misunderstandings**: Tested by comparing goods markets to induced-value markets. - **Habitual Bargaining**: Controlled using random clearing prices. - **Income Effects**: Controlled by giving participants different initial goods and options to trade. - **Trophy Effects**: Eliminated by ensuring all participants had the same good. - **Questions About Loss Aversion**: - **Recent Studies**: Some research questions the existence of loss aversion, suggesting it might not occur with small payoffs or might be better explained by inertia. - **Alternative Explanations**: - Inertia vs. loss/gain asymmetry. ### See also - 🧠 [Prospect Theory](https://www.google.com/search?q=prospect+theory): Learn more about the foundational theory behind loss aversion. - 🧩 [Behavioral Economics](https://www.google.com/search?q=behavioral+economics): Explore the field that studies the effects of psychological factors on economic decisions. ### You may also enjoy - 📈 [Investment Psychology](https://www.google.com/search?q=investment+psychology): Understand how psychological factors influence investment decisions. - 🧩 [Cognitive Biases](https://www.google.com/search?q=cognitive+biases): Discover other biases that affect human judgment and decision-making.

Answer 76

**Observation vs. Evaluation**: Focus on facts (what we see, hear, or touch) rather than evaluating their meaning and significance. NVC discourages static generalizations. "When we combine observation with evaluation, others are apt to hear criticism and resist what we are saying." Instead, focus on observations specific to time and context. **Feelings and Needs**: Feelings indicate whether a need is fulfilled (positive feeling) or unfulfilled (negative feeling). Focus on fulfilling the need, not the emotion. Emotions or sensations should be free of thought and story, distinct from thoughts and colloquial feelings that convey evaluations or perceptions of others' actions. Identifying feelings helps connect with others and resolve conflicts. **Needs**: Refer to universal human needs, distinct from specific strategies to meet them. "Everything we do is in service of our needs." **Requests**: Make specific action requests, free of demand. A request differs from a demand in that it is open to a "no" without triggering forceful behavior. If receiving a "no," empathize with the other person's reasons before deciding how to proceed. Use clear, positive, concrete action language for requests. ### Modes of NVC Application **Self-Empathy**: Connect compassionately with what is going on inside us. This involves, without blame, noticing our thoughts, judgments, feelings, and connecting to the needs affecting us. **Receiving Empathically**: Connect with what is alive in the other person and what would make life wonderful for them. Empathic connection involves understanding the heart, seeing the beauty and divine energy in the other person. It's not about feeling the same feelings (sympathy) but being present with the other person. Listen for underlying observations, feelings, needs, and requests, and reflect a paraphrase highlighting NVC components implicit in their message. **Expressing Honestly**: Likely involves expressing an observation, feeling, need, and request. An observation may be omitted if the conversation context is clear. A feeling might be omitted if there is sufficient connection, or naming a feeling isn't likely to contribute to connection. Naming a need in addition to a feeling reduces the likelihood of others thinking you are making them responsible for your feeling. Making a request in addition to naming a need reduces the likelihood of others inferring a vague demand. These components work synergistically. An observation sets the context, feelings support connection and getting out of our heads, needs support connection and identify what is important, and a request clarifies the desired response. Using these components together minimizes chances of disconnecting speculation about your wants and reasons. --- ### See Also - 🧠 [Nonviolent Communication](https://www.google.com/search?q=nonviolent+communication): Learn more about the principles and practices of NVC. - 📚 [Empathy in Communication](https://www.google.com/search?q=empathy+in+communication): Explore how empathy can improve interpersonal communication and relationships. ### You May Also Enjoy - 🤝 [Conflict Resolution Techniques](https://www.google.com/search?q=conflict+resolution+techniques): Discover strategies to effectively resolve conflicts. - 💬 [Active Listening Skills](https://www.google.com/search?q=active+listening+skills): Improve your listening skills to enhance communication and understanding.

Answer 77

**Memento Mori: An Artistic Reminder of Mortality** *Memento mori* is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember you must die." It names a genre of artistic creations that vary widely but share the purpose of reminding people of their mortality and the consequences of transgressing their religious rules. ### Classical Origins In ancient Rome, the phrase was believed to be used during a Roman general's victory parade. A slave would remind the general of his mortality by saying, "Memento mori." Another possible phrase used is "Respice post te! Hominem te memento!": "Look behind you! Remember that you are but a man!" as noted by Tertullian in his *Apologeticus*. This tradition aimed to keep the general humble and aware of his mortality. ### Christian Influence Christianity emphasized Divine Judgment, Heaven, Hell, and the salvation of the soul, bringing death to the forefront of consciousness. Most *memento mori* works are products of Christian art, serving to emphasize the fleeting nature of earthly pleasures and luxuries, inviting contemplation of the afterlife. A Biblical injunction associated with *memento mori* is Ecclesiasticus 7:40: "In all thy works be mindful of thy last end and thou wilt never sin." This is ritually expressed in the Catholic rites of Ash Wednesday with the words "Remember Man that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." ### Funereal Art and Architecture The most obvious *memento mori* meditations are in funereal art and architecture. Notable examples include: - **Transi or Cadaver Tombs**: These tombs depict decayed corpses of the deceased, serving as a stark reminder of the vanity of earthly riches. - **Danse Macabre (Dance of Death)**: Depictions of the Grim Reaper carrying off individuals, rich and poor alike, commonly decorated European churches. - **Puritan Tombstones**: In colonial United States, tombstones frequently depicted winged skulls, skeletons, or angels snuffing out candles. ### Timepieces and Mortality Timepieces served as reminders of the finite nature of life. Public clocks were decorated with mottos such as: - *Ultima forsan* ("perhaps the last [hour]") - *Vulnerant omnes, ultima necat* ("they all wound, and the last kills") - *Tempus fugit* ("time flies") Old striking clocks often featured automata who struck the hour, with some clocks having Death strike the hour. Private reminders included watches carved in the form of a skull, such as the one owned by Mary Queen of Scots. ### Vanitas A version of the *memento mori* theme in still life art is known as *vanitas* (Latin for "vanity"). These artworks include symbols of mortality, such as: - **Skulls** - **Flowers losing petals** Both *memento mori* and *vanitas* serve to remind viewers of the impermanence of life and the importance of contemplating their mortality. --- ### See Also - 🎨 [Vanitas Art](https://www.google.com/search?q=vanitas+art): Explore the art genre that reflects the transient nature of life. - ⏳ [Time and Mortality](https://www.google.com/search?q=time+and+mortality): Learn how different cultures and eras have depicted the passage of time and the inevitability of death. ### You May Also Enjoy - 💀 [Skull Imagery in Art](https://www.google.com/search?q=skull+imagery+in+art): Discover how skulls have been used symbolically in various art forms. - ⏱️ [Historical Clocks and Timepieces](https://www.google.com/search?q=historical+clocks+and+timepieces): Delve into the history of timekeeping devices and their cultural significance.

Answer 78

**Correspondent Inference Theory: Understanding How Observers Infer Motives** ### Overview **Correspondent Inference Theory** explains the cognitive process by which an observer infers the motives behind an actor's behavior. Developed from the foundational work of Fritz Heider, the father of attribution theory, it seeks to answer how people attribute others' actions to their internal dispositions rather than external circumstances. ### Heider's Influence Fritz Heider saw individuals as “naïve psychologists,” motivated by a practical need to simplify, comprehend, and predict others' motives. He proposed that people use inferential rules to process information, often attributing behavior to inherent personality traits rather than situational factors. ### Development by Jones Jones expanded on Heider's work, resolving the crucial question of how an observer infers an actor's motives based on behavior. He demonstrated that observers tend to interpret an actor's objective in terms of the consequences of their actions. For example, if a boy notices his mother shut the door and the room becomes quieter, he infers that she wanted quiet. Jones called this the “attribute-effect linkage,” where the objectives of the actor are presumed to be encoded in the observable outcome of their behavior. ### Real-World Implications This theory helps explain why people often believe they understand the motives of terrorists or other actors based on the observable consequences of their actions. The presumed motives can shift rapidly and contradictorily based on recent events and outcomes. ### Factors Influencing Inferences When making attributions about others, we compare their actions with alternative actions, evaluating the choices they have made. Inferences are influenced by: 1. **Voluntariness**: Whether the behavior is voluntary and freely chosen. 2. **Non-common Effects**: What is unexpected about the behavior. 3. **Social Desirability**: Whether the behavior is socially desirable. 4. **Hedonic Relevance**: Whether the behavior impacts the person doing the inferring. 5. **Personalism**: Whether the behavior is of personal interest to the person doing the inferring. ### Example Consider a person choosing between two similar jobs, differing only in location and salary. If they choose the lower salary job, it is easier to attribute this choice to personal preferences, such as valuing location over money, rather than external factors. ### Practical Application When surprised by someone's actions, it might seem obvious that these actions reflect their inherent character traits. However, it is crucial to look closer, as this may not be true. Observers should consider the situational context and other possible factors influencing behavior. ### Related Concept **Attribution Theory**: This broader theory encompasses how people explain the causes of behavior and events, integrating both internal (dispositional) and external (situational) attributions. --- ### See Also - 🔍 [Attribution Theory](https://www.google.com/search?q=Attribution+Theory): Explore the broader framework of how people explain the causes of behavior. - 🧠 [Cognitive Biases](https://www.google.com/search?q=Cognitive+Biases): Learn about various biases that affect human judgment and decision-making. ### You May Also Enjoy - 🎭 [Psychological Heuristics](https://www.google.com/search?q=Psychological+Heuristics): Delve into the mental shortcuts people use to simplify decision-making. - 🌐 [Social Psychology](https://www.google.com/search?q=Social+Psychology): Understand how individuals' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

supermemo4 Flashcards

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