Three Fatal Mistakes:
The officers that night made three fatal mistakes. They failed to realize he was simply getting some air, they failed to realize that he wasn't brazen, but curious, and they failed to realize he was terrified, not dangerous. "The officers made a series of critical misjudgements, beginning with the assumption that a man getting a breath of fresh air outside his own home was a potential criminal."
The Theory of Mind Reading:
The whole theory behind mind reading is that it all lies in the face. You can accurately know what any one is feeling if you know what to look for. "Tomkins believed that faces- even the faces of horses- held valuable clues to inner emotions and motivations."
The Naked Face:
The face is an enormously important piece in determining someone's emotions. It holds the secrets to anyone's emotions. A properly trained person can accurately determine the emotion of any one with little difficulty. Some even claim it is fundamental to mind reading;"In a certain sense, It is what's going on in our mind."
A Man, A Woman and a Light Switch:
The fundamental loss of the ability to mind- read is the condition of Autism. They can be brilliant in other areas yet lack intuition. "In anything less than a perfectly literal environment, the autistic person is lost."
Arguing with A Dog:
When Humans are confronted with near-death experiences the heart begins to race. Between a heart rate of 115-145 our vision constricts, time slows down, and we stop hearing. if our heart rate exceeds 145, our control deteriorates and we can lose control. "Have you ever tried to have a discussion with a scared or frightend human? You can't do it."
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Perception
What were your impressions of the lecture and Test from Dr. Gillian? In your opinion, what should the average person know about how our brain perceives the world? What are the larger implications of this?
My impression of the lecture and the test were that humans really do shut out things easily and quickly get used to things, like your walking back and forth in front of the screen, and ignore it. I also think that we pay attention to things, but if they look simmilar to something we already know. I think the average person should be able to know what they see and why they see it. If you can't understand why you see it then, you can't know what you're seeing. That we could completely miss any important event occuring simply because we're programmed not to.
My impression of the lecture and the test were that humans really do shut out things easily and quickly get used to things, like your walking back and forth in front of the screen, and ignore it. I also think that we pay attention to things, but if they look simmilar to something we already know. I think the average person should be able to know what they see and why they see it. If you can't understand why you see it then, you can't know what you're seeing. That we could completely miss any important event occuring simply because we're programmed not to.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Blink- Warren G. Harding
Describe how Warren G. Harding rose to the Presidency in 1920.
Warren G. Harding rose thought the Republican Party to become President in 1920 entirely due to his good looks and the fact that he looked presidential. His rapid rise had nothing to do with his intelligence, or even for the want of it. He was driven entirely by his wife and by his chief adviser. He was not the leading candidate at the conventions. Instead it was deadlocked between two others, and behind closed doors, the leaders of the republican party could not agree on either on, so they picked a nobody who looked very presidential and radiated confidence, yet he lacked the intelligence and nuance required for the job. He bluffed his way in, or rather his adviser bluffed him in.
Why does the author believe that people were in error in promoting Harding to higher office?
He believes that they were in error because he obviously did not have the necessary skills to adequately deal with such a demanding and important job. Also due to the fact that he was woefully under qualified; He was a nobody who people at the time thought looked good. He had no redeeming qualities suitable for the job.
What was the point of the “Implicit Association Test (IAT)?”
The point of the IAT was to determine the unconscious reflexes we posses when it comes to things like sex, ethnicity, color, or nationality. It was meant to detect our unconscious reactions to the above mentioned differences between us.
What are the advantages to completing the IAT on computer? Why does Gladwell believe the IAT has become “so popular in recent years?”
By completing the IAT on a computer, it allows the time it takes you to respond to be more accurately measure so it is easier to determine your reaction time. Gladwell believes it has become so popular in recent years is the fact that in recent years there has been renewed arguments over Affirmative Action and the wealth spread.
Why, according to Gladwell, did he become mortified upon completion of the first part of the IAT test on race? What occurred on the second part of the IAT test?
He became mortified on the first part because he was finding it easier to match things to the "white and good vs black and evil" chart than the "white and evil vs black and good" chart. This mortified him because he is not racist and the thought of being unconsciously racist was mortifying. On the second part of the IAT test he found it even harder to do the second chart.
Did it make any difference how many times Gladwell took the test? What does the author believe is the reason for our answers on the IAT (i.e. what does the IAT measure)?
It did not matter how many times he took the test the results always came out the same. He did it several time but was unable to change the results in any way. Gladwell believes that the reason for our answers is that in the media, in the movies and in our culture, white is generally seen as good and black is generally associated with evil.
If Gladwell is correct, that your unconscious acts as a computer that “crunches all the data” from our lives and “it forms an opinion”; would you consider this to your true self? Please explain your answer.
No, this is not our true self. It is hardwired into us by our culture. Our true self is what we choose to do having experienced everything we have experiences and learned.
Does Gladwell feel that it matters if one has a “strongly pro-white pattern of associations?”
Yes, because then our answers would be slanted toward whites being good and blacks being bad.
How does the Warren Harding error impact the business world?
In the business world the Warren Harding error makes a large impact. Almost 80% of the CEOs in the United States of America are tall, white men which is exactly what our culture's image of a rich, successful CEO is. The Warren Harding error makes a huge impact in the business world; There aren't many short CEOs, There aren't many black CEOs and there aren't many women CEO's.
How does Bob Golomb’s strategy defeat the Warren Harding error?
His strategy assess everyone exactly the same, ignoring their difference and offering the same price to everyone, acting the same way with everyone and having the same attitude with everyone. His strategy basically negates the effect of the Warren Harding by ignoring that initial response and treating everyone equally.
What were the results of the Ayres study? What does Gladwell believe to be the explanation for these results?
The result of the Ayers study were that the white men recieved the lowest offers, the white women recieved the next lowest and then the black women and the black men got the worst offfers, almost $2000 higher than the white man, and even after extensive and aggresive barganing, they could only lower the price to $800 more than the initial offer the white men recieved. Gladwell believed that the reason for this was not that they were incrediably racist or bigots but that they heard somewhere that blacks and women were 'suckers' and they could easily make a ton of money off them.
How does Gladwell believe you can change your score on the race IAT? How, according to Gladwell, can we apply this rule to our everyday lives? Do you agree?
Gladwell believes that if you read, watch and hear more about blacks that had incredible self-sacrifice and were so much more honorable and did more good than millions (people like Martin Luther King Jr.) , you will eventually change your perception and improve your IAT score. Gladwell says that if apply this to our everyday lives by associating more with blacks, we will eventually improve our unconcious perception. I agree with Gladwell, that if we hear, see and experience more positive things about blacks we will improve our unconcious perception.
Warren G. Harding rose thought the Republican Party to become President in 1920 entirely due to his good looks and the fact that he looked presidential. His rapid rise had nothing to do with his intelligence, or even for the want of it. He was driven entirely by his wife and by his chief adviser. He was not the leading candidate at the conventions. Instead it was deadlocked between two others, and behind closed doors, the leaders of the republican party could not agree on either on, so they picked a nobody who looked very presidential and radiated confidence, yet he lacked the intelligence and nuance required for the job. He bluffed his way in, or rather his adviser bluffed him in.
Why does the author believe that people were in error in promoting Harding to higher office?
He believes that they were in error because he obviously did not have the necessary skills to adequately deal with such a demanding and important job. Also due to the fact that he was woefully under qualified; He was a nobody who people at the time thought looked good. He had no redeeming qualities suitable for the job.
What was the point of the “Implicit Association Test (IAT)?”
The point of the IAT was to determine the unconscious reflexes we posses when it comes to things like sex, ethnicity, color, or nationality. It was meant to detect our unconscious reactions to the above mentioned differences between us.
What are the advantages to completing the IAT on computer? Why does Gladwell believe the IAT has become “so popular in recent years?”
By completing the IAT on a computer, it allows the time it takes you to respond to be more accurately measure so it is easier to determine your reaction time. Gladwell believes it has become so popular in recent years is the fact that in recent years there has been renewed arguments over Affirmative Action and the wealth spread.
Why, according to Gladwell, did he become mortified upon completion of the first part of the IAT test on race? What occurred on the second part of the IAT test?
He became mortified on the first part because he was finding it easier to match things to the "white and good vs black and evil" chart than the "white and evil vs black and good" chart. This mortified him because he is not racist and the thought of being unconsciously racist was mortifying. On the second part of the IAT test he found it even harder to do the second chart.
Did it make any difference how many times Gladwell took the test? What does the author believe is the reason for our answers on the IAT (i.e. what does the IAT measure)?
It did not matter how many times he took the test the results always came out the same. He did it several time but was unable to change the results in any way. Gladwell believes that the reason for our answers is that in the media, in the movies and in our culture, white is generally seen as good and black is generally associated with evil.
If Gladwell is correct, that your unconscious acts as a computer that “crunches all the data” from our lives and “it forms an opinion”; would you consider this to your true self? Please explain your answer.
No, this is not our true self. It is hardwired into us by our culture. Our true self is what we choose to do having experienced everything we have experiences and learned.
Does Gladwell feel that it matters if one has a “strongly pro-white pattern of associations?”
Yes, because then our answers would be slanted toward whites being good and blacks being bad.
How does the Warren Harding error impact the business world?
In the business world the Warren Harding error makes a large impact. Almost 80% of the CEOs in the United States of America are tall, white men which is exactly what our culture's image of a rich, successful CEO is. The Warren Harding error makes a huge impact in the business world; There aren't many short CEOs, There aren't many black CEOs and there aren't many women CEO's.
How does Bob Golomb’s strategy defeat the Warren Harding error?
His strategy assess everyone exactly the same, ignoring their difference and offering the same price to everyone, acting the same way with everyone and having the same attitude with everyone. His strategy basically negates the effect of the Warren Harding by ignoring that initial response and treating everyone equally.
What were the results of the Ayres study? What does Gladwell believe to be the explanation for these results?
The result of the Ayers study were that the white men recieved the lowest offers, the white women recieved the next lowest and then the black women and the black men got the worst offfers, almost $2000 higher than the white man, and even after extensive and aggresive barganing, they could only lower the price to $800 more than the initial offer the white men recieved. Gladwell believed that the reason for this was not that they were incrediably racist or bigots but that they heard somewhere that blacks and women were 'suckers' and they could easily make a ton of money off them.
How does Gladwell believe you can change your score on the race IAT? How, according to Gladwell, can we apply this rule to our everyday lives? Do you agree?
Gladwell believes that if you read, watch and hear more about blacks that had incredible self-sacrifice and were so much more honorable and did more good than millions (people like Martin Luther King Jr.) , you will eventually change your perception and improve your IAT score. Gladwell says that if apply this to our everyday lives by associating more with blacks, we will eventually improve our unconcious perception. I agree with Gladwell, that if we hear, see and experience more positive things about blacks we will improve our unconcious perception.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
What's the Point?
The point of the short story "The Mouse ate the Cheese" is to demonstrate the differences between what is required to knopw things and what doesn't qualify as knowledge. It also probably meant to help people understand the distinguishment between knowledge and belief. You can believe something, but if it lacks justification it does not qualify as knowledge. Yet if you have justification, yet lack belief, you cannot know something. You must believe it, and you must have justification to know something. You cannot lack either quality. You must be completely sure of it.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Measure of Man
How does Bertrand Russell differentiate between “knowledge by acquaintance” and “knowledge by description”?
He says that “knowledge by acquaintance” is you knowing how one of your friends feel just by looking at them because you know them and have spent time with them so you can tell how they are feeling while “knowledge by description” is you knowing something because someone described it to you.
How does Abel distinguish between “knowing how” and “knowing that”?
Abel says knowing how is empirical knowledge, knowledge that you have gained through personal experience while knowing that is impersonal knowledge, knowledge that you have gained by being taught things and being told things.
What does he mean when he asks: “can knowing how theoretically always be reduced to knowing that? What is Abel’s answer? What do you think?
Theoretically, Abel says that knowing how can theoretically always be reduced to knowing that, but not in reality. I disagree; I don't think anything can actually replace the experience of doing something yourself.
How does language become a problem of knowledge?
Language is not so much a problem of knowledge as a problem in communicating knowledge. It separates people and therefore prevents people from communicating with each other, yet at the same time it is a problem of knowledge, a problem that you need to know how to communicate, you can't just telepathically communicate thoughts.
What do you think William James means when he says: “Life defies our phrases?”
He means that absolutely no words can sufficiently convey human experiences to another person, because no word is powerful enough and nobody experiences things in the same way; everyone has different points of view and opinions and everyone thinks differently.
What, according to Abel, is the difference between “experience” and “propositional knowledge”?
Experience is the actual doing of something, when you actually take part in it. On the flip side, propositional knowledge is when you know something because you were told it, or otherwise found it out without experiencing it (ie. reading, television, etc.)
What are Abel’s Four Conditions for propositional knowledge? Where have we seen this before? Why does he add a Fourth Condition?
Abel's four conditions are; belief, truth, justification, and a newer fourth condition; ability to be communicated. He adds a fourth condition to refine the conditions needed to qualify something to be called knowledge.
What are Abel’s Nine Good Reasons or Evidence which serve as the Basis of Knowledge?
Experience, the fact its public (widely accepted), justification, you believe in it, it has things to back it up, you being able to describe it, communicated effective, a reasonable person will accept it and the fact that you accept it. If it fits all these, Abel says that it is knowledge.
He says that “knowledge by acquaintance” is you knowing how one of your friends feel just by looking at them because you know them and have spent time with them so you can tell how they are feeling while “knowledge by description” is you knowing something because someone described it to you.
How does Abel distinguish between “knowing how” and “knowing that”?
Abel says knowing how is empirical knowledge, knowledge that you have gained through personal experience while knowing that is impersonal knowledge, knowledge that you have gained by being taught things and being told things.
What does he mean when he asks: “can knowing how theoretically always be reduced to knowing that? What is Abel’s answer? What do you think?
Theoretically, Abel says that knowing how can theoretically always be reduced to knowing that, but not in reality. I disagree; I don't think anything can actually replace the experience of doing something yourself.
How does language become a problem of knowledge?
Language is not so much a problem of knowledge as a problem in communicating knowledge. It separates people and therefore prevents people from communicating with each other, yet at the same time it is a problem of knowledge, a problem that you need to know how to communicate, you can't just telepathically communicate thoughts.
What do you think William James means when he says: “Life defies our phrases?”
He means that absolutely no words can sufficiently convey human experiences to another person, because no word is powerful enough and nobody experiences things in the same way; everyone has different points of view and opinions and everyone thinks differently.
What, according to Abel, is the difference between “experience” and “propositional knowledge”?
Experience is the actual doing of something, when you actually take part in it. On the flip side, propositional knowledge is when you know something because you were told it, or otherwise found it out without experiencing it (ie. reading, television, etc.)
What are Abel’s Four Conditions for propositional knowledge? Where have we seen this before? Why does he add a Fourth Condition?
Abel's four conditions are; belief, truth, justification, and a newer fourth condition; ability to be communicated. He adds a fourth condition to refine the conditions needed to qualify something to be called knowledge.
What are Abel’s Nine Good Reasons or Evidence which serve as the Basis of Knowledge?
Experience, the fact its public (widely accepted), justification, you believe in it, it has things to back it up, you being able to describe it, communicated effective, a reasonable person will accept it and the fact that you accept it. If it fits all these, Abel says that it is knowledge.
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