BIOM 3210 final

What is constructive criticism?

Identifying strengths and weaknesses, determining why something is good or poor and helping them improve and excel. Constructive criticism should be solution oriented

What is logic?

The correct or incorrect use of reasoning

How has creativity been used in the role of science?

A useful guess allow predictions to be made about what should happen in nature if the guess were true, we can then test those ideas!

How do people tend to think?

-tend to believe what they want to believe-tend to generalize from a single event-rarely examine the evidence and then form a conclusion-generally want to believe that things re simple rather than complex-mereley a recognition that people tend to think subjectively rather than objectively

What is the difference between an objective and a subjective fact?

Objective: things and events that can be independently measured or observed
Subjective: feelings, preferences and ideas, limited to the person experiencing it and cannot be indenendently measured

TF: details about subjective facts reveal the state of the world

FALSE: they reveal the state of a person mind

What is ambiguous language?

vagueness

T/F: argument= disagreement

FALSE

What is an argument?

A claim supported by other claims

What is the typical form an argument follow?

Since, (premise)And (premise)And (Premise)And (rebuttal premise) Therefore (conclusion)

What are the 5 criteria for a good argument?

StructureRelevanceAcceptability RebuttalSufficiency

What is a fallacy?

A fallacy is an argument based on an error of reasoning?

What are some characteristics of a fallacy?

-lack proper structure-may contain irrelevant premises-they contain false/doubtful/unreasonable premises-may not provide enough premises to support the conclusion-may fail to address important contradictory alternatives

What is the post hoc fallacy?

A occurred then B occurred therefore A caused B to happen

what is the appeal to tradition fallacy?

Appealing to feelings of relevance or respect for a tradition instead of evidence, especially when there is some more important principle or issue at risk

What is this an example of:VIrginia Military Institute should never have allowed women to enrol. Ever since Stonewall Jackson has been an all male school. My father graduated from there and went on to fight and die in Korea. He would turn over in his grave if..."

Appeal to Tradition

What is the appeal to popular opinion fallacy?

Lots of people believe it so it must be true

what is this an example of:50% of americans would be unhappy if a family member married an athesiest, therefore atheists must be bad people

popular opinion appeal

What is this an example of:Millions of people believe hat global warming is a hoax, therefore there must be some truth to it

appeal to popular opinion

What is Ad hominem: Poisoning the well

Preemptively presenting irrelevant info about an individual in an attempt to discredit their ideas before they are even stated.
Relies sometimes on factual but unimportant characteristic of the opposing individual to discredit his or her argument, usually before they have a chance to present it

what is this an example of?
Since you aren't a member of a frat or sorority, you are in no position to tell us how to treat our initiates.

Ad Hominem,: poisoning the well

What is this an example of?
My opponent suggests that lowering taxes is a good idea. This coming from someone who still lives with her parents.

Ad Hominem: Poisoning the well

What is an abusive ad hominem?

Attacking a person in an abusive way as a means of ignoring or discrediting their argument.
Instead of criticizing the persons ideas, the person is verbally attacked themselves.
The insult itself is not a fallacy, it is when the insult is used as a reason to explain why they're wrong

what is this an example of?
my opponent suggests that lowering taxes is a good idea. this coming from a loser who still loves with her parents.

abusive ad hominem because its attacking the person by calling them a loser

What is this an example of?
The skeptics need to start reading because theres 7000 animals that have been treated with stem cells in the US alone in he last few years...

abusive ad hominem

What is eh false alternative fallacy?

Promoting your weak point of view by presenting it together with an even weaker viewpoint, as if they are the only possibility when in reality there are better possibilities that have not been mentioned.

What is this an example of?
You're either with us or you're with the terrorists

false alternative

what is the wishful thinking fallacy?

I really want it to be true so it must be true
A desire for something to be true is an example of an unacceptable premise
Our desires are irrelevant in determining truth or falsity

what is this an example of?
There must be life after death because almost all people desire it. It is a part of the very nature of human beings to desire it. If there were no life after death then why would all humans desire it

Wishful thinking fallacy

What is the faulty analogy?

assuming that because two things are alike in one, usually trivial, respect, they must be alike in some other more important respect
Trivial similarities between two things do not serve as evidence that more important aspects are also similar

What is this an example of?
No-one objects to a physician looking up information about a difficult case, why then shouldn't students taking a difficult examination be permitted to use their notes?

Faulty analogy

What is this an example of?
Because magnets of the same poles oppose each other, gay marriage is wrong and improper.

faulty analogy

What is the straw man fallacy?

Misrepresenting an opponents position or argument in order to make it sound weak or foolish, and therefore easier to attack

what is this an example of?
Proponent: unless we construct a power plant n this area within the next 10 years, we will not be able to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity.
Opponent: so you couldn't care less what happens to the plant and wildlife in this area or even to human lives that might be dislocated by the building of this dam?

Straw man fallacy

What is arguing from ignorance?

You can't prove me wrong so I am right
Arguing for the truth simply because there is no evidence to the contrary

what is this an example of?
The women in my office must be satisfied with their salaries, because none of them have ever complained about their lower rate of pay

arguing from ignorance

What is resorting to ridicule or humour?

Injecting humour or ridicule into an argument in an effort to avoid responding to an opponents argument
diverts attention away from the main issue

What is this an example of?
WHen Reagan was asked about his age being an issue in the upcoming election, he made a point to say he would not make an issue of his opponents youth and inexperience in which the audience laughed and no further questions were asked about his age

resorting to humour or ridicule

What is appealing to irrelevant authority?

Attempting to support a claim by appealing to the judgement of: someone who doesn't have appropriate expertise, or an unidentified authority (e.g.: the internet) or an authority who is likely to be biased

What is arguing in a circle?

Using the conclusion as a premise in an argument either explicitly or implicitly
essentially an announcement which declares but does not provide support for a point of view

what is this an example of?
This community college is very paternalistic to students, they treat their students like children here.

arguing in a circle

what is fallacy of the mean?

assuming that a moderate or middle view between two extremes must be the best or right one, simply because it is the middle view

What is this an example of?
Dr. Mackenzie is about to administer a drug at a ate of 20mg/kg when a nurse points out that the proper dosage is 10mg/kg. They decide to give 15mg/kg.

fallacy of the mean

What does a fallacy mean in terms of an argument?

The conclusion is not supported by the flawed argument. DO NOT ASSUME that just because an argument has a fallacy that the conclusion is false. In order to figure out if it is true or false requires more research and better evidence

What is intuition?

rapid and subconscious memory retrieval

what does our subconscious mind do when faced with a difficult question?

Supplements it with an easy one like "do like this"

What is the affect heuristic?

influence of emotion on judgement is known as the affect heuristic

where does over-confidence stem from?

partly due to hindsight, which creates a false certainty that many random events from the past were completely predictable

Who is more likely to notice a mistake? You or an objective observer?

an objective observer, this is why we have co-pilots

What is system 1?

Our autonomic decision maker which helps us respond quickly and effortlessly to situations

what is system 2?

your conscious and deliberate process of applying mental effort to problem solving and assessing novel situations. Conscious thinking is slow
It requires concentration and attention
it is somewhat unpleasant

System 1 does not ask "what info is needed to draw a conclusion" instead it asks__________.

What conclusion can I draw from this limited info?

How does system 2 work in terms of capacity?

System two has limited capacity and can be overloaded.
It protects the most important activity so it receives the attention it needs
Depending on the importance of the main task, you may or may not have any awareness of the other things going on that would be normally be obvious

IS system two lazy?

Yes, we always intuitively take shorter routes when were not thinking
the same comes to the mind, we tend to choose the least effortful

what happens during cognitive business?

System 1 will have greater influence on other tasks when system two is busy. System 1 will also have more influence when system 2 is impaired

which system deals with self control?

system 2

What was the parole board study cited by Kahneman?

Freeing inmates was agreed to upon 65% of the time directly after a meal
When the jury or parole board did not eat and were hungry during making the decision, the safer decision to say no was concluded upon driven by system 1 cause system 2 is busy

what does rationality refer to?

The recognition and avoidance of biases

What happens when you are in a state of cognitive ease?

You are likely in a good mood, like what you see, believe what you hear, trust your intuitions and feel that the current situation is comfortably familiar and free of threats

what happens when you are in a state of cognitive strain?

You are more likely to be vigilant and suspicious, invest more effort in what you're doing, feel less comfortable and make fewer errors.

what are cognitive illusions?

False beliefs that feel true

what is the mere exposure effect?

the phenomenon that repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking or feeling knowledgeable about the,

Cognitive strain ________errors

reduces

TF: System 1 prefers a false explanation to no explanation

TRUE

when is it OK to jump to conclusions? When is it risky?

It is okay to jump to conclusions when they are likely to be correct, and the costs of an occasional mistake are acceptable
It is risky when he situation is unfamiliar and the stakes are high or their is no time to collect more info

TF: When system 1 reacts with surprise, system 2 is alerted and can decide whether to unbelief it or not

true

Does it matter how a question is asked?

YEs because if the question is" Is sam friendly? system 1 scans the brain for memories of sam being friendly where as if the question was asked is sam unfriendly, the brain searches for examples of him being unfriendly . In both cases, system 1 attempts to confirm the association in order to provide an answer, and ignores the other relevant info

In the presence of emotion, the tendency for system 1 to produce intuitions that confirm what is currently believed or claimed is _________

amplified. System 1 will ignore data and will even ignore overwhelming amount of it when we like or dislike a particular viewpoint

does system one create a greater sense of confidence when more or less is known?

usually less. WYSIATI

can system 1 manipulate numbers?

No only system 2 can do that. For example, when hearing about a plane crash, system 1 is more scared to travel by plane even tho the rate of car accidents is so much higher

what is the mental shotgun approach?

System 1 uses it, basically when system 2 attempts to answer a specific question or evaluate a particular thing, system q automatically creates basic assessments about numerous peripherally related things

TF: system 1 provides you with basic assessments of every situation you face

true and this is faulty because they sometimes mislead you

If the target question is :How far will this person go in politics, what is the heuristic question system 1 will answer instead?

Does this person look like a political winner

what happens to system 2 when emotions are at play ?

It becomes selective in its search for evidence, which is mainly limited to information that is consistent with existing beliefs

What is the problem with ope. access journals?

anyone can set up an online pseudo-journal where there is no actualpeer review. This is just a money grab ad a potentially shit paper is uploaded and published

what do predatory journals tend to do?

have titles that mimic established journals-use free email domains-use fictions or false publisher addresses-promise rapid publicatin-send spam mail offering discounted fees, seeking editorial board members-be absent from the major databases such as medline

what is the difference between CONSORT and GRADE?

consort is distinguishing whether a study has been described thoroughly, whether it was done well or poorly, and grade is the process used to assess the quality of one or more RCTS

what are the 5 things GRADE examines?

1) risk of bias2) inconsistency of results across studies3) indirectess of evidence4) imprecision or measurements 5) publication bias

what is are the results of GRADE published as?

a systematic review

the quality of evidence can be rated as.......

HighModerateLowVery low

what are some of the criteria to determine whether to downgrade for inconsistency?

1. large difference between the means
2. minimal or no overlap of CI
3. statistical test of heterogeneity

what should you look at when assessing indirectness?

PICO

what would cause you to downgrade by 1, 2, or 3 levels?

1- if the populations studied were differnt
2- if the target species were different
3- if the interventions differed across studies

what should you look for when identifying imprecision?

see the sample size, number of event, and CIs

what kind of plots can be used to assess the likelihood that some evidence has been withheld/not published/ignored?

funnel plots

to be an author, the person should meet all 3 of which conditions?

1) idea/experiment/analysis2)writing or editing3) approving

TF : acquistino of funding, collection of data, provision of material or general supervision warrants authorship.

FALSE, however one of these in addition to two of the main 3 (either idea, wiring, approving) could warrant it

what is the order of authors?

usually descending order with the role indicated

what happens if a journal is flagged for fabrication, falsification or plagiarism/

all authors share responsibility and are potentially culpable

the corresponding author is required to______ (4 things)

1) include all appropriate persons as co-authors2) obtain assent of the final version of manuscript3) determine that permission has been obtained from each individual acknowledged in the manuscript 4) keep all co0authors apprised of stars of manuscript

TF: if a manuscript is revised and resubbmitted, co-authors should be asked to reaffirm their assent

TRUE

what is ghost writing?

writing of a manuscript by someone who is not an author or not acknowledged

who are honorary authors usually?

chair of director of a department who had no role in planning etc, or someone who merely supervised etc

What is a clinical Trial ? why was it invented?

When experiemental/ treatment groups are compared to placebo. A type of prospective study.
to deal with individual variation

what is a systematic review?

identifies all trials on a subject and looks at the ones of high scientific quality and draws conclusions that way

what should you look for when assessing objectives?

the question of study should include PICO-T

what should you look for when assessing outcomes?

ensure primary vs secondary outcomes, there should be only one primary stated .
reports should be stated for all outcomes
Need CIs and P-valuesBinary outcomes should use RD, RR and OR in absolute terms

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria helps establish ______. What is the one thing every study should mention about participants? Where can you ind this data?

should state both which will help work towards good external validity
should definitely mention consent and
methods section

What should be mentioned in regards to the setting of the study?

Locationtype of settingcare providers transportation

what is randomization?

Any method that gives a participant equal chances of being placed in either group