Arguments/ Fallacies

• Sound / Valid

  • sound - conclusion follows from premise/ the premises is (ARE) true

  • valid - Conclusion follows premise, and is only conclusion possible

• Review of Comprehensiveness

  • Consider ALL relevant information

  • ask

    • what evidence is available to support this claim ? is it reliable ?

    • what evidence do i Need to evaluate this claim?

    • must consider alternative explanations

• Carl seagan

  • spin more than 1 hypothesis. If there is something to be explained, think of all of the different ways in which it could be explained

  • then think of tests by which you might systematically disprove each of the alternatives

  • what survives, the hypothesis that resists disproof in this selection among “multiple working hypotheses” has such a much better chance of being right answer

• review of honesty

  • honesty- evidence that must be evaluated impartially, in an unbiased, fair minded manner without self- deception.

• Review of replicability

  • results of studies and experiments, especially if they are contrary to expectations, must be replicated by other researchers

• Review of Sufficiency

  • burden of proof is on the person making the claim

  • extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

  • anecdotal

  • evidence and testimony are never sufficient to establish the truth of a claim.

• Standard archeological interpretation of figures

  • religious purpose makes more sense

  • agricultural society used magic/ superstition to assist them with their crops.

  • the fact that the figures could not be seen as the gods in their heavens might see them would not be important for religious or magical purposes

  • similar figures to the giants at nazca decorate pottery found in nearby burial sites; again, suggesting a religious purpose

• Why things are’nt always what they seem to be:Errors in reasoning and limits to perception f

Illusions

• How do these mistakes occur ?

  • errors the brain makes

  • errors in reasoning

• Why does this matter ?- (Honesty )

• If we are not aware of these, we are likely to reach wrong conclusions

The brain

• Does not record info like a photograph

• can lead to errors in recalling information

• Brain seeks patterns that are not there

• can also miss patterns that are there

*Pareidolia- Finding meaningful patterns when non exists

Illusions : Occurs wgen we mispercieve a sensory stimulus

sensory illusions- based on rules called perceptual constancies

• Perceptual constancies : Tendency to see things as being constant even when they are not

• color

• shape

• size

Color constancy

• Tendency to see an object as being a certain color because we expect it to be that color

• Brain uses previous experiences

• mostly based on shadow

Size Constancy

• we percieve familar objects to be a constant sixe, even if they are near or far away. this is leaned

Shape constancy

• familar objects are percieved as having a constant shape even when viewed from different angles

Motion illusions

• Autokinetic effect- stationary object appears to move b/c of small movements of the eye

  • dark- no good frame of reference

Illusion of attention - mistaken belief that we pay active attention to far more in our enviroment than we actually do

What causes illusions ?

• brain misinterpret information

• physical disorders of the eye or brain

  • shadows in eyes

  • floaters- objects that appear to float across 1’s visul field of view, in some cases, they can appear as a dust storm (Blood cells )

  • halos around people, can be caused by detachment of the optic disk in the eye

  • flashes- adhesions in eye excite receptors

Auditory illusions

• brain imposes meaning onto random “white noise “

  • creates patterns from memory

errors in reasoning

• expectation bias

  • “seeing “ information that supports you ideas/ ignoring contradictory information

  • see and ye shall find

    • Facilitated communication

      • Technique that claims to allow communicate by those who were previously unable to communicate by speech or signs due to intellectual disability (brain damage, or disease )

        • dr douglas bliken, professor of education at Syracuse : by 1993 100’s centers; 1k of facilitators trained

• confirmation bias

  • the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of 1’s existing beliefs

• biased information processing

  • More likely to hold onto information that you put effort in when learning

  • more likely to hold onto information you learn first

  • EVEN IF IT IS WRONG

• availability error

  • Making a decision based on evidence that is vivid or memorable, instead of reliable

  • making a decision without all of the available data

• selection bias

  • The wording of question influences the type of information to focus on

• spurious correlation ( superstitions )

  • desire to find patterns between 2 factors when non exists

    • seeing a causal connection between events when none exists

      • “post hoc, ergo propter hoc “

      • after that, therefore because of that

  • superstitutions- a product of spurious correlations

  • hallucinations- the brain itself can generate imagery, or sounds, or sensations of touch; it’s all in our heads.

    • Nervous system disorder, or the effects of drugs, stress, or sleep deprivation

      • can happen to anyone…. sleep deprivation stress chemically induced

• Collective delusions

  • occur in an unorganizaed , spontatnoeus fashion

  • involved a rapid spread of false, but plausible, exagerrated beliefs

  • gain credibility within a particular social or cultural context

    • uses rumors to disturbute info

  • Everyday objects, events and circumstances recieve extraordinary scrutiny- often based on fear

    • Contirbuting factors

      • mass media/ social media

      • group conformity

      • 
        

• Memories

  • are incomplete and are reconstructions

  • based on memory fragments

  • many ways to tie fragments together and create false memories

• flashbulb memories

  • memories that seem particularly poiginant due to emotions and intensity of the experience