Judgments vs Thinking

For your travels today, whether directed, meandering, random-stepping, please consider…

Judgments are easy. No responsibility. No depth of examination. No reflection. Errors are rarely noticed. Truth of judgment becomes a crown to wear, a conceit, a self-justification.

Thinking is difficult. Self-reflection is essential. Self-delusion is ever-present. Self-examination is difficult. The assumption of error is correct. Solid, fully discoursed conclusions are sometimes impossible.

Both together are not incompatible.

Rodin - Thinker

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Accepting Fake Information

Every day, we are all bombarded with information, especially on news channels. One group claims it's false; another calls it the truth. How can we know when to accept it or alternatively how can we know it's false? There are several factors which influence acceptance of fake or false information. Here are the big four. Some just don’t have the knowledge to discern fact/truth from fiction/fact/false*. Some fake information is cleverly disguised and simply appears to be correct. Some fake information is accepted because the person wants to believe it. Some fake information is accepted because there is no other information to the contrary. However, the acceptance of information of any kind become a kind of truth , and this is a well studied topic. In the link below is an essay on “The Truth About Truth.” This shows simply that what is your point of view, different types of information are generally accepted, fake or not. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/...

Teaching an Ant How to Read

You have a goal; teach an ant, (sugar ant, fire ant, army ant, any one of them) how to read. Here are some tips: 1. First, get its attention. 2. Show it some examples of reading sources. 3. Read to the ant, pointing out the words as you go along. 4. Point to specific words, pronouncing them clearly. 5. Explain the alphabet, and discuss how words are formed. The net result for all your careful effort is the ant doesn’t learn a thing. The obvious reason is that it hasn’t the “brain-power” to learn reading. Moreover, it isn’t interested even with your infinite patience. It can’t distinguish your sounds. In short it simply can’t comprehend what you are doing. Its brain is not wired for learning written and spoken languag...

Can a good argument be made with a bad premise?

Can a good argument be made with a bad premise? Yes. This is done all the time. Not so much in science because all the practitioners know the premises and are not easily deceived. It is a part of their training. You will find the most excellent arguments made upon bad premises* in politics, political speech, and social communication. Sometimes, bad premises are the basis of demagoguery, to incite, to pass legislation, to go to war. Sometimes, we all make great arguments to others, though with an error in the premises. Now, let’s look for a moment at the many types of bad premises. 1. Wishful thinking, or you just hope it is so, or you think it should be so. These are deadly to the listener and the speaker. Both parties are deceived. 2. Expressly for deception. Lawyers make their livings this way with their interpretations of the statues or perhaps what a witness has said. 3. Vagueness is a leading cause...

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