Chapter Four

Question 1

What is the rule of thumb with conflicting claims?

Answer 1

You are not justified in believing either one of them fully until you resolve the conflict.

Question 2

What is background information?

Answer 2

The huge collection of very well-supported beliefs that we all rely on to inform our actions and choices.

Question 3

What is the principle of claims conflicting?

Answer 3

If a claim conflicts with our background information, we have good reason to doubt it.

Question 4

What does weak evidence warrant?

Answer 4

Weak belief

Question 5

What does strong evidence warrant?

Answer 5

Strong belief.

Question 6

What is an expert?

Answer 6

An expert is someone who is more knowledgeable about a particular subject area of field than most other people are.

Question 7

Fill in the blank: We should proportion our belief to ______ ______________

Answer 7

We should proportion our belief to the evidence

Question 8

If a claim conflicts with an expert opinion, do we have good reason to doubt it?

Answer 8

Yes. If a claim conflicts with an experts opinion, we have good reason to doubt it.

Question 9

What is a conflict of interest?

Answer 9

If an expert provides advice in a situation in which they have some “other” interest that may tend to skew or bias the advice they give.

Question 10

What are the requirements for an expert to be considered an expert?

Answer 10

1. Education and training from reputable institutions or programs in the relevant field.
2. Experience in making reliable judgements in the field.
3. Reputation among peers
4. Professional accomplishments.

Question 11

Is there such thing as a general expert?

Answer 11

No! There’s only experts in specific subject areas.

Question 12

What is personal experience>

Answer 12

Arises from our senses, memory, and the judgement involved in those faculties.

Question 13

Can you trust your personal experience to reveal the truth?

Answer 13

Sort of yes. It’s reasonable to accept the evidence provided by personal experience only if there’s no good reason to doubt it.

Question 14

Is personal experience infallible?

Answer 14

Yes! Personal experience is infallible.

Question 15

What is the key thing to remember about our perception and memory?

Answer 15

Our perception and memory are constructive, which means that what we perceive and remember to some degree fabricated by our minds, so perceptions and memories can sometimes be prone to error.

Question 16

What is pareidolia?

Answer 16

We may see or hear what we expect to see or hear. Or the mere suggestion of what we should perceive helps us to perceive it.

Question 17

Are humans good at estimating probabilities?

Answer 17

No. Humans are shit at estimating probabilities.

Question 18

What is the gambler’s fallacy?

Answer 18

When you think that previous events affect the probabilities in the random event at hand.

Question 19

What is the key thing to remember about probabilities?

Answer 19

We shouldn’t rely solely on our intuitive sense in evaluating them.

Question 20

What is the availability error?

Answer 20

When we rely on evidence not because it’s trustworthy but because it’s memorable or striking.

Question 21

What is conformation bias?

Answer 21

When you seek out and use only confirming evidence.

Question 22

What do we often fail to do?

Answer 22

Respect the available evidence.

Question 23

Fill in the blank: We tend to _________ ___________, ______ it, __________ it, and _______ it.

Answer 23

We tend to ignore evidence, deny it, manipulate it, and distort it.

Question 24

How do we remedy our tendency to resist opposing evidence?

Answer 24

Examine even our favourite claims critically.

Question 25

What is hasty generalization?

Answer 25

When we draw a conclusion about a whole group on the basis of an inadequate sample of the group.

Question 26

What is knowledge?

Answer 26

Knowledge is true belief supported by good reason.

Question 27

What is information?

Answer 27

Pieces of data, bundles of claims that are not necessarily true, not always useful, but NOT the same as knowledge.

Question 28

What is the key principle about news reports.

Answer 28

We should NOT assume without good reason that a news report is giving us an entirely accurate representation of events.

Question 29

Which devote more resources to gathering and reporting news, newspapers or electronics and the internet media?

Answer 29

The Newspaper.

Question 30

What is the most prominent factor that influences the quality of a news report?

Answer 30

Money!

Question 31

What are the ways that distortion can happen?

Answer 31

• When reporters do passive reporting.
• When publishers, editors, producers and reporters decide not to cover certain aspects of a story.
  -Editors, reporters and producers may alter our perception by playing certain aspects of the news up or down.

Question 32

What is passive reporting?

Answer 32

When reporters only report what they’re told at press conferences or in press releases.

Question 33

Are all advertisements made to influence, persuade or manipulate us?

Answer 33

Yes!

Question 34

What is our guiding principle about advertising?

Answer 34

We generally have good reason to doubt advertising claims and to be wart of advertising’s persuasive powers.

Question 35

What fallacies do ads employ?

Answer 35

• Appeals to authority
• Appeals to emotion
• Appeals to popularity
• Hasty generalizations.
• Faulty analogies

Question 36

What is puffery?

Answer 36

Exaggerations that are regarded in advertising law as hype that few people take seriously.

Question 37

What are weasel words?

Answer 37

Words that water down a claim in subtle ways. Just enough to ensure that it is technically true but superficially misleading.

Question 38

What is the best defense against being misled by news reports?

Answer 38

Reasonable skepticism and a critical approach that involves…
- looking for slanting
-examining sources
- checking for missing facts
- being on the lookout for false emphasis.