Week #9-Question #2: UFO Arguments

Condon states his conclusion that nothing has come from the research of studying the evidence for UFO’s in the past 21 years that has added to scientific knowledge. Because of this, he says that scientists and onlookers should be putting their energy into different areas of science that have contributed to scientific knowledge and show growth. 

Hynek’s conclusion about UFO’s is that unexplained UFO phenomena are too often dismissed by authorities, therefore have not been studied in a systematic scientific manner. His idea is that if you can establish scientifically that UFO’s are being encountered in different ways, different cultures, and in different countries, and that they have correlated patterns, then the probability that the UFO’s happened by chance as a result of random misperception would be vanishingly small; Therefore, proving that UFO’s are scientifically significant. 

Paynter states that claims about the existence of UFO’s and alien abductions should be conducted “according to the highest standards of scientific inquiry.” Without any physical evidence, Paynter says that we should remain skeptical about these claims. 

My Thoughts for the Best Argument: Personally, I agree with Condon. I think that if UFO’s have not contributed to science in the last 20 years then why would we continue to waste time on them until substantial evidence leads us to believe differently. His argument stands out the most to me and I agree with him about not encouraging children to want to scientifically search out answers for UFO’s and instead challenge those interests into other areas of science. He makes very valid points that appeal to my ideas of UFO’s.

Week #9-Question #3: Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The topic that was the most interesting to me in Chapter 4 was the ides of a “Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.” The book states that, “a self-fulfilling prophecy occurs when our exaggerated or distorted expectations reinforce actions that actually bring about the expected event” (117). This suggests that what we think, due to distortion, can come true, due to our expectations, and can do so at the cost of others. The book explains that humans are prone to several inborn cognitive and perceptual errors, which are part of the way our brain interprets the world so we may fail to notice the influence they have over our thinking. I find it interesting that the self-fulfilling prophecy seems to give our mind the power to think ideas over people and have the ideas become reality. I don’t really think that this fallacy has as much control over our mind as the book suggests. However,, the book does state that developing our critical thinking skills will help us be more aware of this fallacy and the error we commit; therefore, we can adjust for them when appropriate.

Week #9- Question #1: Knowledge and Wisdom

Knowledge is defined as the information which we believe to be true and for which we have justification or evidence. When Aristotle said that wisdom is the greatest virtue, knowledge was a part of wisdom. Wisdom, to me, is being able to discern information that is factual, as well as insight, and having a good judgment. This means being able to use your knowledge when trying to carry out wise decisions. I think that while we are attending college we are acquiring both. Most of our schooling and what we will take away when we graduate is mainly learning how to think. If we can learn how to think, and think well, then we have succeeded in our mission at SJSU. We are learning how to expand our knowledge, therefore growing wiser in how we will use our knowledge to make smarter, qualified decisions. I personally think that the information age has made us more knowledgeable and not necessarily wiser. It really has enabled us to not think as much and let technology think for us, which can be dangerous. We are relying too much on the knowledge that we gain from technology and less on how to use that knowledge in order to be wise about different aspect in our lives.

Week #7-Post 3: Five Criteria for Evaluating Definitions

One of the topics, in this weeks reading, that stood out most to me was the five criteria to evaluate definitions. I think that these critical thinking skills in the evaluation of good definitions is very helpful in figuring out the proper use of words. The skills are:
1) A good definition is neither too broad nor too narrow.
2) A good definition should state the essential attributes of the term being defined.
3) A good definition is not circular.
4) A good definition avoids obscure and figurative language.
5) A good definition avoids emotive language.
I think this piece of information is so valuable when doing research and trying to expand our vocabulary. This criteria simplifies the learning of words. It also supports clear communication and critical thinking skills. The book states that, "knowing how to determine if a particular definition is good makes it less likely that we will get caught up in purely verbal dispute or fallacious reasoning." This is so easy to do when you are not educated in simplifying words and knowing your own vocabulary. I think that this happens to us all of the time when we are in frustrating conversations. We like to get into conversations that solely rely on verbal arguing that our reasoning tends to get construed in anger. If we are educated in this five criteria system, it makes it easy to know our vocabulary so that when we are faced with a situation that requires our critical thinking skills, we are prepared.

Week 7-Post #2: Rhetoric Devices

 Make sure to define the rhetorical device, and give a personal example of each. With the campaigns down our throat and the debates flooding our everyday lives, it can only mean its a certain year; an election year. In this time we are constantly seeing, hearing, and speaking using rhetoric devices. A rhetorical device is the use of a term that has a negative association by a neutral or positive term. I use this rhetoric very often. The first type that I used this week is euphemism. I work in a Children's Department and I am around children all of the time. I usually have to take children to the bathroom and instead of saying, "do you have to go to the restroom?" I usually refer to the restroom as the "potty." While restroom is not a negative term, to children, using a term like "potty" is a more positive reference to using the toilet and a term that parents use along side of a positive reinforcement. The other term that I use very often is sarcasm. I get this attribute from my father. We like to joke with each other and sarcasm is usually at the root of it. My dad told me today that I needed to give him $7 after he bought me lunch. My reply was, "I can pay you back in love." In which he responded, "Yeah that will take you seven years." I said back to him, "I'm in no rush." Sarcastic comments and euphemisms are something that I don't just use on a weekly basis, but on a daily basis.