Month: July 2022

CHARLES SEIFE ~ PROOFINESS ~ 2010

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~ NCBPW-I-SH-PD-BS-A-BM-CM-TMFD-TMOF-ST-TCBUT-BE-T-DC-AT-SD ~ Numbers Can Be Powerful Weapons – In – Skilful Hands – Phony Data – Bogus Statistics – And – Bad Mathematics – Can Make – The Most Fanciful Data – The Most Outrageous Falsehood – Seem True – They Can Be Used To – Bludgeon Enemies – To – Destroy Critics – And To – Squelch Debate

~ P:TAO-UBMATPS-T-YKIYHIT-EWIN ~ Proofiness: The Art Of – Using Bogus Mathematical Arguments To Prove Something – That – You Know In Your Heart Is True – Even When It’s Not

~ OS-IN-AIP-TINLTHAPCB ~ Our Society – Is Now – Awash In Proofiness – There Is No Limit To How Absurd Proofiness Can Be

~ OYKTMPUTTNIF-TAPAY-WYLTSPOOTW-SOTMCTBSAS ~ Once You Know The Methods People Use To Turn Numbers Into Falsehoods – They Are Powerless Against You – When You Learn To Shovel Proofiness Out Of The Way – Some Of The Most Controversial Topics Become Simple And Straightforward

~ IYWTGPTB-S-R-R-S-JSANOI-ETSASPTMTTEINT ~ If You Want To Get People To Believe – Something – Really – Really – Stupid – Just Stick A Number On It – Even The Silliest Absurdities Seem Plausible The Moment That They’re Expressed In Numerical Terms

~ NMH-I-HU-AII-NCGIC ~ No Matter How – Idiotic – How Unbelievable – An Idea Is – Numbers Can Give It Credibility

~ BTANATAN ~ But There Are Numbers And There Are Numbers

~ ORF-IW-AMATGSTI-D-FE-IHTM-POH-TINSTAA-POAH-TCGYADARRAWASIF-PAJ-A-SE

~ One Red Flag – Is When – A Measurement Attempts To Gauge Something That’s Ill-Defined – For Example – It’s Hard To Measure – Pain Or Happiness – There Is No Such Thing As A – Painometer Or A Happyscope – That Can Give You A Direct And Repeatable Reading About What A Subject Is Feeling – Pain And Joy – Are – Subjective Experiences

~ NMHRAI-PIINFMISR-EITIMITA ~ No Matter How Ridiculous An Idea – Putting It Into Numerical Form Makes It Sound Respectable – Even If The Implied Measurement Is Transparently Absurd

~ LADUILC ~ Like Actors Dressed Up In Lab Coats

~ PN-ATMEO-PV-TNFTLLRD-ALI-ETABOOANM-O-TNTTAGMAA-SFFFFAFH ~ Potemkin Numbers – Are The Mathematical Equivalent Of – Potemkin Villages – They’re Numerical Facades That Look Like Real Data – At Least Implicitly – Either They Are Born Out Of A Nonsensical Measurement – Or – They’re Not Tied To A Genuine Measurement At All – Springing Forth Fully Formed From A Fabricator’s Head

~ CP: TCSOD-CTTSTAYWTM-W-UOIDTUI ~ Cherry-Picking: The Careful Selection Of Data – Choosing Those That Support The Argument You Wish To Make – While – Underplaying Or Ignoring Data That Undermine It

~ CATO-WYCTNTSWOBTTO-IITETTUATS-OTCIM-A-OCCBRTTS-BUCBFC-SOTCTMOT ~ Comparing Apples To Oranges – When You Compare Two Numbers To See Which One’s Bigger Than The Other – It’s Important To Ensure That The Units Are The Same – Otherwise The Comparison Is Meaningless – Apple-Orange Comparisons Can Be Really Tough To Spot – Because Units Can Be Fluid Creatures – Some Of Them Change Their Meaning Over Time

~ A-P:TPTFTOD-MTSTAMFTTAA ~ Apple-Polishing: To Put The Finishing Touches On Data – Manipulating Them So They Appear More Favorable Than They Actually Are

~ WHA-IARP-TDTTSP-MA-IT-WGOSPEWTNT ~ We Humans Are – Incredible At Recognizing Patterns – The Downside To This Spectacular Pattern-Matching Ability – Is That – We Go Overboard Seeing Patterns Even When They’re Not There

~ ACIDCCLJLAE ~ A Change In Diagnostic Criteria Can Look Just Like An Epidemic

~ ATWSTTTACISW-OB-LTTCTOTMCTO-IONS-SWMCFEAVV-STHFNAR-JOO-SRC-ITOCTWHHAHTU-I-R ~ Any Time We See Two Things That Are Correlated In Some Way – Our Brains – Leap To The Conclusion That One Thing Must Cause The Other – It’s Often Not So – Sometimes We Mistake Cause For Effect And Vice Versa – Sometimes Things Happen For No Apparent Reason – Just Out Of – Sheer Random Chance – If There’s One Concept That We Humans Have A Hard Time Understanding – It’s – Randomness

~ R:ITTIOWTIOC-CAPWTIN ~ Randumbness: Insisting That There Is Order Where There Is Only Chaos – Creating A Pattern Where There Is None

~ IYT-ARCOD-A-SHE-YSAPOSS ~ If You Take – Any – Random Collection Of Data – And – Squint Hard Enough – You’ll See A Pattern Of Some Sort

~ RAT-WPBAET-WDHAIGOWBATDAWA ~ Risks Are Tricky – We’re Pretty Bad At Estimating Them – We Don’t Have An Internal Gauge Of What Behaviors Are Truly Dangerous And What Aren’t

~ MCIW-CE-MAHRSWT-O-AIRSD ~ Minor Changes In Wording – Can Easily – Make A Huge Risk Seem Worth Taking – Or – An Insignificant Risk Seem Dangerous

~ TSTS-TBTA ~ The Scarier The Story – The Bigger The Audience

~ ER-A-TFTRC-IAPT-STAITMTSBTTA ~ Exaggerating Risk – And – The Fear These Risks Cause – Is A Potent Tool – So There’s An Incentive To Make Threats Seem Bigger Than They Are

~ TGHTSITST-ATCOTOTD-YMOTBMWWUITPOTWCTCITFP-MH-WFGIDFTRIIMTG-VBTH ~ The Government Had To Step In To Save Them – At The Cost Of Trillions Of Taxpayer Dollars – Yet Much Of That Bailout Money Would Wind Up In The Pockets Of Those Who Caused The Crisis In The First Place – Moral Hazard – When Financial Gain Is Divorced From The Risks Involved In Making That Gain – Very Bad Things Happen

~ RW-IA-LON ~ Random Weirdness – Is A – Law Of Nature

~ APCBA-QD-B-TWOTQITS-TCOWIETMN-SP-SSSASTAIAPW ~ A Poll Can Be Affected – Quite Dramatically – By – The Wording Of The Questions In The Survey – The Choice Of Words In Even The Most Neutral-Sounding Phrase – Sometimes Subtly Steers A Subject To Answer In A Particular Way

~ AM-W-A-NO-PSTIKIF-O-AWRDFTT ~ Absolute Malice – When – A – News Organization – Publishes Something That It Knows Is False – Or – Acts With Reckless Disregard For The Truth

~ IP-A-W-Y-SPRMTN ~ Internet Polls – Are – Worthless – Yet – Such Polls Regularly Make The News

~ MAM-PSTBSONOTRTBWCT-WNLHTCITFUTROP-I-WCOLTTOWAAW-WCWIOM-UBTIOD ~ More And More – People Seem To Be Seeking Out News Outlets That Reinforce Their Beliefs Without Challenging Them – We No Longer Have To Confront Ideas That Force Us To Reevaluate Our Positions – Instead – We Can Only Listen To The Ones We Already Agree With – We Can Wallow In Our Myths – Undisturbed By The Inconvenience Of Doubt

~ P-I-T-TA-D-BNHAHOU-TAP-AM-B-WTNRT-IHFUTITANCBMTL ~ Proofiness – Is – Toxic – To A – Democracy – Because Numbers Have A Hold On Us – They Are Powerful – Almost Mystical – Because – We Think That Numbers Represent Truth – It’s Hard For Us To Imagine That A Number Can Be Made To Lie

~ MS-ITOAT-P-A-ODOKWDWWSTPOFAI-IMTMR;ODMWROFBTN ~ Mathematical Sophistication – Is The Only Antidote To – Proofiness – And – Our Degree Of Knowledge Will Determine Whether We Succumb To Proofiness Or Fight Against It – It’s More Than Mere Rhetoric; Our Democracy May Well Rise Or Fall By The Numbers

RICHARD THALER + CASS SUNSTEIN ~ THE SLIPPERY SLOPE ~ NUDGE ~ 2008

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~ S-MFT-OWA-MP-HII-WSF-T-O-M/C/B ~ Skeptics Might Fear That – Once We Accept – Modest Paternalism – Highly Intrusive Interventions – Will Surely Follow – To – Outright – Manipulation / Coercion / Bans

~ ROA-S-S-A-DTQOW-PHMIAOT-P-CTCTDRTTROOTFOAHSS-IOPAW-MPOT-A-DWITT-PSOTS ~ Reliance On A – Slippery-Slope – Argument – Ducks The Question Of Whether – Proposals Have Merit In And Of Themselves – Policies – Constructive To Criticize Them Directly Rather Than To Rely Only On The Fear Of A Hypothetical Slippery Slope – If Our Proposals Are Worthwhile – Make Progress On Those – And – Do Whatever It Takes To – Pour Sand On The Slope

~ LCOOR-RTSOTOSS-P-ED-T-RFOC-SLA-PI-CBEABTWSTAACOTO-TRDBAAM ~ Low Cost Opt-Out Rights – Reduces The Steepness Of The Ostensibly Slippery Slope – Proposals – Emphatically Designed – To – Retain Freedom Of Choice – So Long As – Paternalistic Interventions – Can Be Easily Avoided By Those Who Seek To Adopt A Course Of Their Own – The Risks Decried By Antipaternalists Are Modest

~ IMC-SKONII-A-CA-W-POP-MDS ~ In Many Cases – Some Kind Of Nudge Is Inevitable – And – Choice Architects – Whether – Private Or Public – Must Do Something

~ OLTUPTPDNA-B-PAP-I-NRTDHSSAH-WTRSI-IIBPFTOASSTTDNSTARAA-B-TRANT-A-STANSS ~ Often Life Turns Up Problems That People Did Not Anticipate – Both – Private And Public – Institutions – Need Rules To Determine How Such Situations Are Handled – When Those Rules Seem Invisible – It Is Because People Find Them Obvious And So Sensible That They Do Not See Them As Rules At All – But – The Rules Are Nonetheless There – And – Sometimes They Are Not So Sensible

~ TWMTA-SS-AI-TDTTSTB-CFNOFTS-TIAM ~ Those Who Make This Argument – Sometimes Speak – As If – The Default Terms That Set The Background – Come From Nature Or From The Sky – This Is A Mistake

RICHARD THALER + CASS SUNSTEIN ~ NUDGE ~ 2008

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~ CA-TRFOTCIWPMD ~ Choice Architect – The Responsibility For Organizing The Context In Which People Make Decisions

~ TINSTAA’N’-D ~ There Is Not Such Thing As A – “Neutral” – Design

~ SAD-HSI ~ Seemingly Arbitrary Decisions – Have Subtle Influences

~ SAAID-CH-MIOPB-A-‘EM’ ~ Small And Apparently Insignificant Details – Can Have – Major Impacts On People’s Behavior – Assume – “Everything Matters”

~ TIT-‘EM’-CBB-PAE ~ The Insight That – “Everything Matters” – Can Be Both – Paralyzing And Empowering

~ LP-TPWTTITTHBCBD-T-LA-LITSIT-IG-PSBFTDWTL-A-TOOOUAITWTDS-T-PA-LITCTIILFCATTTIPBIOTMTL-L/H/B-AJBT ~ Libertarian Paternalism – The Problem With The Terms Is That They Have Been Captured By Dogmatists – The – Libertarian Aspect – Lies In The Straightforward Insistence That – In General – People Should Be Free To Do What They Like – And – To Opt Out Of Undesirable Arrangements If They Want To Do So – The – Paternalistic Aspect – Lies In The Claim That It Is Legitimate For Choice Architects To Try To Influence People’s Behavior In Order To Make Their Lives – Longer / Healthier / Better – As Judged By Themselves

~ IMC-IMPBD-DTWNHM-IT-HPFA-A-P-CI-UCA-A-CS-C ~ In Many Cases – Individuals Make Pretty Bad Decisions – Decisions They Would Not Have Made – If They – Had Paid Full Attention – And – Possessed – Complete Information – Unlimited Cognitive Abilities – And – Complete Self-Control

~ LP-IAR-W/S/N-TOP-B-CANB/FO/SB ~ Libertarian Paternalism – Is A Relatively – Weak / Soft / Nonintrusive – Type Of Paternalism – Because – Choices Are Not Blocked / Fenced Off / Significantly Burdened

~ A-N-IAAOT-CA-TAPBIAPWWFAOOSCTEI-TCAAM-N-TIMBEACTA-NANM ~ A – Nudge – Is Any Aspect Of The – Choice Architecture – That Alters People’s Behavior In A Predictable Way Without Forbidding Any Options Or Significantly Changing Their Economic Incentives – To Count As A Mere – Nudge – The Intervention Must Be Easy And Cheap To Avoid – Nudges Are Not Mandates

~ PTFAEL-CAAN-BJF-DN ~ Putting The Fruit At Eye Level – Counts As A Nudge – Banning Junk Food – Does Not

~ TE-SOC-RHRSQATROMJADTPM-HOS-CTHFAFAB-HDMINSGE ~ The Emerging – Science Of Choice – Research Has Raised Serous Questions About The Rationality Of Many Judgments And Decisions That People Make – Hundreds Of Studies – Confirm That Human Forecasts Are Flawed And Biased – Human Decision Making Is Not So Great Either

~ ‘SQB’-AFNF-I-FAHOR-PHASTTGAWTSQODO-RSTWTDCA-MPSWT-EWTSAMH ~ “Status Quo Bias” – A Fancy Name For – Inertia – For A Host Of Reasons – People Have A Strong Tendency To Go Along With The Status Quo Or Default Option – Research Shows That Whatever The Default Choices Are – Many People Stick With Them – Even When The Stakes Are Much Higher

~ NUTPOI-TPCBH-SDO-A-OSST-M-CS-CHHEOO ~ Never Underestimate The Power Of Inertia – That Power Can Be Harnessed – Setting Default Options – And – Other Similar Seemingly Trivial – Menu-Changing Strategies – Can Have Huge Effects On Outcomes

~ BPDB-IAN-ACIOATIPLAHSMOSMP-A-WCDSWSTOEFTC ~ By Properly Deploying Both – Incentives And Nudges – We Can Improve Our Ability To Improve People’s Lives And Help Solve Many Of Society’s Major Problems – And – We Can Do So While Still Insisting On Everyone’s Freedom To Choose

~ T-FA-ITAAPAAOTTMCTAITBIOATVLABTTCTWBMBSE-TAIF-I-OF ~ The – False Assumption – Is That Almost All People Almost All Of The Time Make Choices That Are In Their Best Interest Or At The Very Least Are Better Than The Choices That Would Be Made By Someone Else – This Assumption Is False – Indeed – Obviously False

~ HWPCIAEQ-OWAILTVAD-ISRTSTPMGCICIW-TH-E/GI/PF-TDLWICIWTA-I/PI/FISOI ~ How Well People Choose Is An Empirical Question – One Whose Answer Is Likely To Vary Across Domains – It Seems Reasonable To Say That People Make Good Choices In Contexts In Which – They Have – Experience / Good Information / Prompt Feedback – They Do Less Well In Contexts In Which They Are – Inexperienced / Poorly Informed / Feedback Is Slow Or Infrequent

~ B-ITCRU-TROIOECDAR-FTC-ITBSABCA ~ By – Insisting That Choices Remain Unrestricted – The Risks Of Inept Or Even Corrupt Designs Are Reduced – Freedom To Choose – Is The Best Safeguard Against Bad Choice Architecture

~ CACMJITTLOOBDU-FE ~ Choice Architects Can Make Major Improvements To The Lives Of Others By Designing User-Friendly Environments

~ I-IAN-R-RAB-GWBBSAMM-N-BG-J-BG-IS-LP-I-NLNR ~ If – Incentives And Nudges – Replace – Requirements And Bans – Government Will Be Both Smaller And More Modest – Not – Bigger Government – Just – Better Governance – In Short – Libertarian Paternalism – Is – Neither Left Nor Right

~ W-S-CPAMC-AC-TRIASOBO ~ When – Self-Control Problems And Mindless Choosing – Are Combined – The Result Is A Series Of Bad Outcomes

~ S-MSC-I-MAP-A-SWA-SSN-H-AEIBTSADOO ~ Sometimes – Massive Social Changes – In – Markets And Politics – Alike – Start With A – Small Social Nudge – Humans – Are Easily Influenced By The Statements And Deeds Of Others

~ HAENBOH-OR-WLTC ~ Humans Are Easily Nudged By Other Humans – One Reason – We Like To Conform

~ PBMLTCWTKTOPWSWTHTS-SPWGAWTGEWTT-O-K-TEEHB ~ People Become More Likely To Conform When They Know That Other People Will See What They Have To Say – Sometimes People Will Go Along With The Group Even When They Think – Or – Know – That Everyone Else Has Blundered

~ IMD-PATTT-ATF-TAOWEP-A-TTS-WI-BOTT-SI-AE-C-AAKS-CPLVITO ~ In Many Domains – People Are Tempted To Think – After The Fact – That An Outcome Was Entirely Predictable – And – That The Success – Was Inevitable – Beware Of That Temptation – Small Interventions – And Even – Coincidences – At A Key Stage – Can Produce Large Variations In The Outcome

~ T-SF-CHA-PE ~ The – Specific Framing – Can Have A – Powerful Effect

~ SI-CITEWWCICTM-S-TMHOAIOCWTAATCSA-T-‘P’-OISSATECBSP ~ Subtle Influences – Can Increase The Ease With Which Certain Information Comes To Mind – Sometimes – The Merest Hint Of An Idea Or Concept Will Trigger An Association That Can Stimulate Action – These – “Primes” – Occur In Social Situations And Their Effects Can Be Surprisingly Powerful

~ MPWTWOR-TLE-O-TPOLR-WONIIGFT ~ Many People Will Take Whatever Option Requires – The Least Effort – Or – The Path Of Least Resistance – Whether Or Not It Is Good For Them

~ HMM-A-W-DS-EIUTEAIAFAP ~ Humans Make Mistakes – A – Well-Designed System – Expects Its Users To Err And Is As Forgiving As Possible

~ GF-TBWTHHITPITPF-W-DS-TPWTADWAWTAMM ~ Give Feedback – The Best Way To Help Humans Improve Their Performance Is To Provide Feedback – Well-Designed Systems – Tell People When They Are Doing Well And When They Are Making Mistakes

~ AITOFIAWTTAGW-O-EMH-AATGW ~ An Important Type Of Feedback Is A Warning That Things Are Going Wrong – Or – Even More Helpful – Are About To Go Wrong

~ WS-HTATPO-OSMWTTAI ~ Warning Systems – Have To Avoid The Problem Of – Offering So Many Warnings That They Are Ignored

~ A-FQ-A-CA-WU?/WC?/WP?/WP? ~ Ask – Four Questions – About – Choice Architecture – Who Uses? / Who Chooses? / Who Pays? / Who Profits?

~ HA-LA-RS-T-HLATAMATLG ~ Humans Are – Loss Averse – Roughly Speaking – They – Hate Losses About Twice As Much As They Like Gains

~ ENABN-CAMHTOA-LUIWWC-A-E-MAT-WWC ~ Evil Nudgers And Bad Nudges – Choice Architects May Have Their Own Agendas – Line Up Incentives When We Can – And – Employ – Monitoring And Transparency – When We Can’t

~ PCA-PCA-WAB-V/MP-APGSBT-IT ~ Public Choice Architects – Private Choice Architects – Worry About Both – Voters / Maximizing Profits – A Primary Goal Should Be To – Increase Transparency

~ FPTC-INAW-A-RNINAP-DWTS-A-WTCANAS(MLAP)-I-T ~ Forcing People To Choose – Is Not Always Wise – And – Remaining Neutral Is Not Always Possible – Deciding Where To Stop – And – When To Call A Nudge A Shove (Much Less A Prison) – Is – Tricky

DONALD PROTHERO ~ REALITY CHECK ~ 2013

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~ A-S-IS-WDNBTJBSPT-B-TTAE-ITEIS-T-TSMATTCIR ~ A – Skeptic – Is Someone – Who Does Not Believe Things Just Because Someone Proclaims Them – But – Tests Them Against Evidence – If The Evidence Is Solid – Then – The Skeptic Must Acknowledge That The Claim Is Real

~ A-D-I-IC-T-AAOV-A-NAOEWCTM ~ A – Denier – Is – Ideologically Committed – To – Attacking An Opposing Viewpoint – And – No Amount Of Evidence Will Change Their Minds

~ CI-H-NC ~ Crazy Ideas – Have – Negative Consequences

~ JB-TEOT-DNM-TAROCC ~ Just Because – Two Events Occurred Together – Does Not Mean – They Are Related Or Causally Connected

~ CB-HTTSWTETS-A-FWTDNME-WHETATSOEBS-A-IOTTDETSWMBW ~ Confirmation Bias – Humans Tend To See What They Expect To See – And – Forget When Things Do Not Match Expectations – We Hear Evidence That Appears To Support Our Existing Belief Systems – And – Ignore Or Try To Discount Evidence That Suggests We Might Be Wrong

~ OSCTSITQOAAINTOOC-A-UTMTOOWIAI ~ One Should Check To See If The Quotation Of An Authority Is Not Taken Out Of Context – And – Used To Mean The Opposite Of What Its Author Intended

~ YPY-OTSOY-DAA-NB-FYD ~ You Prove Yourself – On The Strength Of Your – Data And Arguments – Not By – Flaunting Your Degree

~ EITAT ~ Expertise In The Appropriate Topic

~ COI ~ Conflict Of Interest

~ BOP-WSCHBR-A-ALAOESAPEOAP-T-TBOP-FOTDWSTOTC-IINE-TPOOSPOCD-O-T-NOLI-TMSTTPOTESTV ~ Burden Of Proof – When Scientific Consensus Has Been Reached – And – A Large Amount Of Evidence Supports A Particular Explanation Of A Phenomenon – Then – The Burden Of Proof – Falls On The Dissenter Who Seeks To Overthrow The Consensus – It Is Not Enough – To Point Out One Small Piece Of Contrary Data – Or – To – Nitpick One Little Inconsistency – They Must Show That The Preponderance Of The Evidence Supports Their View

~ CINC-IIHNTTTLTETCITAATOCTO-BWSTTEAR-WNTEMCOTEOOAOA-WMPSTTDWTCBTTEIR-O-JDTRC ~ Correlation Is Not Causation – It Is Human Nature To Try To Link Two Events That Coincide In Time And Assume That One Causes The Other – Before We Say That Two Events Are Related – We Need To Examine Many Cases Of These Events Occurring Over And Over Again – We Must Perform Statistical Tests To Determine Whether The Connection Between The Two Events Is Real – Or – Just Due To Random Chance

~ ADNMS ~ Anecdotes Do Not Make Science

~ B-PAEATTCI-A-WNGTUNMWEGAT ~ But – Pseudoscientists Are Emotionally Attached To Their Cherished Ideas – And – Will Not Give Them Up No Matter What Evidence Goes Against Them

~ LATTROTE ~ Look At The Track Record Of The Expert

~ OFPPDTC? ~ Our Fellow Planetary Passengers Do They Count?

~ BAP-RTTPFCAT-SE-BTRO-E-O-SOTP-I-TOTHTOAAOTPOT-BFME-OTP-600MY-BNETIT-TC-A-B-20,000-AA-M-S-W-E-TIEFTARSITGP-B-WRDNKHMCBLBT-EPE-C ~ Biologists And Paleontologists – Refer To The Past Few Centuries As The – Sixth Extinction – Because The Rate Of – Extinction – Of – Species On This Planet – Is – Thousands Of Times Higher Than Occurred At Any Of The Previous Of The – Big Five Mass Extinctions – Of The Past – 600 Million Years – Biologists Now Estimate That In The – Twentieth Century – Alone – Between – 20,000 – And A – Million – Species – Went – Extinct – This Is Enormously Faster Than Any Rate Seen In The Geologic Past – But – We Really Do Not Know How Many Can Be Lost Before The – Entire Planetary Ecosystem – Collapses

~ TDOS-TUA ~ The – Denial Of Science – Threatens Us All

~ ME-CE:ACGNTCATBANEADPOVOAORTFTSTROTIOHOSNS ~ Media Echo-Chamber Effect: Anyone Can Get News That Confirms All Their Biases And Never Encounter A Different Point Of View Or An Outside Reality That Falsifies The Stuff They Read On The Internet Or Hear On Some News Sources

~ ‘SI’-PWA-AEIAA-WE-A-SBASM-B-WH-SBWTHL-STC-AAR-IIIITDTCABS ~ “Smart Idiots” – People Who Are – Actively Engaged In An Argument – Well Educated – And – Smart By Any Standard Measure – But – Who Have – Selectively Biased What They Have Learned – So They Can – Argue Against Reality – If It Is Important To Defending Their Community And Belief System

JAMES FADIMAN ~ BE ALL THAT YOU CAN BE ~ 19??

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~ NHPMBOB-TFOL-M-A-K-P ~ Negative Habit Patterns May Be Overcome By – The Forces Of Liberation – Motivation – Awareness – Knowledge – Practice

~ TRBWTAROGMBTWAACOKAE ~ The Route Between Wishful Thinking And Realizing Our Goals Must Be Traveled With An Artful Combination Of Knowledge And Effort

~ WAY? ~ Who Are You?

~ OWYKWYACYKWYCB ~ Only When You Know Who You Are Can You Know Who You Can Become

~ TLOPEOTRPOYPIEETYCSC ~ The Level Of Personal Effectiveness Or The Realized Portion Of Your Potential Is Exactly Equal To Your Current Self Concept

~ YBTAIAWWYHBTAY ~ You Begin To Act In Accordance With What You Have Been Told About Yourself

~ ANHPIBC-IBY ~ A Negative Habit Pattern Is Beyond Control – It Behaves You

~ SMWBDAAHDCTPFM ~ Success Might Well Be Defined As A Highly Developed Capacity To Profit From Mistakes

~ POMTAUBNI-ANHP ~ Patterns Of Mistakes That Are Unchanged By New Information – Are Negative Habit Patterns

~ TANBIHOG ~ There Are No Benefits In Holding Onto Guilt

~ TROGIOOTGGTOPCGTTOTA ~ The Removal Of Guilt Is One Of The Great Gifts That One Person Can Give To Themselves Or To Another

~ EPGDOGICOOH ~ Effective Personal Growth Depends On Gaining Increased Control Over Our Habits

~ ETWTASU-WNTROMAROAAACI ~ Each Time We Take A Step Up – We Need To Reevaluate Our Motivation And Refine Our Awareness And Acquire Current Information

~ BTAMTROTNPANR ~ Being Truly Alive Means To Remain Open To New Possibilities And New Responses

~ TSFKTPITLATMCSICH ~ The Step From Knowledge To Practice Is The Last And The Most Critical Step In Changing Habits

~ K-‘A’-IG-B-K-‘O’-ITRN ~ Knowledge – “About” – Is Good – But Knowledge – “Of” – Is The Real Necessity

~ WANWTTFOOL ~ We Are Never Without The Tools For Our Own Liberation

~ TWSG-CTOF ~ Those Who Set Goals – Create Their Own Futures

~ BWTBHAYTATYAAPWDH ~ Being Willing To Be Happy Asks You To Accept That You Are A Person Who Deserves Happiness

~ TSTASONANAN ~ To See The Actual Situation Occurring Now And Now And Now

~ YNTDOAGWOEOTP-TBSYDIRN-AOEOTF-TBSTTAGWBC ~ You Need To Decide On A Goal With One Eye On The Present – To Be Sure You Desire It Right Now – And One Eye On The Future – To Be Sure That The Achieved Goal Will Bring Contentment

~ TMSTG-TEIWBA ~ The More Specific The Goal – The Easier It Will Be Achieved

~ SGFY-ANFO ~ Set Goals For Yourself – And Not For Others

~ RTSAGAETGAAB ~ Remember That Setting A Goal Also Establishes That Goal As A Boundary

~ LSIAIORTESATW ~ Learning Something Important Always Includes Our Reactions To Each Step Along The Way

~ FITVTLTCATITLOEFY ~ Freedom Is Too Valuable To Leave To Chance And Too Important To Let Others Establish For You

~ IITTBTTRB ~ It Is To The Bold That The Rewards Belong

~ TWSWTIFNTTSOEC ~ Those Who Stop With The Initial Failures Never Taste The Sweetness Of Eventual Completion

~ WDNGWWW-BWWTWD ~ We Do Not Get What We Wish – But What We Think We Deserve

~ TAAS-NACOES ~ There Are Always Solutions – Not Always Comfortable Or Easy Solutions

~ EIIBWREAPWMA ~ Every Ideas Is Born With Rough Edges And Peppered With Mistaken Assumptions

~ IIETBACTAC ~ It Is Easier To Be A Critic Than A Creator

~ ITGTBYLGI? ~ Is This Going To Be Your Last Good Idea?

~ DTPAFACAP ~ Define The Problem As Fully And Correctly As Possible

~ FITATCITMWIBFUTD ~ Freedom Is The Ability To Choose In The Moment What Is Best For Us To Do

~ CITATDWWC ~ Capacity Is The Ability To Do What We Choose

MORTIMER ADLER ~ WRITE BETWEEN THE LINES ~ HOW TO READ A BOOK ~ 1940

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~ TP-TSOYAWYR-IIAOSTYHT-‘RBTL’-B’WBTL’-T ~ The Pencil – The Sign Of Your Alertness While You Read – It Is An Old Saying That You Have To – “Read Between The Lines” – To Get The Most Out Of Anything – But – “Write Between The Lines” – Too

~ U-O-MP/FS ~ Underlining – Of – Major Points / Forceful Statements

~ VL-ATM-T-EASAUOTPTAPTLTBU ~ Vertical Lines – At The Margin – To – Emphasize A Statement Already Underlined Or To Point To A Passage Too Long To Be Underlined

~ S/A/D-ATM-US-T-ET-TOD-MISOP ~ Star / Asterisk / Doodad – At The Margin – Used Sparingly – To – Emphasize The – Ten Or Dozen – Most Important Statements Or Passages

~ N-ITM-T-IASOPM-IDAA ~ Numbers – In The Margin – To – Indicate A Sequence Of Points Made – In Developing An Argument

~ COKWOP-TSMTSFAU ~ Circling Of Key Words Or Phrases – This Serves Much The Same Function As Underlining

~ W-ITM-O-ATTOBOTP-T-RQ(APA) ~ Writing – In The Margin – Or – At The Top Or Bottom Of The Page – To – Record Questions (And Perhaps Answers)

MORTIMER ADLER ~ HOW TO READ A BOOK ~ 1940

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~ TISFNTRINANAIOW ~ There Is Some Feeling Nowadays That Reading Is Not As Necessary As It Once Was

~ R-CBMOL-A-TMATRTB ~ Reading – Can Be More Or Less – Active – The More Active The Reading The Better

~ T-AOR-IS-IAOTSSTAIITAOUD:KOO-RAM-ROI-A-OC-AITI-AAR ~ The – Art Of Reading – In Short – Includes All Of The Same Skills That Are Involved In The Art Of Unaided Discovery: Keenness Of Observation – Readily Available Memory – Range Of Imagination – And – Of Course – An Intellect Trained In – Analysis And Reflection

~ UHOARTBIMBTNUIAA ~ Understanding Half Of A Really Tough Book Is Much Better Than Not Understanding It At All

~ IYIOUEOEPBYGOTTN-YWNGVF ~ If You Insist On Understanding Everything On Every Page Before You Go On To The Next – You Will Not Get Very Far

~ B-WEHYGIYIYRSS?-IITTHST-B-WAC?-HTAI-OHISITP? ~ But – What Exactly Have You Gained If You Increase Your Reading Speed Significantly? – It Is True That You Have Saved Time – But – What About Comprehension? – Has That Also Increased – Or – Has It Suffered In The Process?

~ WITBAAAW?-WIBSID?-ITBT-IWOP?-WOI?-ITBHGYI-YMAAIS ~ What Is The Book About As A Whole? – What Is Being Said In Detail? – Is The Book True – In Whole Of Part? – What Of It? – If The Book Has Given You Information – You Must Ask About Its Significance

~ IYHTHOAABQAYR-YAABRTIYDN-AQINE-YHTTTAT ~ If You Have The Habit Of Asking A Book Questions As You Read – You Are A Better Reader Than If You Do Not – Asking Questions Is Not Enough – You Have To Try To Answer Them

~ TMKPWMCII-ROO ~ To Make Knowledge Practical We Must Convert It Into – Rules Of Operation

~ ABIAWOA ~ A Book Is A Work Of Art

~ T-MRB-IAAAOTPOTA ~ The – Most Readable Book – Is An Architectural Achievement On The Part Of The Author

~ RAW-AR-AA-TABT ~ Reading And Writing – Are Reciprocal – As Are – Teaching And Being Taught

~ YSBATSTMQTTBTTA ~ You Should Be Able To State The Main Question That The Book Tries To Answer

~ B-AWCHMM-EAIW ~ But – A Word Can Have Many Meanings – Especially An Important Word

~ A-T-IAW-UU-CTT-ITI-TWWARSS ~ A – Term – Is A Word – Used Unambiguously – Coming To Terms – Is The Ideal – Toward Which Writer And Reader Should Strive

~ TO-T-A-ASUOW-FTSO-CK ~ Think Of – Terms – As – A Skilled Use Of Words – For The Sake Of – Communicating Knowledge

~ W-ITBOWILFBAWAFN ~ Wonder – Is The Beginning Of Wisdom In Learning From Books As Well As From Nature

~ ‘V’:TBHOUWWRFTTTSCAWAOTETWTSR ~ “Verbalism: The Bad Habit Of Using Words Without Regard For The Thoughts They Should Convey And Without Awareness Of The Experiences To Which They Should Refer

~ TIOSJ:YMBATS-WRC-“IU”-BYCS-“IA”-O-“ID”-TAWUII-TDWUII ~ The Importance Of Suspending Judgment: You Must Be Able To Say – With Reasonable Certainty – “I Understand” – Before You Can Say – “I Agree” – Or – “I Disagree” – To Agree Without Understanding Is Inane – To Disagree Without Understanding Is Impudent

~ SJ-IAA-AOC-IITTPTSHNBS-YASTYANCOPOWOTO ~ Suspending Judgment – Is Also An – Act Of Criticism – It Is Taking The Position That Something Has Not Been Shown – You Are Saying That You Are Not Convinced Or Persuaded One Way Or The Other

~ WYD-DS-R-A-NDOC ~ When You Disagree – Do So – Reasonably – And – Not Disputatiously Or Contentiously

~ IAA-DNG-R-F-P-TCBTOAEO-PO ~ If – An Author – Does Not Give – Reasons – For – Propositions – They Can Be Treated Only As Expressions Of – Personal Opinions

~ RTDB-K-AM-PO-BGRFACJYM ~ Respect The Difference Between – Knowledge – And Mere – Personal Opinion – By Giving Reasons For Any Critical Judgment You Make

~ IINT-ATE-YBTADOTTAITCOI-O-YALTB-GVTFNSR-YMETYHR-WAYHASF ~ It Is Necessary To – Acknowledge The Emotions – You Bring To A Dispute Or Those That Arise In The Course Of It – Otherwise – You Are Likely To Be – Giving Vent To Feelings Not Stating Reasons – You May Even Think You Have Reasons – When All You Have Are Strong Feelings

~ YMKWY-P-TI-P-A-OYANLTATYOMBEETDA ~ You Must Know What Your – Prejudices – That Is – Your – Prejudgments – Are – Otherwise You Are Not Likely To Admit That Your Opponent May Be Equally Entitle To Different Assumptions

~ A-AAI-IAGAFTBTIAIIP-CWP-I-OC-I-B-TBSTTI-MLIIALH-EOTDSALTTTTO-POV ~ An – Attempt At Impartiality – Is A Good Antidote For The Blindness That Is Almost Inevitable In Partisanship – Controversy Without Partisanship – Is – Of Course – Impossible – But – To Be Sure That There Is – More Light In It And Less Heat – Each Of The Disputants Should At Least Try To Take The Other – Point Of View

~ FSCUWSI-EOI-TIETIYR-DOI-T-NSTFAT-SEOTS-SPOI-A-IYARFE-TIRNETTITAESOLIRBTQ:WOI? ~ Facts Seldom Come To Us Without Some Interpretation – Explicit Or Implied – This Is Especially True If You’re Reading – Digests Of Information – That – Necessarily Select The Facts According To – Some Evaluation Of Their Significance – Some Principle Of Interpretation – And – If You Are Reading For Enlightenment – There Is Really No End To The Inquiry That At Every Stage Of Learning Is Renewed By The Question: What Of It?

~ T-GW-HAB-GR-WTDR-TRW-ITNCOE-AGSFBAT-A-ST-AGRBAA ~ The – Great Writers – Have Always Been – Great Readers – What They Did Read – They Read Well – In The Natural Course Of Events – A Good Student Frequently Becomes A Teacher – And – So Too – A Good Reader Becomes An Author

~ TA-OC-MBWRW ~ There Are – Of Course – Many Books Worth Reading Well

~ SE-MBAS-A-IAOTTWGTTTOAI ~ Special Experience – Must Be Actively Sought – And – Is Available Only To Those Who Go To The Trouble Of Acquiring It

~ ETIRAS-SBSAEACAP ~ Everything That Is Relevant And Statable – Should Be Said As Explicitly And Clearly As Possible

~ A-GH-DN-OC-MUTP ~ A – Good Historian – Does Not – Of Course – Make Up The Past

~ T-MITTK-WR-ARO-CH-I-WIWTR ~ The – Most Important Thing To Know – When Reading – Any Report Of – Current Happenings – Is – Who Is Writing The Report

~ A GB-CTY-ATW-A-AY ~ A Good Book – Can Teach You – About The World – And – About Yourself