Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 16, No. 394.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:08:51 +0000
From: Tim van Gelder <tgelder@trinity.unimelb.edu.au>
Subject: Latest Additions to Critical Thinking On The Web
30 Dec
in Experts and Expertise
<http://www.jacketmagazine.com/17/>Ern Malley Feature from Jacket Magazine
Can poetry critics distinguish serious poetry from nonsense dressed up as
poetry? The "Ern Malley" hoax suggests they have serious problems. Poetry
criticism is akin to reading horoscopes - try hard enough and you can find
some apparently profound meaning in just about any babble. This website is
a rich repository of resources on one of the great literary hoaxes of all
time. [30 Dec 02]
29 Dec
in Cognitive Biases and Blindspots - Essays
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,858608,00.html>Hostages to
Fortune by David Newnham
Interesting, entertaining essay on why we are superstitious and the
survival of superstitions in an age of science. "Ask a psychologist, a
sociologist or an anthropologist what makes us superstitious... and they
will tell you the same thing. When people feel that they have no control
over events, they will suspend their belief in the rational and step into a
world where the rules seem more flexible." On the down side, the essay does
ramble, is disjointed and confuses the topic of cold reading with that of
superstition as a response to anxiety founded upon our inherent weaknesses
in identifying correlations and causal connections. [29 Dec 02]
23 Dec
in Skepticism
<http://www.watchingyou.com/woowoo.html>The Woo Woo Credo from Watching You
Dot Com
"To be a proper woo-woo, you must follow these rules: 1. Never look for the
simplest, most obvious cause of something. Refrain from mentioning Occam's
Razor (it's your nemesis)... [40 more]. As compiled from various posts on
sci.skeptic and alt.fan.art-bell. Original idea by Reality Check." [23 Dec 02]
16 Dec
in Postmodernism - Essays
<http://www.vocabula.com/VRNOV02Halpern.asp>The Meaning of Objectivity Part
1 and <http://www.vocabula.com/VRDEC02Halpern.asp>Part 2, by Mark Halpern
Quality philosophical discussion of the dangers of postmodernism, if at
times a little melodramatic: "PM, problematic and potentially dangerous
even in normal times, is for a civilization under deadly attack a corrosive
acid that weakens us where we are most vulnerable: not in our airports or
office buildings or shopping malls, but in our will and our spirit. It is
bitter beyond irony to observe that what began as an attempt to prevent us
from being tyrannical and intolerant to others has become a weapon in the
hands of those who would be so to us." NOTE: to read this you will need to
subscribe to TVR (well worth it). [16 Dec 02]
14 Dec
in General Resources
<http://www.christianlogic.com/index.html>ChristianLogic.com by Nathianel
and Hans Bluedorn
A website all about logic for Christians, with a home-schooling
orientation. In many ways this is a wonderful, delightful site, with lots
of interesting material and useful resources. Even as an atheist, I can't
help admiring the authors for their efforts, though it seems to me that
logic should be used not only to defend one's faith but to subject it to
critical scrutiny and to question its fundamental tenets. [14 Dec 02]
12 Dec
in Definitions
<http://assets.cambridge.org/0521009847/sample/0521009847WS.PDF>What is
critical thinking and how to improve it (pdf file) by Alec Fisher
Nice introductory survey of many of the most well-known or influential
definitions of critical thinking. A chapter from Fisher's recent book
Critical Thinking: An Introduction. Fisher is one of the leading figures
in the field. [12 Dec 02]
8 Dec
in Language and Thought
<http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/less-than-words-can-say/>Less Than
Words Can Say, by Richard Mitchell, the Underground Grammarian
The entire text of Mitchell's excellent book on bad language and its
<http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=pas de deux>pas de deux with bad
thinking. "Words never fail. We hear them, we read them; they enter into
the mind and become part of us for as long as we shall live. Who speaks
reason to his fellow men bestows it upon them. Who mouths inanity disorders
thought for all who listen. There must be some minimum allowable dose of
inanity beyond which the mind cannot remain reasonable. Irrationality, like
buried chemical waste, sooner or later must seep into all the tissues of
thought." [8 Dec 02]
7 Dec
in Hoaxes and Scams - Essays
<http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/05/opinion/05BUDI.html?pagewanted=print&position=bottom>Dog's
Best Friend by Stephen Budiansky
Dogs are running a gigantic scam on humans. "Dogs are not merely emotional
con artists: they are also intellectual con artists. They've learned not
only to fake love; they've managed to convince us that they are a lot
smarter than they really are. In both cases they play us for the saps we
are." [7 Dec 02]
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