Posts made in September, 2015

P:V ” Predictive Value of a statement ?”

Elsewhere I mention that the map is not the territory. But since there are so many maps, how do we compare and evaluate them. This is the essence of science. Testing, we compare the “map” with the “territory”. If a map has no predictive value, it is worthless, no matter who drew it, no matter how well drawn. There is a point to this. It is that many famous, and learned people enjoy popularity and acclaim for...

critique Ruth Twat

She immediately begins to  confuse “reason”, and her values. The positions she mocks are all well “reasoned,” as their protagonists will gladly inform you.   “Reason,” has always been enlisted in the cause of hate. There will always be a rationale, well “reasoned,” as to why the target group should be exterminated.

C/B Cognitive Bias “An ax to grind?”

A Thought System based on prejudice and social realities that overwhelms objective reality and scientific reasoning. This would lead to irrational statements, actions, and evaluations. Rationalization rather than “reason”. Usually the speaker has an emotional position and/or value judgment they wish to legitimize with rhetoric. Usually their “reasoning” is authoritative and not scientific. If a certain person...

E/O Either, Or “No middle value.”

This is the principal of : Non-Allness the word or map does  not represent all the territory. A fundamental tenet of Aristotelian epistemology is the excluded middle. No gray, no middle values, no gradient. Thus it is possible to create rhetorical maps that describe no territory. You take a bite out of an apple, is it still an apple? At what point, exactly, does it not become an apple? v’s It’s an apple, or not an apple....

I:T Index & Time

To avoid unfortunate emotional reactions and inappropriate conclusions it is important to realize that semantic density varies with time and circumstance. For instance talking about France 1281 is different from France 2015. Similarly with John [age 4] and John [age 74]. When talking about a newspaper, or media, it would be more effective to index, say newspaper1 and newspaper2, rather than making sweeping generalizations.