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Truth course - Huben's Wiki

Truth course

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For a number of years, I've wanted to save students from a great deal of wasted time and energy following philosophical, religious, economic, pseudoscientific, political and other dead ends.  Instead, I'd rather jump-start them into modern positions of skepticism, scientific knowledge, history and other fields while vaccinating them against the most pernicious frauds and giving them the tools to test these for themselves.
 
For a number of years, I've wanted to save students from a great deal of wasted time and energy following philosophical, religious, economic, pseudoscientific, political and other dead ends.  Instead, I'd rather jump-start them into modern positions of skepticism, scientific knowledge, history and other fields while vaccinating them against the most pernicious frauds and giving them the tools to test these for themselves.
  
I'm thinking of creating a senior elective course with an appropriate textbook.  The goal would be to teach high-level thinking skills for evaluating the differences between reliable knowledge (such as science) and unreliable knowledge (such as creationism.)
+
I'm thinking of creating a course which will eventually result in a textbook.  The goal would be to exercise high-level thinking skills for evaluating the differences between reliable knowledge (such as science) and unreliable knowledge (such as creationism.)
  
 
I'm still in a brainstorming and resource acquisition phase, and I'm looking for collaborators.
 
I'm still in a brainstorming and resource acquisition phase, and I'm looking for collaborators.
 +
 +
2018: found this course: [http://callingbullshit.org/syllabus.html Calling Bullshit: Data Reasoning in a Digital World]
  
 
== Ideas for an elective class (or book) on truth and knowing. ==
 
== Ideas for an elective class (or book) on truth and knowing. ==
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* encouraging research to make informed assessments
 
* encouraging research to make informed assessments
 
* fluency in some modern ideas
 
* fluency in some modern ideas
** Stove's conclusion
+
** [http://huben.us/wiki/Skepticism_of_Philosophical_Thought Stove's conclusion]
 
* writing
 
* writing
 
** concision
 
** concision
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*how well do we know what we know
 
*how well do we know what we know
 
** how do we learn
 
** how do we learn
 +
***How Do You Know?: The Economics of Ordinary Knowledge by Russell Hardin
 
***memorization
 
***memorization
 
** how do we process
 
** how do we process
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*how do we actually think?
 
*how do we actually think?
 
**not deductively
 
**not deductively
 +
* what is knowledge
 +
* foundations of knowledge
 +
** experience
 +
** models
 +
** values
 +
** viewpoints, including biases
 +
** lies, fantasies, fictions, wishes
 +
* why are there multiple conflicting knowledges
 +
** [https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2019/10/14/you-dont-have-evidence-for-most-of-your-beliefs-get-used-to-it/ You don’t have evidence for most of your beliefs. Get used to it.]
 +
* utilizing multiple conflicting knowledges
 +
** rabbinical methodologies?
 +
* choosing among multiple conflicting knowledges
 
*folk knowledge versus modern knowledge
 
*folk knowledge versus modern knowledge
 
**see consilience
 
**see consilience
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**evo psych
 
**evo psych
 
*** [http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2013/04/moral-intuitions-as-evolutionary-modules.html Moral intuitions as evolutionary modules]
 
*** [http://understandingsociety.blogspot.com/2013/04/moral-intuitions-as-evolutionary-modules.html Moral intuitions as evolutionary modules]
 +
*** [https://betterhumans.coach.me/cognitive-bias-cheat-sheet-55a472476b18#.2dpv5v4u5 Cognitive bias cheat sheet]
 +
*** [https://yourbias.is/poster Get a 'Know Thyself' biases poster]
 
*conspiracy theories
 
*conspiracy theories
 
**god of the gaps
 
**god of the gaps
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***untestable "answers" to challenges
 
***untestable "answers" to challenges
 
***requirements that defy common sense
 
***requirements that defy common sense
 +
** [https://debunkingdenialism.com/2017/02/02/six-ways-to-debunk-any-conspiracy-theory Six Ways to Debunk Any Conspiracy Theory]
 
*categories of truth
 
*categories of truth
 
**mathematical truth
 
**mathematical truth
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***symbolic logic
 
***symbolic logic
 
***proof is computation (string transformation)
 
***proof is computation (string transformation)
 +
***many other logics
 +
**Venn diagram of reasoning [[File:VennReasoning.jpeg|100px|thumb|right|Venn diagram of reasoning]]
 +
***No real-world premises are true: all break down at some point.
 +
***Examples of invalid real-world assumptions (premises):
 +
**# The sky is blue.
 +
**# The sun rises in the East.
 +
**# All swans are white.
 +
**Thus we are reason ing about the real world with "some: Some A’s are B’s, Some B’s are C’s, Therefore some A’s are C’s.  This is fallacious. 
 +
***Easy to show with two linear, 3 circle Venn diagrams, one with A and C overlap, the other not.
 +
***Standard 3 circle all overlapping Venn diagram shows other possibilities.  There lie the errors.
 +
***Many of our methods of reasoning are heuristic (usually valid guesses), not logically valid.
 
**science: difference between truth and honesty, lack of perfect proof
 
**science: difference between truth and honesty, lack of perfect proof
 
***a search for reliable knowledge
 
***a search for reliable knowledge
 
****An Introduction to Science
 
****An Introduction to Science
****http://www.freeinquiry.com/intro-to-sci.html
+
****http://web.archive.org/web/20070415083414/http://www.freeinquiry.com/intro-to-sci.html
 
***modeling: analogy
 
***modeling: analogy
 +
***[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemic_humility Epistemic humility]
 
***innate modeling
 
***innate modeling
 
***anecdotes
 
***anecdotes
 
****http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=33#more-33
 
****http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=33#more-33
 +
****[http://themonkeycage.org/2013/04/19/what-the-reinhart-rogoff-debacle-really-shows-verifying-empirical-results-needs-to-be-routine/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+themonkeycagefeed+%28The+Monkey+Cage%29 What the Reinhart & Rogoff Debacle Really Shows: Verifying Empirical Results Needs to be Routine]
 
***historical disciplines:
 
***historical disciplines:
 
****use natural experiments or the comparative method
 
****use natural experiments or the comparative method
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***science
 
***science
 
***markets
 
***markets
 +
*** [https://ecpr.eu/filestore/paperproposal/79d2738d-62e7-4991-a1af-6dcd19dccbca.pdf COMING TO TERMS WITH ACCOUNTABILITY]
 +
*** war
 
**hill-climbing, maxima, etc.
 
**hill-climbing, maxima, etc.
*deception
+
*deception -- everybody lies
 +
** government
 +
** business
 +
** religion
 +
*** pseudepigraphical writing
 +
** scientists
 +
*** [http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/upshot/fake-academe-looking-much-like-the-real-thing.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1 Fake Academe, Looking Much Like the Real Thing]
 +
** friends
 +
** ourselves
 +
*** Dan Ariely’s recently published book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty:  How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves.”
 +
*** [http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2017/02/how-lies-work.html How Lies Work]
 
*denialism (http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/)
 
*denialism (http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/)
 
**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4UF_Rmlio
 
**http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4UF_Rmlio
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***dictionaries and other references as arbiters of meaning
 
***dictionaries and other references as arbiters of meaning
 
*surveys and their fallacies
 
*surveys and their fallacies
 +
*Misinformation and disinformation pages in wikipedia
 
*propaganda
 
*propaganda
 
**Tomorrow Belongs to Me (bandwagon purpose of music)
 
**Tomorrow Belongs to Me (bandwagon purpose of music)
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*ontology
 
*ontology
 
*learning
 
*learning
 +
** from infancy on, learning is based on trust in the sources.  We do not have resources to check even a slight fraction of what we are learning against the real world let alone against what we already think we know.
 +
** [https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2019/10/14/you-dont-have-evidence-for-most-of-your-beliefs-get-used-to-it/ You don’t have evidence for most of your beliefs. Get used to it.]
 
**research vs. gossip, accuracy vs retention
 
**research vs. gossip, accuracy vs retention
** complexity beyond (single) human understanding [https://plus.google.com/112218872649456413744/posts/dfydM2Cnepe Dizzying but invisible depth]
+
** complexity beyond (single) human understanding [http://web.archive.org/web/20170609044355/https://plus.google.com/112218872649456413744/posts/dfydM2Cnepe Dizzying but invisible depth]
 
*consequentialism
 
*consequentialism
 
*skepticism
 
*skepticism
 
**3 types (Kurtz): if you can't keep them straight, can't
 
**3 types (Kurtz): if you can't keep them straight, can't
 
**understand skeptical argument
 
**understand skeptical argument
 +
*** extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and that what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence (Hitchens)
 
*pragmatism
 
*pragmatism
 
*seeing is believing, observational error, value based observation
 
*seeing is believing, observational error, value based observation
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**nutrition
 
**nutrition
 
**medicine
 
**medicine
 +
***quackademic medicine (infiltration into medical practices)
 
**politics
 
**politics
 
**finances
 
**finances
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**alternatives
 
**alternatives
 
**the emperor (religion) has no clothes (no visible god)
 
**the emperor (religion) has no clothes (no visible god)
 +
*Entire fields can be identified as very low in truth content because there are many traditionally held beliefs that all contradict each other.
 +
** the many religions, the many philosophies, most world views, some social sciences
 +
** [https://philpapers.org/surveys/results.pl The PhilPapers Surveys]: philosophers cannot agree on anything basic.
 +
** [http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/vast-literatures-as-mud-moats.html Vast Literatures as Mud Moats]: a heuristic method of identifying when it is worthwhile or not to explore a literature.
 
*pseudoscience: recognizing pseudoscience: asimov/clark's rules
 
*pseudoscience: recognizing pseudoscience: asimov/clark's rules
 
*origins
 
*origins
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**how to detect fake images
 
**how to detect fake images
 
*public relations
 
*public relations
 +
** <i>Post-Truth</i>, Lee McIntyre
 
*fringe groups (LaRouche, cults, etc.)
 
*fringe groups (LaRouche, cults, etc.)
 
*race/culture/ethnicity
 
*race/culture/ethnicity
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**self interest
 
**self interest
 
**active vs passive acceptance of falsehoods (reorganize)
 
**active vs passive acceptance of falsehoods (reorganize)
**confirmation bias
+
**confirmation bias, including the political sense of epistemic closure
 +
***tribal epistemology
 
**humans use non-monotonic heuristics, seldom logic
 
**humans use non-monotonic heuristics, seldom logic
  
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*http://nigelwarburton.typepad.com/philosophy_bites/
 
*http://nigelwarburton.typepad.com/philosophy_bites/
 
*http://whatstheharm.net/index.html
 
*http://whatstheharm.net/index.html
 +
* Debunkings of religions, their founders, and their leaders
 +
** Bare-Faced Messiah (scientology)
 +
** The Missionary Position
 +
** Why I Am Not A Muslim (and successor books)
  
 
== Assignments ==
 
== Assignments ==
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== Miscelaneous ==
 
== Miscelaneous ==
 +
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/29/upshot/fake-academe-looking-much-like-the-real-thing.htm A Peek Inside the Strange World of Fake Academia]
 +
* [https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/19/1/2/463780/Denialism-what-is-it-and-how-should-scientists Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond?]
 +
* [https://www.skepticalscience.com/docs/Debunking_Handbook.pdf The Debunking Handbook]
 +
* [http://callingbullshit.org Calling Bullshit in the age of Big Data] College course
 
* David McRaney, "You Are Not So Smart" (46 fallacies and cognitive biases)
 
* David McRaney, "You Are Not So Smart" (46 fallacies and cognitive biases)
 
* Guy P. Harrison, "50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True"
 
* Guy P. Harrison, "50 Popular Beliefs That People Think Are True"
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*Bad Science (Paperback) by Ben Goldacre*      health quackery
 
*Bad Science (Paperback) by Ben Goldacre*      health quackery
 +
* Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion by Gary Taubes
 
*Example of surviving passenger claiming a miracle: what about the otherpassengers who died?
 
*Example of surviving passenger claiming a miracle: what about the otherpassengers who died?
  
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** Or is it true that hardly any philosophy starts with such clear premises, and never states the premises precisely because it would be so easy to spot why they are invalid?
 
** Or is it true that hardly any philosophy starts with such clear premises, and never states the premises precisely because it would be so easy to spot why they are invalid?
 
* [http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/postmonth/feb02.html Morton's Demon]
 
* [http://www.talkorigins.org/origins/postmonth/feb02.html Morton's Demon]
* Dan Ariely’s recently published book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty:  How We Lie to Everyone – Especially Ourselves.”
 
 
* http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/reasons-matter-when-intuitions-dont-object/
 
* http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/reasons-matter-when-intuitions-dont-object/
 
* All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
 
* All Marketers Are Liars by Seth Godin
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* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/mar/03/brain-not-simple-folk-neuroscience#_ Our brains, and how they're not as simple as we think]
 
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/mar/03/brain-not-simple-folk-neuroscience#_ Our brains, and how they're not as simple as we think]
 
* Candida Moss "The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom"
 
* Candida Moss "The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom"
 +
* Lawrence Wright, "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief"
 +
* [http://crispian-jago.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-venn-diagram-of-irrational-nonsense.html The Venn Diagram of Irrational Nonsense]
 +
* [http://www.bradford-delong.com/2018/02/economics-as-a-professional-vocation-bulls-detection-as-a-student-learning-goal.html Bulls--- Detection as a Student Learning Goal - Brad DeLong]
 +
* Nonsense on Stilts: How to tell Science from Bunk (Massimo Pigliucci)
 +
* [http://whatstheharm.net what's the harm?] This site is designed to make a point about the danger of not thinking critically. Namely that you can easily be injured or killed by neglecting this important skill.
 +
* [https://b-ok.lat/book/3554094/bce2e3 Truth (book) by Chase Wrenn]

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