Study Guide for Hour Exam 2 -- NS4H Fall 2003

 

Material Covered:

Chapters 2 (Analogies--completed), 3 (Generalizations), and 4 (Hypothetical--partial) of Moore, Presentations on NDE, ESP, Poltergeists, Creationism, and Astrology, and Assigned Readings from Weird Things, Hines and the Web.

 

Exam Date:

Monday, November 10, 2003.  Bring a Scantron 882 form, a good #2 pencil, and a good, non-smudging eraser.

 

 

Information:

Here is a list of the Informal Fallacies and some related Critical Thinking Tools introduced in this course. Some of these items related to Chapter 4 of Moore may not yet have been explored fully. Some items are listed twice which have returned for further amplification.

 

Begging the Question (tautology) False Dilemma Equivocation (2 word meanings) Composition (parts --> whole) Division (whole --> parts) Genetic Fallacy Hasty Generalization Faulty Analogy Appeal to Authority Appeal to the Masses Appeal to Tradition Appeal to Ignorance Appeal to Invincible Ignorance Appeal to Fear Appeal to the Person (ad hominem) Fallacy of False Cause (post hoc ergo propter hoc)

Confirmational Bias (cherry picking) Subjective Validation Reconstructed Memories Burden of Proof Inductive & Deductive Do Hypotheses have “legs?” Induction to Best Inference Argument by Analogy reductio ad absurdum Universal Generalizations Statistical Generalizations Fallacy of Hasty Generalization (in space or in time) Fallacy of Assumed Linearity Appeal to Innumeracy Fallacy of Biased Sample Fallacy of Anecdotal Evidence Fallacy of Specificity Shooting Yourself in the Foot

Fallacy of Confirming Evidence (Includes Cherry Picking and Subjective Validation) Superstition Fallacy of Label Slapping Observations, Questions, and Multiple Hypotheses Rules of Inference (p's and q's) Troubleshooting Trees and Strong Inference Modus Tollens and Disconfirmation Criteria of Adequacy: Testability, Fruitfulness, Scope, Simplicity, and Conservatism "if and only if"; "Necessary and Sufficient" Null Hypothesis - the true story Dealing with a Universal Negative

 

The information above will be on the front page of your exam. Following will be a series of multiple choice and essay questions in a format similar to that on the first exam. There are a lot more presentation topics on this exam, however. The questions will generally ask not only for knowledge of the content of the topic, but also on how the Critial Thinking Tools listed above can be applied.

 

OK, the exam is finished--nine pages long, 16 MC, 3 Essay as before. I have covered all the presentations and hit mose of our critical thinking concepts.

 

Check over the content of all the talks. There are questions about the terms used.

 

I have some multiple choice and one major essay question about Flatland. Review how Flatland works and the arguments, demonstrations and examples we used based on that. Recall Silent Running as well.

 

I have quite a bit about Analogies on this exam, so go back over how we did this, including the Method of Tables.

 

On Generalizations, be sure to review the material I presented on the nature of random events.

 

Some of our favorite animals make an appearance, including the Inductive Chicken and the Frog in the Pot.

 

I have a fair amount on Creationism, both in the multiple choice section and in the essay section. Go over the student presentations, the lecture material I presented, and the assigned readings. You may need this information.

 

The three essay questions are inpired by three books: Master and Commander is an essay question involving vehicles and the Method of Tables for Argument by Analogy. Flatland is about the hypothetical method. Rocks of Ages is about Creationism.