Chapter 5, Deception (and Hype)
Suggestive or Misleading Questions
Recall that one question for the one-way rule
When Aunt Jane visits her nephew Tom's home, Tom goes out to play.
asked what could be said for certain about Aunt Jane when Tom goes out to
play? The answer is nothing. But the wording in this question hinted or
suggested that a little bit more could be said for certain about Aunt Jane. The
question was slightly misleading. A less misleading question would be what,
if anything, can be said for certain. You have to be aware of misleading
questions. The topic of suggestive and misleading questions is discussed
next.&
Are you trusting? Are you willing to politely accept everything I or someone
else says or suggests without question? The phrase what can you say for sure
in the above question makes you expect something could be said for sure, not
nothing. You have to watch for misleading and suggestive questions in and
outside of this book.
When someone tries to convince you with a suggestive chain of reasoning, you
need to recognize the weak and strong links in that chain. Then you can decide
for yourself whether or not to accept the suggestions or conclusions obtained.
Faulty logic may hide some deliberate deception or some reparable chains of
reason. In particular, you may see where the chain fails and is broken, or where
the chain can be strengthened or repaired. In our thoughts, we need to identify
or keep track of what is certain, what is almost sure, what is guessed, what is
probable, and what is only suggested.
The next example is far-fetched in most worldly locations, but it illustrates
a situation that you need to recognize. Suppose I asked how long have you
been beating your elephant? This question suggests you own a mistreated
elephant. A gullible, too trusting, person overhearing this question could
believe (assume) you own an elephant. A gullible person overhearing the question
could believe this unless you say the question is absurd because you don't own
an elephant.
We all are slightly gullible. It is a matter of politeness not to challenge a
speaker. On hearing a question, we like (or tend) to think each question posed
is correct, honest and not misleading. But we need to continually watch for
questions that are not realistic, especially if the speaker does allow us to
challenge them. Their words may force upon us unchallenged assumptions or
suggestions. Suggestive questions need to be recognized – if not stopped. They
need to be challenged and corrected to prevent the reasoning from continuing in
an absurd or deceptive direction.
A series of suggestive questions is intimidating and forceful. When the
suggestions in them remain unchallenged, you may find yourself at the end of a
long chain of suggestive reasoning, agreeing to or not challenging some
repugnant ideas. So watch for misleading questions. The questions and possibly
the speaker are false. Step by step, or question by question, such false
reasoning needs to be exposed. The exposure could start with the very first
question, and then the next, and the next, and so on.
When a speaker, in posing and answering suggestive questions, leads you to
false or repugnant conclusions, such a speaker has lied and mislead you. Your
intelligence has been deliberately or accidentally insulted. The speaker, a
possible villain, has taken advantage of your politeness or silence. Faulty
reason or lies may be hidden in suggestive questions.
Hype, Hype, Hype, Hooray
People try to persuade us in many ways. We need to recognize the fair and unfair
ways, or the sensible and nonsensical ways. In persuading ourselves and others,
we need to recognize and appreciate or reward careful logic. Efforts to persuade
and lead us are met in advertising, public relations, political campaigns,
religion, law, business, mathematics courses (yes), and even your family.
Advertisements and sales pitches may give an excessively favorable impression of
a product. That is, few people, parties or companies will point to the bad or
weak parts in their service or product. Because of a favorable impression or
promise, we may choose one service or product much to our later regret.
Words can be used not only to teach and inform but also to direct or
misdirect others. Here different messages can be given to different people. For
example in talking about an adult-only subject, a child may be given or
understand one message, while the elders understand another (or both). This may
give a simple, half-innocent, example of a creative, deceptive ambiguity. In
time the child grows up. Delivery of two different messages at once becomes more
difficult as the child learns. Double meanings are then seen by the child, and
no longer useful. The child is less gullible. More blatantly, appearances and
words can mislead us.
Ambiguity and inconsistency are tools of some politicians and some sales
agents for whom only the result (selling a product, service or conclusion)
counts. For example, a leader or salesperson may suggest different and contrary
ideas to different people. Watch for this inconsistency. Does it reflect a
maturing attitude or a deceptive tongue?
In honest debate between people, question and issues are addressed one by one
as they appear and the course of debate is not changed to avoid answering
awkward questions. Unfortunately, for the sake of persuasion, political speakers
may respond to only part of a question and shift the topic of conversation, so
that the original topic is neglected. It is a shallow and insulting kind of
response that goes for the most part unchallenged in public debate.
Numbers, and not just words, can be used to mislead people. Numerical
descriptions of situations need to be understood. Averages for instance may be
computed using different ways. It is also deceptive to let people think that one
calculation is used instead of another. It is also deceptive, more precisely
meaningless, to use statistics without saying how they were computed. In
mathematics, a statistic is just a number computed from collected data. Further
examples of and warnings about numerical or statistical methods of deception can
be found in the following two books.
- How to Lie with Statistics by D. Durf, 1954, Norton and Company,
ISBN -0-393-31072-8
- Use and Abuse of Statistics by W. J. Reichmann, 1961, Pelican
Books, ISBN 0-14- 02-0707-4
Ethics For Persuasion
When you want others to agree with an action or idea, how should you speak?
The only way to convince others is to give them reasons acceptable to them. But
in doing this, our reasons for the action or idea could be different from the
ones acceptable to them. When this is the case, we should say so. In this, some
diplomacy may be required. The honesty advocated here is awkward when you speak
to people who do not allow reasons different from theirs for a common goal.
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Teachers & Tutors: Site pages offer better or best practices for providing skills -
simpler than expected & comprehensive but for exercises. For your charges, your duty is to study them alone or in
groups and develop skill building exercises & activities to share. Start now. The effort here is the best I can do.
Others are welcome to refine or exceed it. Please do.
Secondary
Mathematics for Ages 11+, A Practical Approach for home-tutoring or -schooling, or for schools & colleges
with local curriculum control. Study how to include site content - its skill development how-TOs and innovations
into present or future lesson plans - some reading required.
Road
Safety Messages and Questions: When and why should you face
traffic when walking along a road or cycle path? Is it a good
idea to hang limbs outside of cars etc? What gives more
protection in a crash: a car, motorbike or bicycle?
See too, the BBC-Belgium story Texting and
Driving - texting & the impossible test - the article links to a gruesome utube video on the subject
The Logic of Injustice:
How Texas sent
an innocent man to his death - The wrong Carlos. Some judgments are irreversible. Procescution: Where and when prosectors play to win rather than for
justice, guilt beyond a reasonable doubt goes unrespected due to prosecutors who putting winning
first, those innocence before the law may be convicted. Some procescutors offices in continuing to accuse after a pardon
due to reasonable doubt or innocent being shown, may sucessfully oppose compensaton for false convictions
by asserting a pardon individual is still under suspicion. Then the pardoned individual or the latter's estate
is not compensation for years or decade
of improper or false imprisonment, or for execution. Site chapters on Logic
and some in Pattern
Based Reason may slowly lead to greater precision in reading, applying and
writing laws.
May 2012, Composition Starting:
Pre-School and Primary Mathematics - Quantitative Skills, An
Intellectual View, Feedback Welcome:
The 8 Most Popular Site Inlinks
Parent Center: Help your child or teen
learn:
Parent-friendly
Work Booklets for ages 3+ to 13 Use these or others to check
or build skills. Other booklets are available but these booklets
allow parents unsure of themselves in mathematics to help their
children. The selection acquired in Canada is published in the
USA. So it has a US orientation. In retrospect, the selection
shows parents what to check with the booklets or by other ways,
the choice is theirs. But in retrospect, the selection does not
cover integral and fractions liquid weights and measures - ask
the publishers to correct that! For ages 9 to 12 say, parents may
compensate by showing boys and girls how to use weights or mass,
and further measures in food preparation. Beyond that children
may be shown how to measure and calculate angles, lengths and
areas [proportional amounts too] directly or by using maps and
plans drawns to scale. Learning how to gather and measure all the
ingredients, pots and pans for a dish or a meal, along with
cleaning up sets the stage for like activities or experiments in
science courses, and in developing organizational skills,
gives boys and girls a head start. Good luck. At the other
extreme, more comprehensive than light, if your motto is
McCainian: drill, drill, drill then Toronto
mathematician and actor John Mighton's jump math organization has jump math
workbooks for at least grades 3 to 8 for at-home and in-school
use - training sessions for teachers available. Jump math has
been expanding to cover older students. Jump Math Samples: plus
Fractions for
Grades 3-4 & Grades 5-6 [Read] Free Resources grades 1 to 8
[unread - likely to be good]. and
Mathematics
Skills For Ages 3 to 14 - technical!
Skills with take
home value - A few ideas
Basic skills include
time-date-calendar Matters; money matters; map, plan and
scale diagram matters;counting, measuring and figuring;
decision making with logic and likelyhood; being careful and
being aware of the domino effect of mistakes; reading and
writing with precision.
Is your child able to add, subtract and multiply amounts
of money, work with fractions, work with clocks and calendars,
work with maps and plans, and measure length, weight-mass and
volume? Schools may promote your son or daughter without
providing basic skills in reading, writing and
arithmetic.
Arithmetic
and Number Theory Skills
Algebra
Starter Lessons
Geometry
- maps plans trigonometry vectors
More
Algebra
70
Calculus Starter Lessons
Calculus Lessons Elsewhere:
-
How to Ace Calculus: Street Wise Guide - Mostly
Text.
-
Flash
Video for Calculus Phobics
They cover basic topics in ways likely to complement your
notes, your textbooks and site material. When Goldilocks
trespassed in the house of the three bears, she found three bowls
of porridge, two not to her liking, and one just right. Different
bears have different tastes. As invited guest here and elsewhere,
if one or more explanations is not to liking, try another. It may
be better or just right.
Unsolicited Advice
Learning to do and high marks if it comes to easy is often
deceptive - light rather than deep. For that reason, students
with learning difficulties determined not to let it get in their
way may go deeper and farther than those with none. High marks,
if the come easy, may be deceptive - provide a too light and not
a deep mastery. That could have been your problem in secondary
school, one that leads to comprehension shock or difficulties in
calculus and more generally in the first year of college. Bon
Appetite.
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