Why W is so brilliant
"I believe that a free society is a peaceful society" - George W. Bush
Hello George! Thanks for reading my Blog!
Today, we're going to learn about two things. They might help you out in your job.
The first thing is called LOGIC. It's an amazing tool for this thing we like to call "rational decision making". You might like to try it. The portion of logic we're going to learn about is a special kind of statement called a "Conditional".
The basic form of a conditional is "If A, then B".
Let's use an example you'll understand, to make this idea clear to you.
Let's consider the statement "If it's a kitty cat, it's fuzzy"
This statement can be true or false. How can we tell if the statement is false? We look for examples, and see if they fit the statement.
Do you remember Socks? Socks was Bill Clinton's kitty cat. Socks was fuzzy. And this is consistent with our statement. A is true, and B is true, so "if A then B" is not disproven. That last part with the letters requires abstract thinking, George. So if I lost ya, don't worry.
What about Dick Cheney? He's not a kitty cat, but he is fuzzy. Does this make our statement false? No. The presence of fuzzy things that aren't kitty cats doesn't disprove our statement that if it's a kitty, it is fuzzy. If A is false and B is true, then "if A then B" is still true.
What about zoom zoom airplanes? Zoom zoom airplanes aren't kitty cats, and they're not fuzzy. Do zoom zoom airplanes make our statement false? No, because if things that aren't kitty cats aren't fuzzy, it can still be true that kitty cats are fuzzy. If A is false and B is false, "If A, then B" is still true.
But what about Mr. Bigglesworth? Is Mr. Bigglesworth a kitty? Is he fuzzy? Ah! So he's an example of a kitty that's not fuzzy, and this disproves our theory that "if it's a kitty, it's fuzzy". If A is true and B is false, then "If A, then B" is false.
I hope you enjoyed our talk about kitties, George.
The second thing I want to talk about is called CONFIRMATION BIAS. It's the psychological tendency of people to look only for examples and information that confirm their assumptions. People have this amazing ability to ignore things that don't fit with what they want to believe. You don't know any silly people like that, do you George?
Let's combine our two lessons for the day into a game I'd like to call "Name that country"
Can you think of some societies that are Free and Peaceful? Switzerland! Iceland! Canada!
Can you think of some societies that are Not Free, but Peaceful? Singapore!
Can you think of some societies that are Not Free and Not Peaceful? Nazi Germany! Stalin's USSR! Pinochet's Chile!
Now, the extra special bonus round. Be careful George! If we can think of an example of a country that is Free but NOT Peaceful, it will prove your statement false...
Think hard George... A society that's Free, but NOT Peaceful.
I'll give you a hint.
From late 2001 to late 2003, this country averaged exactly one invasion of another country per year!
This country's government actively pursues policies to allow torture, and refuses to abide by the Geneva convention!
Still not sure?
Finish this sentence: "I am the President of..."
Hello George! Thanks for reading my Blog!
Today, we're going to learn about two things. They might help you out in your job.
The first thing is called LOGIC. It's an amazing tool for this thing we like to call "rational decision making". You might like to try it. The portion of logic we're going to learn about is a special kind of statement called a "Conditional".
The basic form of a conditional is "If A, then B".
Let's use an example you'll understand, to make this idea clear to you.
Let's consider the statement "If it's a kitty cat, it's fuzzy"
This statement can be true or false. How can we tell if the statement is false? We look for examples, and see if they fit the statement.
Do you remember Socks? Socks was Bill Clinton's kitty cat. Socks was fuzzy. And this is consistent with our statement. A is true, and B is true, so "if A then B" is not disproven. That last part with the letters requires abstract thinking, George. So if I lost ya, don't worry.
What about Dick Cheney? He's not a kitty cat, but he is fuzzy. Does this make our statement false? No. The presence of fuzzy things that aren't kitty cats doesn't disprove our statement that if it's a kitty, it is fuzzy. If A is false and B is true, then "if A then B" is still true.
What about zoom zoom airplanes? Zoom zoom airplanes aren't kitty cats, and they're not fuzzy. Do zoom zoom airplanes make our statement false? No, because if things that aren't kitty cats aren't fuzzy, it can still be true that kitty cats are fuzzy. If A is false and B is false, "If A, then B" is still true.
But what about Mr. Bigglesworth? Is Mr. Bigglesworth a kitty? Is he fuzzy? Ah! So he's an example of a kitty that's not fuzzy, and this disproves our theory that "if it's a kitty, it's fuzzy". If A is true and B is false, then "If A, then B" is false.
I hope you enjoyed our talk about kitties, George.
The second thing I want to talk about is called CONFIRMATION BIAS. It's the psychological tendency of people to look only for examples and information that confirm their assumptions. People have this amazing ability to ignore things that don't fit with what they want to believe. You don't know any silly people like that, do you George?
Let's combine our two lessons for the day into a game I'd like to call "Name that country"
Can you think of some societies that are Free and Peaceful? Switzerland! Iceland! Canada!
Can you think of some societies that are Not Free, but Peaceful? Singapore!
Can you think of some societies that are Not Free and Not Peaceful? Nazi Germany! Stalin's USSR! Pinochet's Chile!
Now, the extra special bonus round. Be careful George! If we can think of an example of a country that is Free but NOT Peaceful, it will prove your statement false...
Think hard George... A society that's Free, but NOT Peaceful.
I'll give you a hint.
From late 2001 to late 2003, this country averaged exactly one invasion of another country per year!
This country's government actively pursues policies to allow torture, and refuses to abide by the Geneva convention!
Still not sure?
Finish this sentence: "I am the President of..."
posted by Kenneth at 10:53 PM
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