Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 17, No. 62.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu
Date: Fri, 06 Jun 2003 06:51:52 +0100
From: Tim van Gelder <tgelder@unimelb.edu.au>
Subject: May Additions to Critical Thinking On The Web
5 Jun
in Argument Mapping, and Teaching
<http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~ctwardy/Papers/reasonpaper.pdf>Argument
Maps Improve Critical Thinking, by Charles Twardy.
"Computer-based argument mapping greatly enhances student critical
thinking, more than tripling absolute gains made by other methods. I
describe the method and my experience as an outsider. Argument mapping
often showed precisely how students were erring (for example: confusing
helping premises for separate reasons), making it much easier for them to
fix their errors." [5 Jun 03]
4 Jun
in Great Critical Thinkers - Chomsky
But for a view from the other side, see
<http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/21/may03/chomsky.htm>The Hypocrisy of
Noam Chomsky, by Keith Windschuttle. Australia's roughest intellectual
street-fighter goes a round with the greatest heavyweight of the Left. A
knockout blow, or a kick below the belt? [4 Jun 03]
3 Jun
in Intelligence
<http://intellit.muskingum.edu/analysis_folder/di_catn_Folder/contents.htm>A
Compendium of Analytic Tradecraft Notes
CIA-produced guide to good practice in producing and delivering
intelligence. Lots of good material here for the intelligence analyst
wanting to improve critical thinking, or the critical thinker interested to
learn more from intelligence analysts. [3 Jun 03]
in Miscellaneous and Fun
<http://www.sar.bolton.ac.uk/ltl/Workbooks/at_p3.htm>Thinking critically
about theories in psychology, Learning to Learn, Bolton Institute
Useful overview of how to tell whether a theory is any good. "they should
meet the standards implied by the criteria of comprehensiveness, parsimony,
clarity of constructs, internal consistency, testability, empirical support
and heuristic value." [20 May 03]
12 May
in Health and Medicine - Essays
<http://www.1freespace.com/ziggyzap/naturopa.htm>The Truth about Natural
Therapists by Helen Chyrssides
Intrepid reporter consults 25 randomly-selected naturopaths about a
supposed feeling of tiredness; she found out "I may have everything from
poor digestion and a malfunctioning liver to intestinal parasites, breast
cancer, a blocked ovary, thyroid imbalance and brain lesions, and that I
could be pregnant (I'm not). They have told me that the true colour of my
eyes is green or blue, though I'm of Greek ancestry and all my Greek
relatives have brown eyes, to exercise more, eat less meat, eat more meat,
cut out dairy foods, consume more dairy foods, avoid wheat, tap water and
startling noises. In consultations costing from $35 to $170 I have been
urged to buy supplements ranging in price from a few dollars to over
$9000." [12 May 03]
9 May
in Intelligence (new section)
<http://www.newyorker.com/printable/?fact/030512fa_fact>Selective
Intelligence by Seymour M. Hersh
Discusses how "the Cabal," a small group in the Pentagon, dominated
intelligence in the lead-up to the 1993 Iraq war, including promoting the
view that Iraq had extensive WMD, weapons which (at time of writing) have
not been found. Contains interesting insights into the nature of
intelligence and the kind of political and bureaucratic forces which can
corrupt it. See also this
<http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?030512on_onlineonly01>interview
with Hersh. [9 May 03]
in Language and Thought - Reviews
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/03/arts/03ASIA.html?position=&pagewanted=print&position=>Writing
as a Block for Asians by Emily Eakin, New York Times
Discussion of William C. Hannas' book The Writing on the Wall, in which he
argues (according to Eakin) "because East Asian writing systems lack the
abstract features of alphabets, they hamper the kind of analytical and
abstract thought necessary for scientific creativity." I don't know whether
Hannas is right, but it is an interesting idea. And if true, it would help
explain the apparent "scientific creativity gap" between the West and East
without reference to different intrinsic abilities. In that sense, it is
anti-racist thesis. Nevertheless, it is amusing to see the PC-squirming of
various people quoted in the review. [9 May 03]
5 May
in Health and Medicine
<http://www.policyreview.org/FEB03/gorman.html>Prevention Programs And
Scientific Nonsense by D.M. Gorman
Discusses the cancer of anti-science and pseudo-science in the area of
critical evaluation of programs aimed at promoting health. Seems like in
many areas the patient is already dead. The article covers some standard
terrain, but adds some interesting touches. I liked the idea of "lapses
into reality": it is difficult for postmodernists to consistently maintain
their confused affectations of rejection of notions such as truth and
rigorous evidence, so occasionally they fall into playing the game they
purport to reject. [5 May 03]
4 May
in Health and Medicine
<http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15744>Sex, Lies and Abstinence
by Jennifer Block.
Allowing ideology to trump truth and objective inquiry is hardly a
prerogative of the left/progressive/PC crowd. "Revising the CDC website is
just one of the many ways the Bush administration has sought to distort and
suppress scientific inquiry, not to mention sound public health policy,
that contradicts its so-called family values..." [4 May 03]
1 May
in Language and Thought - Reviews
<http://www.calendarlive.com/books/reviews/cl-et-book28apr28,0,4911708.story?coll=cl-books-reviews>Tests,
textbooks: Only men bake cookies in these parts by Merle Rubin Review of
The Language Police, How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn by
Diane Ravitch.
Horrifying. "Ravitch made it her business to investigate "the Language
Police." What she discovered about the roots and ramifications of this
eerily Orwellian system is the story told in this book. As the subtitle
suggests, it is a story of how pressure groups -- left-wing and right-wing,
large and small -- have managed to control not only the language, but even
the very subject matter and ideas that appear in the textbooks being used
in our schools." [1 May 03]
30 Apr
in Health and Medicine
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/29/health/nutrition/29VITA.html?th=&pagewanted=print&position=>Vitamins:
More May Be Too Many by Gina Kolata
Discusses evidence that "vitamin supplements cannot correct for a poor
diet, that multivitamins have not been shown to prevent any disease and
that it is easy to reach high enough doses of certain vitamins and minerals
to actually increase the risk of disease." Sample of what Kolata finds:
"Vitamin E supplements can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes,
and studies of vitamin C supplements consistently failed to show that it
had any beneficial effects. "The two vitamins that are the most not needed
are the ones most often taken," Dr. Russell said." [30 Apr 03]
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