The “is-ought fallacy” fallacy

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 262-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Oaksford ◽  
Nick Chater
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
The World

AbstractMere facts about how the world is cannot determine how we ought to think or behave. Elqayam & Evans (E&E) argue that this “is-ought fallacy” undercuts the use of rational analysis in explaining how people reason, by ourselves and with others. But this presumed application of the “is-ought” fallacy is itself fallacious. Rational analysis seeks to explain how people do reason, for example in laboratory experiments, not how they ought to reason. Thus, no ought is derived from an is; and rational analysis is unchallenged by E&E's arguments.

Ups and Downs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Livermore
Keyword(s):  
Mantle Convection ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Computer Modelling ◽  
Great Depth ◽  
New Horizons ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
The 1960S

Despite the dumbing-down of education in recent years, it would be unusual to find a ten-year-old who could not name the major continents on a map of the world. Yet how many adults have the faintest idea of the structures that exist within the Earth? Understandably, knowledge is limited by the fact that the Earth’s interior is less accessible than the surface of Pluto, mapped in 2016 by the NASA New Horizons spacecraft. Indeed, Pluto, 7.5 billion kilometres from Earth, was discovered six years earlier than the similar-sized inner core of our planet. Fortunately, modern seismic techniques enable us to image the mantle right down to the core, while laboratory experiments simulating the pressures and temperatures at great depth, combined with computer modelling of mantle convection, help identify its mineral and chemical composition. The results are providing the most rapid advances in our understanding of how this planet works since the great revolution of the 1960s.

From Silent Spring to The Frog of War

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David K. Skelly
Keyword(s):  
Natural History ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Rachel Carson ◽  
Chemical Agents ◽  
Silent Spring ◽  
The World ◽  
History Information ◽  
Wildlife Populations ◽  
The Impact

This chapter presents two examples to demonstrate that natural history is the necessary basis of any reliable understanding of the world. More than a half century ago, Rachel Carson revolutionized the public’s view of pesticides. The foundation of her success was the careful use of natural history data, collated from across North America. The examples she assembled left little doubt that DDT and other pesticides were causing a widespread decline in birds. More recently, the case for the impact of atrazine on wildlife was based on laboratory experiments, without the advantage of natural history observations. For atrazine, natural history observations now suggest that other chemical agents are more likely to be responsible for feminization of wildlife populations. Developing expectations for scientists to collect natural history information can help to avoid over-extrapolating lab results to wild populations, a tendency often seen when those lab results conform to preconceptions about chemicals in the environment.

scholarly journals A global quantification of “normal” sleep schedules using smartphone data

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. e1501705 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia J. Walch ◽  
Amy Cochran ◽  
Daniel B. Forger
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Light Level ◽  
Sleep Scheduling ◽  
Sleep Habits ◽  
Wake Time ◽  
Sleep Timing ◽  
The World ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
Normal Sleep

The influence of the circadian clock on sleep scheduling has been studied extensively in the laboratory; however, the effects of society on sleep remain largely unquantified. We show how a smartphone app that we have developed, ENTRAIN, accurately collects data on sleep habits around the world. Through mathematical modeling and statistics, we find that social pressures weaken and/or conceal biological drives in the evening, leading individuals to delay their bedtime and shorten their sleep. A country’s average bedtime, but not average wake time, predicts sleep duration. We further show that mathematical models based on controlled laboratory experiments predict qualitative trends in sunrise, sunset, and light level; however, these effects are attenuated in the real world around bedtime. Additionally, we find that women schedule more sleep than men and that users reporting that they are typically exposed to outdoor light go to sleep earlier and sleep more than those reporting indoor light. Finally, we find that age is the primary determinant of sleep timing, and that age plays an important role in the variability of population-level sleep habits. This work better defines and personalizes “normal” sleep, produces hypotheses for future testing in the laboratory, and suggests important ways to counteract the global sleep crisis.

scholarly journals To grow or not to grow: the dilemma of sustainability

2019 ◽  
Vol 119 ◽  
pp. 00002
Author(s):  
Angelo Tartaglia
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
Negative Side ◽  
Future Conference ◽  
Material Growth ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
Social Paradigm

The premises and conclusions of the Science and the Future conference held in 2013 are the basis for this paper. I shall describe the changes occurred in the world since 2013 to present both on the positive and on the negative side, together with the failures to change, that will be discussed during the present conference. I shall especially point out the failure to address the contradiction between material growth and sustainability. The limit posed by the growing complexity of the global economy will be demonstrated, showing its implications for theungovernability of the system. I will stress the difficulty and urgency of a fully rational analysis and the discussion of some strongholds of the present social paradigm, which are intrinsically entangled with human and material unsustainability.

scholarly journals Fluoride Variations in Rivers on the Slopes of Mount Meru in Tanzania

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aldo J. Kitalika ◽  
Revocatus L. Machunda ◽  
Hans C. Komakech ◽  
Karoli N. Njau
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Samples ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Fluoride Concentration ◽  
Ion Selective Electrode ◽  
World Health ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Selective Electrode ◽  
Fluoride Ions ◽  
The World

This study reports the variations of fluoride ions in rivers on the slopes of Mount Meru in the northern part of Tanzania. More than 318 water samples were collected from Temi, Nduruma, Tengeru, and Maji ya Chai Rivers in both wet (mid-March and April) and dry (August) seasons. The samples were analyzed for fluoride levels using Ion Selective Electrode (ISE). The minimum and maximum average fluoride levels in the wet season were 0.24±0.03 mg/l and 65.20±0.03 mg/l, respectively, whereas the average lowest and highest levels in the dry season were 1.02±0.02 mg/l and 69.01±0.03 mg/l, respectively. Tengeru River had the lowest fluoride levels in both seasons, whereas Maji ya Chai recorded the highest fluoride levels in both seasons. The headwater of all rivers with the exception of Maji ya Chai met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) maximum acceptable fluoride levels of 1.50 mg/l and the downstream environment qualified for Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) maximum permissible fluoride concentration in drinking water of 4.00 mg/l. Also, the laboratory experiments showed that fluoride containing rocks exposed to pH above 7.6 display high leaching of F− in solution which gradually increased with the increase in pH, indicating that dissolution of fluoride in water is a function of pH.

Is human cognition adaptive?

1991 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-485 ◽  
Author(s):  
John R. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
Rational Analysis ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Hypothesis Formation ◽  
Expected Gain ◽  
The World ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Cost

AbstractCan the output of human cognition be predicted from the assumption that it is an optimal response to the information-processing demands of the environment? A methodology called rational analysis is described for deriving predictions about cognitive phenomena using optimization assumptions. The predictions flow from the statistical structure of the environment and not the assumed structure of the mind. Bayesian inference is used, assuming that people start with a weak prior model of the world which they integrate with experience to develop stronger models of specific aspects of the world. Cognitive performance maximizes the difference between the expected gain and cost of mental effort. (1) Memory performance can be predicted on the assumption that retrieval seeks a maximal trade-off between the probability of finding the relevant memories and the effort required to do so; in (2) categorization performance there is a similar trade-off between accuracy in predicting object features and the cost of hypothesis formation; in (3) casual inference the trade-off is between accuracy in predicting future events and the cost of hypothesis formation; and in (4) problem solving it is between the probability of achieving goals and the cost of both external and mental problem-solving search. The implemention of these rational prescriptions in neurally plausible architecture is also discussed.

scholarly journals An introduction to the mechanics of the lasso

2014 ◽  
Vol 470 (2171) ◽  
pp. 20140512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Thomas Brun ◽  
Neil Ribe ◽  
Basile Audoly
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Horizontal Plane ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
String Model ◽  
Line Tension ◽  
Static Friction ◽  
The Other ◽  
Numerical Continuation ◽  
The World ◽  
Small Loop

Trick roping evolved from humble origins as a cattle-catching tool into a sport that delights audiences all over the world with its complex patterns or ‘tricks’. Its fundamental tool is the lasso, formed by passing one end of a rope through a small loop (the honda) at the other end. Here, we study the mechanics of the simplest rope trick, the Flat Loop , in which the rope is driven by the steady circular motion of the roper's hand in a horizontal plane. We first consider the case of a fixed (non-sliding) honda. Noting that the rope's shape is steady in the reference frame rotating with the hand, we analyse a string model in which line tension is balanced by the centrifugal force and the rope's weight. We use numerical continuation to classify the steadily rotating solutions in a bifurcation diagram and analyse their stability. In addition to Flat Loops , we find planar ‘coat-hanger’ solutions, and whirling modes in which the loop collapses onto itself. Next, we treat the more general case of a honda that can slide due to a finite coefficient of friction of the rope on itself. Using matched asymptotic expansions, we resolve the shape of the rope in the boundary layer near the honda where the rope's bending stiffness cannot be neglected. We use this solution to derive a macroscopic criterion for the sliding of the honda in terms of the microscopic Coulomb static friction criterion. Our predictions agree well with rapid-camera observations of a professional trick roper and with laboratory experiments using a ‘robo-cowboy’.

scholarly journals EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF THE OFFSHORE NOURISHMENT USING THE COASER SANDS WITH THE CROSS-SHORE SEASONAL CHANGE

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (33) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Yoko Shibutani ◽  
Yuhei Matsubara ◽  
Masamitsu Kuroiwa ◽  
Noriko Yao
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Seasonal Change ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Sandy Beach ◽  
Beach Nourishment ◽  
The World ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Sand Nourishment ◽  
Study Laboratory

In recent decades, beach erosions have become severe at sandy beach in the world. The coarser sand nourishment has been noticed in Japan because of the stabilization of the beach coast. However the performance is not clear. Therefore in this study, laboratory experiments were conducted for the beach nourishment using the coarser sand. Through of this experiment, the effect of the coarser sand nourishment was investigated.

scholarly journals Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Possible Therapeutic Options for COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md. Asad Ullah ◽  
Yusha Araf ◽  
Bishajit Sarkar ◽  
Abu Tayab Moin ◽  
Riyan Al Islam Reshad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Therapeutic Options ◽  
Medical Complications ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Contagious Nature ◽  
The People ◽  
The World

The recent pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread so rapidly and severely affected the people of almost every country in the world. The highly contagious nature of this virus makes it difficult to take control of the present pandemic situation. With no specific treatment available, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents a threat to people of all ages including the elderly people and people with other medical complications as a vulnerable group to this disease. Better understanding of viral pathogenesis, appropriate preventive measures, early diagnosis and supportive treatments of the infected patients are now the general solutions to fight against this viral transmission. But, as an emerging disease, most about it remains still poorly understood. This article holds an overview on the origin and structure, pathogenesis, diagnosis and possible therapeutic options for the causative agent, SARS-CoV-2 and disease, COVID-19. However, few therapeutic options, laboratory experiments and other strategies proposed here need to be further clinically tested.

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