Concept groupings: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:59, 8 September 2023

The concepts of the course can be broadly grouped into six main categories.

Work in Progress

This section is currently being written or undergoing major revision.

Philosophical Underpinnings

What makes science an effective way of learning about the world?

We begin the course by exploring how the ideals and practices of science allow us to approach increasingly accurate and complete representations of our shared material reality. The scientific community does this through empirical investigation of the world, sharing observations and ideas with each other, and continued openness to revision as new evidence emerges. Science offers particularly powerful tools for investigating causal relationships, helping us decide on courses of action that accomplish our goals.

Relevant Lessons

Probabilistic Thinking

How can we make informed decisions using noisy and uncertain data?

There are many sources of uncertainty, both in the accuracy and precision of data and in the inferences drawn from data. Scientists have developed strategies for tracking, reducing, and coping with this uncertainty, enabling us to make clearer judgments and more effective decisions even when we cannot know for sure what the outcomes will be.

Relevant Lessons

Science's Can-do Aspect

How can we gain insights despite immense unknowns and conceptual and practical obstacles?

Science is balanced by, on the one hand, awareness that we might at any point be mistaken, and on the other hand, optimism that if we continue iteratively investigating, we will eventually gain understanding. This can-do spirit is bolstered by strategies that help us use what we know to handle what we don't know.

Relevant Lessons

Human Cognition

What are cognitive traps that cause people to fool themselves?

Humans are prone to errors that arise from overapplied heuristics, cognitive biases, and limited processing power. Being mindful of these vulnerabilities can help us to moderate our own judgments, using cognitive and social strategies to reduce mistakes and biases.

Relevant Lessons

Group Decision Making

How can groups make better decisions together?

Group decision-making can be challenging when people disagree. However, distinguishing between facts and values, accounting for values from a variety of stakeholders, and incorporating expert judgments of fact can produce decisions based on more accurate and complete information, greater community buy-in, and more widely desirable outcomes.

Relevant Lessons

When Science is Suspect

How can science be misused and what do we do about it?

People sometimes misuse or misapply science, cherry-picking or misinterpreting evidence to support pet theories or justify inequities. The trappings of scientific language can be used to make evidence appear stronger than it is. Knowing the most common ways in which scientific approaches can be misused, intentionally or unintentionally, helps us avoid these traps.

Relevant Lessons

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@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - Philosophical Underpinnings.png|thumb]]
-Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem. Ut enim virtutes, de quibus et ab antiquis, ad arbitrium suum scribere? Quodsi Graeci leguntur a Graecis isdem de rebus.
+''What makes science an effective way of learning about the world?''
+We begin the course by exploring how the ideals and practices of science allow us to approach increasingly accurate and complete representations of our shared material reality. The scientific community does this through empirical investigation of the world, sharing observations and ideas with each other, and continued openness to revision as new evidence emerges. Science offers particularly powerful tools for investigating causal relationships, helping us decide on courses of action that accomplish our goals.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''
@@ Line 22: / Line 24: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - Probabilistic Thinking.png|thumb]]
-Omnium philosophorum sententia tale debet esse, ut ad Orestem pervenias profectus a Theseo. At vero Epicurus una in domo, et ea quidem angusta, quam magnos quantaque amoris conspiratione consentientis tenuit amicorum greges! Quod fit etiam nunc ab Epicureis. Sed ad haec, nisi molestum est, habeo quae velim. An me, inquam, nisi te.
+''How can we make informed decisions using noisy and uncertain data?''
+There are many sources of uncertainty, both in the accuracy and precision of data and in the inferences drawn from data. Scientists have developed strategies for tracking, reducing, and coping with this uncertainty, enabling us to make clearer judgments and more effective decisions even when we cannot know for sure what the outcomes will be.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''
@@ Line 36: / Line 40: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - Can-do Aspect.png|thumb]]
-Sola, quae nos exhorrescere metu non sinat. Qua praeceptrice in tranquillitate vivi potest omnium cupiditatum ardore restincto. Cupiditates enim sunt insatiabiles, quae non modo singulos homines, sed universas familias evertunt, totam etiam labefactant saepe rem publicam. Ex cupiditatibus odia, discidia, discordiae, seditiones, bella nascuntur, nec eae se foris solum iactant nec tantum in alios caeco impetu incurrunt, sed intus etiam in animis inclusae inter.
+''How can we gain insights despite immense unknowns and conceptual and practical obstacles?''
+Science is balanced by, on the one hand, awareness that we might at any point be mistaken, and on the other hand, optimism that if we continue iteratively investigating, we will eventually gain understanding. This can-do spirit is bolstered by strategies that help us use what we know to handle what we don't know.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''
@@ Line 49: / Line 55: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - Human Cognition.png|thumb]]
-Ista sis aequitate, quam ostendis. Sed uti oratione perpetua malo quam interrogare aut interrogari. Ut placet, inquam. Tum dicere exorsus est. Primum igitur, inquit, sic agam, ut ipsi auctori huius.
+''What are cognitive traps that cause people to fool themselves?''
+Humans are prone to errors that arise from overapplied heuristics, cognitive biases, and limited processing power. Being mindful of these vulnerabilities can help us to moderate our own judgments, using cognitive and social strategies to reduce mistakes and biases.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''
@@ Line 63: / Line 71: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - Group Decision Making.png|thumb]]
-Et solida corpora ferri deorsum suo pondere ad lineam, hunc naturalem esse omnium corporum motum. Deinde ibidem homo acutus, cum illud ocurreret, si omnia deorsus e regione ferrentur et, ut dixi, ad lineam, hunc naturalem esse omnium corporum.
+''How can groups make better decisions together?''
+Group decision-making can be challenging when people disagree. However, distinguishing between facts and values, accounting for values from a variety of stakeholders, and incorporating expert judgments of fact can produce decisions based on more accurate and complete information, greater community buy-in, and more widely desirable outcomes.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''
@@ Line 76: / Line 86: @@
 [[File:Placeholder Cover - When Science is Suspect.png|thumb]]
-Ego a philosopho, si afferat eloquentiam, non asperner, si non habeat, non admodum flagitem. Re mihi non aeque satisfacit, et quidem locis pluribus. Sed quot homines, tot sententiae; falli igitur possumus. Quam ob rem dissentientium inter se reprehensiones non sunt vituperandae, maledicta, contumeliae, tum iracundiae, contentiones concertationesque in disputando pertinaces indignae philosophia mihi videri solent. Tum Torquatus: Prorsus, inquit, assentior; neque enim disputari sine reprehensione nec cum istis tantopere.
+''How can science be misused and what do we do about it?''
+People sometimes misuse or misapply science, cherry-picking or misinterpreting evidence to support pet theories or justify inequities. The trappings of scientific language can be used to make evidence appear stronger than it is. Knowing the most common ways in which scientific approaches can be misused, intentionally or unintentionally, helps us avoid these traps.
 '''Relevant Lessons'''