Last week, the Free Will & Science course finished up their poster sessions. It was one of the most enriching classroom experiences I’ve ever witnessed.† In case you’re interested, here’s a post about the why and how of classroom poster sessions — including poster templates. Continue reading Classroom Poster Sessions: A win for instructors and students
Nick Byrd’s Blog
The Moral Argument Against Footnotes and PDF
[Update: the latest version of this argument is now on the APA’s Blog.]
Once upon a time, I loved footnotes and PDF documents. Now I don’t. I prefer eBook format and endnotes. I admit that footnotes are handy sometimes. For example, when I read visually, it’s nice to have the notes on the same page as the body text. However, footnotes are not so handy for auditory reading. Neither are PDF documents. For instance, footnotes wreak havoc on auditory reading. They interrupt the audio stream of the main body of text — sometimes mid-sentence. And since many people have to rely on auditory reading to consume academic research, this means that PDF documents and footnotes decrease the accessibility of research. That’s bad. If we can avoid this bad, we should. And we can avoid it. So we should.
1. Books vs. Articles
Sometimes academic books are available in an eBook version that is amenable to auditory reading — e.g., Amazon’s Kindle format and Apple’s iBook format. And some academic books have a proper audiobook version — e..g, Amazon’s audiobooks. This is great, but… Continue reading The Moral Argument Against Footnotes and PDF
APA Interview & Deleted Interview Questions
I recently answered some questions from Skye Cleary, managing editor of the APA blog. Some of the interview questions were really fun. In fact, I ended up going over the word limit. So I had to delete some things. But if you’re interested in the deleted interview questions, then you can find some of them below. The main interview is here: “APA Member Interview: Nick Byrd“.
The Deleted Interview Questions
What time of day are you most productive and creative?
My mind is at its best in the first 6-7 hours of my day. When I’m smart, I use those hours to accomplish the most demanding and important things on my to-do list. But when I’m foolish, I waste that time on mindless and/or unimportant work.
What do you like to do outside work?
Hmm. It varies:
- Travel — I usually post my favorite memories on my Instagram page
- Read — I usually post my favorite stuff on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and sometimes Pinterest
- Exercise — I usually post my workouts on my Strava profile
- Watch stand-up comedy — your recommendations are welcome
- Woodworking
- Blog
What is your favorite quote?
“You cannot escape philosophy.”
I’m guessing that this has been uttered in one form or another by many people in many contexts. The last time I saw this line was when I read “Neuroscience Needs Behavior: Correcting a Reductionist Bias” in Neuron. Here’s a free copy of the paper.
What is your least favorite type of fruit and why?
Mango. That smell. Yuck. I feel sick just thinking about it.
What would you like your last meal to be?
Whatever makes my body most useful to science.
The Bias Fallacy
“They’re biased, so they’re wrong!” That’s a fallacy. We can call it the bias fallacy. Here’s why it’s a fallacy: being biased doesn’t entail being wrong. So when someone jumps from the observation that So-and-so is biased to the conclusion that So-and-so is wrong, they commit the bias fallacy. It’s that simple.
In this post, I’ll give some examples of the fallacy, explain the fallacy, and then suggest how we should respond to the bias fallacy.
1. Examples of The Bias Fallacy
You’ve probably seen instances of the bias fallacy all over the internet.
In my experience, the fallacy is a rhetorical device. The purpose of the bias fallacy is to dismiss some person or their claims.
Like many rhetorical devices, this one is logically fallacious. So it’s ineffective. At least, it should be ineffective. That is, we should not be persuaded by it.
So if you’ve seen the bias fallacy online, then go ahead and set the record straight:
'They're biased, so they're wrong.' Not so fast! We can be biased without being wrong. #TheBiasFallacyClick To Tweet Continue reading The Bias Fallacy
Representative Art vs. The Real Thing: Which is more beautiful?
“…we think that the world would be improved if we could substitute for the best works of representative art real objects equally beautiful.”
—G.E. Moore, Principia Ethica (§117,¶ 2)
I don’t buy it.
Consider the statue of David. Now ask yourself, “Would this be more or less beautiful if it were an actual man standing on the pedestal?”
Continue reading Representative Art vs. The Real Thing: Which is more beautiful?
A Definition of ‘Fake News’ (and Related Terms)
If the public discourse in the United States is any indication, then people in the US mean different things by ‘fake news’. Naturally, then, it is time to agree on a definition of ‘fake news’. While we’re at it, let’s distinguish ‘fake news’ from other terms.
Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2017
1. Let’s Agree On Terms
As I see it, we will need to distinguish between at least three terms: fake news, conspiracy theory, and journalism.
A Definition of ‘Fake News’
Also known as “fictional news”. Characterized by outlandish stories — sometimes about paranormal and supernatural events. Any explicit claims to truth are obviously belied by their only semi-serious and comedic tone. Examples include many of the cover stories of the Weekly World News as well as some of the satirical punchlines of The Daily Show.
A Definition of ‘Conspiracy Theory’
Bad explanations designed to glorify their author and undermine the author’s perceived nemeses. Sometimes unfalsifiable. Alas, believed by many people. Examples are voluminous. Examples include certain explanations of the assignation of John F. Kennedy and InfoWars’ Alex Jones’s claims that the Sandy Hook shootings were staged.
A Definition of ‘Journalism’
Continue reading A Definition of ‘Fake News’ (and Related Terms)
Research Questions & Mental Shortcuts: A Warning
Daniel Kahneman talks extensively about how we make reasoning errors because we tend to use mental shortcuts. One mental shortcut is ‘substitution‘. Substitution is what we do when we (often unconsciously) answer an easier question than the one being asked. I find that I sometimes do this in my own research. For instance, when I set out to answer the question, “How can X be rational?” I sometimes end up answering easier questions like, “How does X work?”. In an effort to avoid such mistakes, I will (1) explain the question substitution error, (2) give an example of how we can distinguish between questions, (3) give a personal example of the substitution error, and (4) say what we can do about it.
1. Substitution
In case you’re not familiar with Kahnemen’s notion of ‘substitution’, here is some clarification. In short, substitution is this: responding to a difficult question by (often unintentionally) answering a different, easier question. People use this mental shortcut all the time. Here are some everyday instances:
| Difficult Question | Easier Question |
|---|---|
| How satisfied are you with your life? | What is my mood right now? |
| Should I believe what my parents believe? | Can I believe what my parents believe? |
| What are the merits/demerits of that woman who is running for president? | What do I remember people in my community saying about that woman? |
For further discussion of mental shortcuts and substitution, see Part 1 of Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow (2012).
Now, how does this mental shortcut apply to research? Continue reading Research Questions & Mental Shortcuts: A Warning
4 Student Feedback Policies
If you have a lot of students, then you can spend nearly all of your time on student feedback. Here are four policies designed to make my feedback workflow more sustainable. Continue reading 4 Student Feedback Policies
5 Email Workflow Policies
Like most technology, I love and hate email. In this post, I’ll list some policies designed to make my relationship with email more about love and less about hate. Continue reading 5 Email Workflow Policies
Grading Shorthand: Quick, Consistent, and Constructive Feedback
Grading with shorthand allows me to grade papers quickly. This is great for me, of course, but —more importantly — it’s great for students. Using grading shorthand means that students get prompt, consistent, and constructive feedback.
I’ve included the key to my grading shorthand below. I’ve also included the printer-friendly, PDF version of the key that I give to students. You are welcome to use and adapt the shorthand, including the PDF, however you see fit — it’s in the public domain. And you are more than welcome to share your own shorthand with me in the comments, on social media, or by contacting me directly. Happy grading! Continue reading Grading Shorthand: Quick, Consistent, and Constructive Feedback