tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post9215628152409891429..comments2024-01-13T18:57:18.243-05:00Comments on Information Processing: The fate of an honest intellectualSteve Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-5732916539384914922013-11-23T09:09:45.088-05:002013-11-23T09:09:45.088-05:00If you do a statistically careful survey of 160s, ...If you do a statistically careful survey of 160s, over a wide range of questions, I don't believe that they'll have, on average, more nutty or incorrect or unjustifiable beliefs than a group of 130s. In fact it is much more likely that the 160s are "rational" (evidence based, Bayesian, whatever) thinkers than the 130s. Some (many?) 130s have trouble understanding Bayesian steve hsuhttp://duende.uoregon.edu/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-75455347326633217762013-11-22T16:16:30.289-05:002013-11-22T16:16:30.289-05:00Chomsky is a very interesting man because he shows...Chomsky is a very interesting man because he shows what a genius is: sometimes brilliant, often crazy. As a libertarian economist, I find his Marxist narrative delusional, founded on patently absurd fundamentals (labor theory of value) and naivete (all those socialist failures aren't 'true socialism'?). Yet, his insight on the way all languages have this universal grammar that isn&#efalkennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-36100792928977893922008-12-17T20:03:00.000-05:002008-12-17T20:03:00.000-05:00My most recent blog entry (12/17/08) may be releva...My most recent blog entry (12/17/08) may be relevant to your examination of "intellectuals" in academia and elsewhere: : What is 'Intellecual', Really?"-- http://pavellas.blogspot.com/Ron Pavellashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17223746420808661981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-1689246644816255422008-12-11T22:36:00.000-05:002008-12-11T22:36:00.000-05:00Some of the comments note that Finkelstein went on...Some of the comments note that Finkelstein went on to teach at several institutions. This is great, because it got me to look at his wikipedia page and learn more. However, the same comments claim that that shows Chomsky to be a big fat liar. However, if you read closely you'll note that this passage from Chomsky was written in 1984.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-50849481288311635992008-12-11T16:30:00.000-05:002008-12-11T16:30:00.000-05:00chomsky is a dangerous man because he pursues the ...chomsky is a dangerous man because he pursues the big lie. In fact, the whole Chomsky screed reeks of the big lie--it's Chomsky himself who suffers from cognitive biases.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-77230963094031278602008-12-11T11:05:00.000-05:002008-12-11T11:05:00.000-05:00anonymous wrote, Chomsky is a very dangerous man.Y...<B>anonymous</B> wrote, <I>Chomsky is a very dangerous man.</I><BR/><BR/>Yeah, because anyone who criticizes Israel is dangerous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-57387044110379068342008-12-10T20:59:00.000-05:002008-12-10T20:59:00.000-05:00of course chomsky is infallible, even though he's ...of course chomsky is infallible, even though he's a linguist, but the linguistics work he's famous for is a mathematization of grammar. <BR/><BR/>nothing the soc sci people could do would surprise me, it's all in their gre scores and the sat scores of soc undergrad majors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-9705315888352081672008-12-10T15:50:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:50:00.000-05:00The post is not about politics -- it's about cogni...The post is not about politics -- it's about cognitive biases.<BR/><BR/>Someone else will comment that they agree with Chomsky's take on Finkelstein but not with my take on Sokal or lit crit.Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-49945812448900471302008-12-10T15:47:00.000-05:002008-12-10T15:47:00.000-05:00Why are there two questions? There are many quest...Why are there two questions? There are many questions about such a post. For example, Chomsky believes:<BR/><BR/> "Of course, the implicit message was, if Israel kicks them all out there's no moral issue, because they're just recent immigrants who came in because the Jews had built up the country."<BR/><BR/>Why is this the implicit message? Maybe the implicit message of the book is that the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-2016078533311597112008-12-10T12:47:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:47:00.000-05:00There are 2 questions:1) Was the Peters book corre...There are 2 questions:<BR/><BR/>1) Was the Peters book correct? Did it receive adulation from intellectuals who failed to carefully review the claims because it reinforced their prior beliefs?<BR/><BR/>2) Did Finkelstein pay a price for pointing out that the emperor had no clothes? Wikipedia says his PhD was delayed -- that is not inconsistent with Chomsky's story.<BR/><BR/>I suspect the answers Steve Hsuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02428333897272913660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-87104103343958555312008-12-10T12:30:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:30:00.000-05:00"Everyone knows that actual learning is only a sma..."Everyone knows that actual learning is only a small component of the value of formal education. It's first and foremost about socialization and babysitting."<BR/><BR/>An absurd amount of money to pay for socialization and baby sitting. How'd man ever get along when only priests went to college? Of course there is a need for laboratories and libraries.<BR/><BR/>"And really "Formal education is anAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-2984713996854453522008-12-10T12:00:00.000-05:002008-12-10T12:00:00.000-05:00Chomsky is an old man and he forgets that in the I...Chomsky is an old man and he forgets that in the Internet era the 'big lie' that he likes to pursue just doesn't hold up. <BR/><BR/>Joan Peters is alive and well. It's completely likely that she authored the book. One only needs to do a Google search. <BR/><BR/>And Norman Finkelstein didn't lose his university position for his criticism of "From time immemorial..." The Internet will help here Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-78865074926765383672008-12-10T11:56:00.000-05:002008-12-10T11:56:00.000-05:00If you check out the wikipedia page on Finkelstein...If you check out the wikipedia page on Finkelstein you'll see that he was awarded his Ph.D. from Princeton and has been faculty at numerous universities. It seems like he recently had some problems getting tenure at DePaul, but it doesn't look like his career was destroyed. Chomsky is pretty well regarded and makes some good points, but I think he also has a reputation for stretching the truth Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-21407193014526506432008-12-09T18:30:00.000-05:002008-12-09T18:30:00.000-05:00Everyone knows that actual learning is only a smal...Everyone knows that actual learning is only a small component of the value of formal education. It's first and foremost about socialization and babysitting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-51155629202390812782008-12-09T16:14:00.000-05:002008-12-09T16:14:00.000-05:00I suspect Finkelstein would have done ok if he had...I suspect Finkelstein would have done ok if he had invested more energy in positive contributions of his own rather than attempting a politically-charged take-down. Once he had an established reputation and colleagues invested in him to some degree, then he might have had "standing" to launch such an attack. <BR/><BR/>Tribes can and do police their own sometimes, but if someone still 'outside' Sethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16486234948199900568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-13033129995607353652008-12-09T15:58:00.000-05:002008-12-09T15:58:00.000-05:00There's a sad parallel between the "bubble" of aca...There's a sad parallel between the "bubble" of academic acceptance of Joan Peters' book and the credit bubble currently deflating. Both are forms of the 'madness of crowds': beliefs lacking grounding in empirical fact, but sustained by a willingness to accept others' claims at face value rather than risk ostracism.Sethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16486234948199900568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-76454782236078832872008-12-09T12:55:00.000-05:002008-12-09T12:55:00.000-05:00Anonymous: While I myself, and probably you, can l...Anonymous: <BR/><BR/>While I myself, and probably you, can learn from the text, the reading, the exercises, and the test, I'm pretty sure this is not a universal condition. Have you actually talked to students about this? Ever thought that maybe students learn differently from different methods? That your way of learning isn't universal?<BR/><BR/>That said I also think lecturing needs to be Dave Baconhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506030153326411733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5880610.post-14168513158142195282008-12-09T08:28:00.000-05:002008-12-09T08:28:00.000-05:00"So in most cases, the people who make it through ..."So in most cases, the people who make it through the institutions and are able to remain in them have already internalized the right kinds of beliefs: it's not a problem for them to be obedient, they already are obedient, that's how they got there."<BR/><BR/>Formal education is an example of an institution with no utility that persists. Why?<BR/><BR/>If lectures have any benefit, videotape is Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com