Class will meet at the usual time; I have an exercise for you to do with the other students. But I will also send an e-mail about arranging alternate hours so I can extend our 1-on-1 talk to greater than 10 minutes per student.
For those who remain interested in Taleb, here is the most important essay he wrote during the financial crisis in 2008. And here is his Twitter feed.
Your next task is to create a philosophical 'map for thinking'... it doesn't need to be the same as Beane, Gladwell, Taleb, or Lady Gaga. My suggestion for an outline is to actually start with the same exercise I did, which was to draw a map/chart. Then I would suggest making a standard paragraph outline divided by sections or categories of the chart. Or by problematic areas of the chart that require further explanation. For each section, try to come up with at least two demonstrative examples that easily fit, and one that doesn't fit or can't be explained. Why? Multiple examples will create a redundancy so your essay draft is less fragile... in other words it will give you more choices in case your first example doesn't really work out. And why a non-fitting example? Because examples that don't fit will help you draw those boundaries between domains more precisely, or help you re-think your system. (Of course we have become somewhat skeptical of maps in general, but a good map actually indicates its own limitations.) I would also recommend that you try to think of a "they say" for the start of your essay... in other words it would be much easier to begin by contrasting your 'map' with some other one that you find to be inadequate or misleading.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Homework for Class #9 (Wednesday, 6月2日）
Read: Black Swan 100-133 (chapters 8-9), bottom of 185 - bottom of 189 ("The Grueness of Emerald," "That Great Anticipation Machine"), top of 196 - top of 200 ("The Melting Ice Cube," "Once Again Incomplete Information," "What They Call Knowledge"), top of 223 - top of 228 ("The Long Tail," "Naive Globalization," "Reversals Away from Extremistan"), 284 ("Two Ways to Approach Randomness"), 286-298 (chapters 18-19)
That looks like a lot, but it's actually the same length as the previous two assignments. And as I said today, I think the further you read along, the more you will understand.
Read: They Say / I Say 121-128 ("Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice")
46 (Jenny - repeat). Define narrative fallacy (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
48 (Cathy). The move of "mix[ing] academic and colloquial styles" that Graff & Birkenstein advocate is very difficult to do, and it is also somewhat peculiar to American English. Do you think this "mixing" is more difficult for you than it would be for an American student? (Or less difficult?) Would this type of mixing be desirable in a 中文 essay?
49 (Tiara). Explain what Taleb means by "silent evidence" and give a (new) example of a mistake/misinterpretation that comes from ignoring silent evidence.
50 (Elsa). Describe a person you know who is like "Fat Tony." Describe a person you know who is like "Dr. John."
51 (Alice). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan.
52 (Catherine). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan (different than #51).
That looks like a lot, but it's actually the same length as the previous two assignments. And as I said today, I think the further you read along, the more you will understand.
Read: They Say / I Say 121-128 ("Academic Writing Doesn't Always Mean Setting Aside Your Own Voice")
46 (Jenny - repeat). Define narrative fallacy (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
48 (Cathy). The move of "mix[ing] academic and colloquial styles" that Graff & Birkenstein advocate is very difficult to do, and it is also somewhat peculiar to American English. Do you think this "mixing" is more difficult for you than it would be for an American student? (Or less difficult?) Would this type of mixing be desirable in a 中文 essay?
49 (Tiara). Explain what Taleb means by "silent evidence" and give a (new) example of a mistake/misinterpretation that comes from ignoring silent evidence.
50 (Elsa). Describe a person you know who is like "Fat Tony." Describe a person you know who is like "Dr. John."
51 (Alice). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan.
52 (Catherine). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan (different than #51).
Monday, May 17, 2010
Homework for Class #8 (Wednesday, 5月26日）
Reminder: Final draft of "Blink Response Response" essay due Monday night 5月24日 at 22:00, to Google Docs. Please make sure your English name is in the title somewhere.
Read: They Say / I Say 129-137 ("But Don't Get Me Wrong: The Art of Metacommentary")
Read: Black Swan Chapters 5-7 (50-99)
I will begin the class by trying to answer the helpful questions that Doll and Kim posted from last week.
43 (Peter). Find one "metacommentary" move in Moneyball and two in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.)
44 (Ting). Find one "metacommentary" move in Blink, and two in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.)
45 (Aaron). Define confirmation bias (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
46 (Jenny). Define narrative fallacy (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
47 (Esther). Do you feel that Taleb's unique writing style (irregular organization, use of fictionalized characters, use of autobiography, use of historical comparison, declarations of arrogance) makes Black Swan easier to understand, or more difficult? To put it another way, Taleb sometimes describes battles with his editor... if you were the editor, would you help him or fight back?
Read: They Say / I Say 129-137 ("But Don't Get Me Wrong: The Art of Metacommentary")
Read: Black Swan Chapters 5-7 (50-99)
I will begin the class by trying to answer the helpful questions that Doll and Kim posted from last week.
43 (Peter). Find one "metacommentary" move in Moneyball and two in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.)
44 (Ting). Find one "metacommentary" move in Blink, and two in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.)
45 (Aaron). Define confirmation bias (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
46 (Jenny). Define narrative fallacy (according to Taleb) and offer two new examples - anything that isn't discussed in Black Swan is OK.
47 (Esther). Do you feel that Taleb's unique writing style (irregular organization, use of fictionalized characters, use of autobiography, use of historical comparison, declarations of arrogance) makes Black Swan easier to understand, or more difficult? To put it another way, Taleb sometimes describes battles with his editor... if you were the editor, would you help him or fight back?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Homework for Class #7 (Wednesday, 5月19日）
Reminder: First draft of "Blink Response Response" essay due Monday night 5月17日 at 22:00, to Google Docs. Please make sure your English name is in the title somewhere. Final draft due Monday 5月24日, but I will not make detailed comments on the first draft, only about paragraph transitions. So you can revise or not revise as it suits you. I propose that this essay be changed to 800-1000 words and 17.5% of the final grade, and the next essay be 1200-1500 words and 32.5% of the final grade... you can email me individually if you think this is unfair for you.
Read: They Say / I Say 92-100 ("So What? Who Cares?)
Read: Black Swan Prologue, Part I Introduction, Chapters 1-4 (pages xvii-xxviii, 1-50)
35. (都學生!!!) Post a one sentence answer to "so what?" for your current essay. You may find the templates on They Say I Say 98-99 useful.
36 (Alice). Find one "so what?" move in Moneyball, one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.) The easiest place to look is probably the introductions, but also possibly the conclusions.
37 (Cathy). Find one good/effective paragraph transition in Moneyball (according to the guidelines for transitional logic given in They Say I Say 105-118), one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy for us here.)
38 (Catherine). Find one good/effective paragraph transition in Moneyball (according to the guidelines for transitional logic given in They Say I Say 105-118), one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy for us here.)
39 (Elsa). Identify two more events that fit Taleb's criteria for black swan (rarity, extreme impact, retrospective but not prospective predictability). I suppose to translate from English to Chinese idiom, we should say white crow?
40 (Tiara). Explain what Taleb means by "Platonification" or "nerd-ification," and give two examples of this epistemological mistake.
41 (Kim). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan.
42 (Doll). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan (different than #42).
Read: They Say / I Say 92-100 ("So What? Who Cares?)
Read: Black Swan Prologue, Part I Introduction, Chapters 1-4 (pages xvii-xxviii, 1-50)
35. (都學生!!!) Post a one sentence answer to "so what?" for your current essay. You may find the templates on They Say I Say 98-99 useful.
36 (Alice). Find one "so what?" move in Moneyball, one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy them for us here.) The easiest place to look is probably the introductions, but also possibly the conclusions.
37 (Cathy). Find one good/effective paragraph transition in Moneyball (according to the guidelines for transitional logic given in They Say I Say 105-118), one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy for us here.)
38 (Catherine). Find one good/effective paragraph transition in Moneyball (according to the guidelines for transitional logic given in They Say I Say 105-118), one in Blink, and one in Black Swan. (And copy for us here.)
39 (Elsa). Identify two more events that fit Taleb's criteria for black swan (rarity, extreme impact, retrospective but not prospective predictability). I suppose to translate from English to Chinese idiom, we should say white crow?
40 (Tiara). Explain what Taleb means by "Platonification" or "nerd-ification," and give two examples of this epistemological mistake.
41 (Kim). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan.
42 (Doll). Ask a question about something confusing to you in Black Swan (different than #42).
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Homework for Lab #4 (Wednesday, 5月12日）
Read: They Say / I Say 105-18
Write: Paragraph outline of your response to the blink-write. The outline should have an overall thesis sentence, and a topic sentence for each paragraph. You should also choose at least one representative quotation taken from the blink-write for each paragraph, and use the "frame and chop" technique to write it into a new sentence.
Links to Video: Part I (Breakfast and Lunch), Part II (Lunch and Dinner)
More Weirdness: Check out this "photoshop" picture. The older man is Bill James and the younger man is Theo Epstein - two characters in Moneyball. The meaning of the picture is that Epstein has used the new quantitative analysis about defensive statistics (created by statisticians like James) to change the strategies of his Boston Red Sox team. Thus he loves "run prevention."
More quotation technique: I already shared the Google Document of the changes to Kim's sentences I made in class, but I also found a related blog post from a class I taught in California last year. Maybe it will be helpful too... click the comments below to read.
Links to Video: Part I (Breakfast and Lunch), Part II (Lunch and Dinner)
More Weirdness: Check out this "photoshop" picture. The older man is Bill James and the younger man is Theo Epstein - two characters in Moneyball. The meaning of the picture is that Epstein has used the new quantitative analysis about defensive statistics (created by statisticians like James) to change the strategies of his Boston Red Sox team. Thus he loves "run prevention."
More quotation technique: I already shared the Google Document of the changes to Kim's sentences I made in class, but I also found a related blog post from a class I taught in California last year. Maybe it will be helpful too... click the comments below to read.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Homework for Lab #3 (Wednesday, 5月5日）
This is just a reminder to myself. We are going to have the "blink-writing" exercise, and then we will begin the process of having you respond to / edit a classmate's "blink-writing."
I also want to include a workshop focused on two skills that almost every student in the class needs to improve, based on my experience reading the first essay: how to insert quotations grammatically, and how to create transitional sentences between paragraphs.
I also want to include a workshop focused on two skills that almost every student in the class needs to improve, based on my experience reading the first essay: how to insert quotations grammatically, and how to create transitional sentences between paragraphs.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Homework for Class #6 (Wednesday, 4月28日）
Read: Blink 176m-179b, 183t-186b, 189t-229b, 232m-244m, 266t-270t (t means top, m means middle, b means bottom). I must apologize, I've deleted the 'happy ending' from the book. It's about a 小提琴手 who can't find a job because her profession discriminates against women, but then the 交響樂隊 devise a new 'blind' selection method to thin-slice only for musical ability, and not for other applicant characteristics like gender, ethnicity, etc.
Read: They Say / I Say 78-90 (you might also watch this video, which makes a similar point)
29 (都學生!!!). Create a reply to my comments on the final draft of your essay #1, using one or more of the 'partial concession' templates on They Say - I Say 90頁. Write this in red text below my comments on the Google document. Yes, really.
30 (Esther). Search G&B's They Say - I Say book (1-90頁) for at least three instances in which they actually use the same 'internal naysayer' move that they discuss in chapter six. (You needn't search far; I count at least two in chapter six itself.) Do you find it annoying that they use their own recommended writing methods inside the textbook, or helpful?
31 (Jenny). Gladwell is, according to one of his reviewers, "an omniscient, many-armed Hindu god of anecdotes" (inside front cover). However, he has a tendency to cherry-pick his anecdotes to suit his central thesis, as well as a tendency to be overly impressed by certain kinds of professional expertise. Think of two examples of 'false expertise' that might lead us to question the model of expertly-trained thin-slicing that he describes on Blink 176m-179b & 183t-186b. How can we tell true expertise from false expertise? Are there certain kinds of questions/problems/domains that are more likely to produce false expertise than others?
32 (Ting). Is a writing teacher a false expert (see previous question, #31)? Where does a writing teacher's method of gathering knowledge map against the ones we've discussed in the class so far? (As in Moneyball, Blink, your previous question #20, etc.)
33 (Peter). Go to this website and watch the featured video. Compare to the Diallo case discussed in Blink. Do you feel this is a tragic failure of thin-slicing, or is there some other explanation? You may want to do a quick Google search to survey the controversy the video has created.
34 (Aaron). Pay close attention to the large paragraph at the bottom of Blink 267頁. For one thing, you may notice that Gladwell is using an 'internal naysayer' - not to make a concession, but in fact to make an amplification of his argument. For another, you may agree with the naysayer in this case! Summarize his point and explain why you agree or disagree with it.
Read: They Say / I Say 78-90 (you might also watch this video, which makes a similar point)
29 (都學生!!!). Create a reply to my comments on the final draft of your essay #1, using one or more of the 'partial concession' templates on They Say - I Say 90頁. Write this in red text below my comments on the Google document. Yes, really.
30 (Esther). Search G&B's They Say - I Say book (1-90頁) for at least three instances in which they actually use the same 'internal naysayer' move that they discuss in chapter six. (You needn't search far; I count at least two in chapter six itself.) Do you find it annoying that they use their own recommended writing methods inside the textbook, or helpful?
31 (Jenny). Gladwell is, according to one of his reviewers, "an omniscient, many-armed Hindu god of anecdotes" (inside front cover). However, he has a tendency to cherry-pick his anecdotes to suit his central thesis, as well as a tendency to be overly impressed by certain kinds of professional expertise. Think of two examples of 'false expertise' that might lead us to question the model of expertly-trained thin-slicing that he describes on Blink 176m-179b & 183t-186b. How can we tell true expertise from false expertise? Are there certain kinds of questions/problems/domains that are more likely to produce false expertise than others?
32 (Ting). Is a writing teacher a false expert (see previous question, #31)? Where does a writing teacher's method of gathering knowledge map against the ones we've discussed in the class so far? (As in Moneyball, Blink, your previous question #20, etc.)
33 (Peter). Go to this website and watch the featured video. Compare to the Diallo case discussed in Blink. Do you feel this is a tragic failure of thin-slicing, or is there some other explanation? You may want to do a quick Google search to survey the controversy the video has created.
34 (Aaron). Pay close attention to the large paragraph at the bottom of Blink 267頁. For one thing, you may notice that Gladwell is using an 'internal naysayer' - not to make a concession, but in fact to make an amplification of his argument. For another, you may agree with the naysayer in this case! Summarize his point and explain why you agree or disagree with it.
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