Exercise 4.

1
1. What kinds of beliefs are part of a person’s background information?
Background beliefs include those acquired from personal experiences, cultural upbringing, education, and
various influences that shape an individual's worldview.
2. What is the most reasonable attitude toward a claim that conflicts with other claims you have
good reason to believe?
The most reasonable attitude is skepticism or doubt. Conflicting with well-supported claims raises doubts
about the credibility of the new claim.
3. What degree of probability should we assign to a claim that conflicts with our background
information?
We should assign a low probability to a claim that conflicts with our background information since
background information forms a basis of well-established beliefs.
4. What is the most reasonable attitude toward a claim that is neither worthy of acceptance nor
deserving of outright rejection?
The most reasonable attitude is suspended judgment or withholding acceptance until more evidence or
reasoning is provided.
5. What is an expert?
An expert is someone with advanced knowledge, skill, or experience in a particular field, often
recognized by others in the field.
6. What should be our attitude toward a claim that conflicts with expert opinion?
Skepticism or doubt. While experts can be wrong, their collective opinion holds more weight than an
individual's claim.
7. What should be our attitude toward a claim when experts disagree about it?
It warrants careful consideration and may lead to suspended judgment. It suggests that the issue is not
settled within the expert community.
8. What is the fallacy of the appeal to authority?
The fallacy occurs when someone relies on the opinion of an authority figure in a field unrelated to the
claim at hand.
9. According to the text, in most fields, what are the two minimal prerequisites for being considered
an expert?
Education or training in the field and relevant experience.
10. According to the text, beyond the minimal prerequisites, what are two more telling indicators that
someone is an expert?

Recognition by others in the field and a track record of accurate predictions or reliable information.
 11. Under what three circumstances should we suspect that an expert may be biased?
Financial interests, personal beliefs or values, and professional affiliations.
12. When is it reasonable to accept the evidence provided by personal experience?
When there is no reason to doubt the reliability of the experience, and it is consistent with other available
evidence.
13. What are two factors that can give us good reason to doubt the reliability of personal experience?
Memory errors and perceptual limitations.
14. In what ways are our perception and memory constructive?
Our perception and memory can be influenced by expectations, beliefs, and cultural factors, leading to the
construction of memories that may not accurately reflect reality.
15. What are some ways that people resist contrary evidence?
Confirmation bias, selective attention, and motivated reasoning.
16. What is confirmation bias?
Confirmation bias is the tendency to favor information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or values.
17. How can critical thinkers counteract confirmation bias?
By actively seeking out and considering information that challenges their existing beliefs, being open to
alternative perspectives, and being aware of the bias.
18. What is the availability error?
The availability error is a cognitive bias where people rely on readily available information, often from
recent or vivid examples, rather than considering all relevant facts.
19. What is the connection between availability error and hasty generalization?
Availability error can lead to hasty generalizations because individuals may generalize based on easily
recalled information rather than a representative sample.
20. According to the text, other than reporters and editors themselves, what is the foremost factor
influencing the quality of news reporting?
The economic structure of the media organization, as it can affect the resources and time available for
thorough reporting.
21. According to the text, what are three techniques for critically evaluating the reliability of news
reports?
Checking for missing facts, looking for false emphasis, and examining the sources of information.
22. What principle should guide our judgments about advertising?
A degree of skepticism, considering that advertising is designed to persuade rather than provide objective
and accurate information.
Exercise 4.2
Based on claims you already have good reason to believe, your background information, and your
assessment of the credibility of any cited experts, indicate for each of the following claims whether you
would accept it, reject it, or proportion your belief to the evidence. Give reasons for your answers. If you
decide to proportion your belief to the evidence, indicate generally what degree of plausibility you would
assign to the claim.

Israeli psychic Uri Geller can bend spoons with his mind.

 Reject. Lack of scientific evidence and the claim is often associated with illusions and magic
tricks.
In Russia, some people live to be 150 years old.

 Reject. Contrary to well-established knowledge about human lifespan.

Every year in the United States over three hundred people die of leprosy.

 Reject. Inconsistent with known facts. Leprosy is extremely rare in the U.S., and deaths from it
are even rarer.
According to Dr. Feelgood, the spokesperson for Acme Mattresses, the EasyRest 2000 from Acme is
the best mattress in the world for back-pain sufferers.

 Proportion belief to evidence. Consider the potential bias of Dr. Feelgood but also assess reviews
and scientific studies on the mattress.
Some bars in the suburbs of Chicago have been entertaining their nightly patrons with pygmy hippo
tossing.

 Reject. Appears to be an unlikely and ethically questionable claim.

Every person has innate psychic ability that, when properly cultivated, can enable him or her to read
another person’s mind.

 Reject. Lack of scientific evidence supporting widespread psychic abilities.

The prime minister of Canada works with the government of the United States to suppress the
economic power of French Canadians.

 Reject. Sounds like a conspiracy theory without credible evidence.

Molly, a thirty-four-year-old bank manager, says that stock prices will plummet dramatically in two
months and will trigger another deep yearlong recession.
 Proportion belief to evidence. Consider Molly's expertise and any supporting economic
indicators.
Humans use only about 10 percent of the brain’s capacity for thinking and creating.

 Reject. A common myth, and neuroscience indicates that various parts of the brain have known
functions.
Fifteen women have died after smelling a free perfume sample that they received in the mail.

 Reject. Likely an unfounded rumor or urban legend without credible evidence.

A chain letter describing the struggles of a nine-year-old girl with incurable cancer is circulating on
the Internet. The more people who receive the letter, the better the little girl’s chances of survival.

 Reject. Chain letters typically involve emotional manipulation and lack a basis in reality.
A report from the National Institutes of Health says that there is no evidence that high doses of the
herb ephedra can cure cancer.

 Proportion belief to evidence. Consider the credibility of the National Institutes of Health and
review the actual report.
Giant albino alligators crawl through the underground sewers of New York City.

 Reject. Sounds like an urban legend without scientific support.

Crop circles—large-scale geometric patterns pressed into crop fields—are the work of space aliens.

 Reject. Most crop circles are created by humans as hoaxes, supported by evidence of human-
made tools.
Crop circles are the work of human hoaxers.

 Accept. Supported by evidence and admissions from people who have created them as hoaxes.
North Korea is a communist paradise where everyone prospers and human rights are respected.
  Reject. Contrary to widely known information about North Korea's political situation and human
rights abuses.
Dr. Xavier, a world-famous astrologer, says that the position of the sun, planets, and stars at your
birth influences your choice of careers and your marital status.

 Reject. Astrology lacks scientific validity, and Dr. Xavier's fame doesn't necessarily indicate
credibility.
Eleanor Morgan, a Nobel Prize–winning economist, says that modern democratic systems (including
developed nations) are not viable.

 Proportion belief to evidence. Consider the credentials of Eleanor Morgan and review the
reasoning and evidence provided.
Eating meat rots your colon.

 Reject. Appears to be an oversimplified and exaggerated claim without solid scientific backing.
The highway speed limit in New York is 65 mph.

 Proportion belief to evidence. Check the current and relevant speed limit regulations for New
York.

Exercise 4.3
For each of the following claims, decide whether you agree or disagree with it. If you agree with it,
indicate what evidence would persuade you to reject the statement. If you disagree with it, indicate what
evidence would persuade you to accept the statement. In each case, ask yourself if you would really
change your mind if presented with the evidence you suggested.

1. Affirmative action should be abolished at all state colleges.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Comprehensive studies showing that
affirmative action exacerbates inequality rather than addressing it.
2. Same-sex marriage should be legally recognized in all fifty states.
Agree. Evidence to persuade me to reject the statement: Substantial evidence demonstrating harm caused
by legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
3. An alien spacecraft crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Authentic and scientifically credible
evidence, such as verified extraterrestrial artifacts or reputable eyewitness testimonies.
4. Earth is only ten thousand years old.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Overwhelming scientific evidence supporting
a young Earth model and discrediting radiometric dating methods.
5. There is life on Mars.

Agree. Evidence to persuade me to reject the statement: Definitive scientific evidence proving the
absence of any form of life on Mars.
6. Some people can twist their heads around on their necks a complete 360 degrees.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Verified and well-documented scientific
studies demonstrating individuals with such extraordinary physical abilities.
7. On Tuesday, a new computer virus will shut down every network and every PC in the world.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Reliable and specific information predicting
the exact details of the supposed virus and its impact.
8. Meditation and controlled breathing can shrink cancerous tumors.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Rigorous and widely accepted scientific
studies demonstrating a consistent and replicable effect of meditation on tumor shrinkage.
9. All swans are white.

Disagree. Evidence to persuade me to accept the statement: Solid scientific documentation or observation
of a new, previously unknown species of non-white swans.
10. “Corporate welfare”—tax breaks and other special considerations for businesses—should be
discontinued.
Agree. Evidence to persuade me to reject the statement: Extensive economic studies demonstrating a clear
and unambiguous benefit of corporate welfare to the overall economy and society.

Exercise 4.4
Examine the following newspaper story and answer the questions that follow.
Work Farce
June 26, 2003—Brazen Department of Education construction employees ripped off the city by clocking
in but doing little or no work—instead spending their days at the gym, shopping or moonlighting, a sting
operation by Schools Investigator Richard Condon’s office found. Checks of 13 workers—some chosen
randomly, others on the basis of complaints—who were monitored beginning last August found eight of
them doing little or no work. The slackers will soon find themselves in handcuffs and unemployment
lines, authorities said. . . . Condon charged that time cheating by phantom workers is “common practice.”
“Time abuse is a financial drain on the city’s public school system. No doubt it plays a role in the
overtime that is paid to skilled trade workers,” Condon said. . . . Condon did not release the names of the
slackers because they’re about to be arrested, he said. Chancellor Joel Klein said they will be fired
“immediately.”13

Is the story slanted toward or against a particular group mentioned in the story? How?

 The story appears to be slanted against the Department of Education construction employees who
are accused of ripping off the city. The language used, such as "slackers," "ripped off," and
"phantom workers," contributes to a negative portrayal of the group.
Are there instances of loaded or biased language or emotional appeals in the story or headline? If so, give
examples.

 Yes, there are instances of loaded language and emotional appeals. Examples include:
 "Brazen Department of Education construction employees ripped off the city..."
 "...spending their days at the gym, shopping or moonlighting..."
 "The slackers will soon find themselves in handcuffs and unemployment lines..."
 "Condon charged that time cheating by phantom workers is 'common practice.'"
 "Time abuse is a financial drain on the city’s public school system."
 "Chancellor Joel Klein said they will be fired 'immediately.'"
What is the main source for this story?
 The main source for this story is Schools Investigator Richard Condon's office, as indicated by
the statement, "a sting operation by Schools Investigator Richard Condon’s office found."