What Even is a Lie?

Communication partners don’t always attempt to cooperate.  Often, the whole intention of their communication is to deceive.

The work of an important language philosopher has just gained relevance after recent events – a statement that admittedly can’t often be made.  Although this is an excellent example of how philosophy can actually help us better understand the world, evidently either philosophers are dropping the ball in getting this word out, or no one has been passing along their attempts.  Anyway, it all has to do with this sudden “post fact” world we’ve suddenly found ourselves in.  And how there have been so many distortions of the truth lately it’s blurred everyone’s ability to discern truth.  And what exactly even is a lie?

With his work, generally developed from the 1940s to 1960s, the English philosopher, Paul Grice rocked the world of academics with his theories on meaning and ordinary language.  The previous sentence is actually an example of Grice’s implicature.  I didn’t state it, but by adding the words, “of academics” to the phrase “rocked the world,” I implied something beyond the sentence’s literal meaning.  By flouting the maxim of quantity, which basically says that if a person is adding more to a statement than seems necessary, he is probably doing so for a reason.  This reason is the unsaid implicature of the statement.  (My implicature was that only the academic world noticed).

In addition to quantity, Grice also created the maxims of relevance, quality, and manner.  If, when speaking, someone uses language that seems irrelevant, or of false quality, or strangely ambiguous, there must be an alternative reason why.  Another example is of a previous boss being asked about a job applicant’s previous work flouting the maxim of relevance when claiming the former employee to have “perfect handwriting.”  The inference would be that the job applicant is not qualified, since the previous boss failed to follow the maxim of relevance.

Philosophy Bits – Jean Paul Sartre

You can find tons of information about Sartre and his background all over the internet.  I just want to paraphrase a few highlights from his beliefs that I think stand out.

• Everything we do affects not only ourselves, but by our choices and actions we are constantly setting examples for the rest of mankind.  This is similar to the old, “actions speak louder than words” adage.
• When people would rather adhere to existing rules and norms rather than face the “terrifying” freedom of creating ourselves, we willingly possess what Sartre called, “bad faith.”
• We should not just remain open to change, we should be vigilantly seeking change to improve ourselves and our world.
• “Hell” is other people.  This could be interpreted to mean  that it is important to sometimes seek time to ourselves.
• In people, existence precedes essence.  Sartre uses the example of a butter knife as the opposite, because the knife exists only after it’s purpose is known.  People exist and then make their own purposes.

Some good places to find more on Sartre’s unique philosophy:  The Philosopher’s Mail; The Existential Primer; Sartre’s “Blog”

The Ad Hominem Fallacy

Ad Hominem means “against the person.” It is an attack on an aspect of someone rather than on the argument of that person. These often emotional attacks are usually against the character, background, or belief of a person.

Examples:

• Oh, so your statistic shows that plumbers are successful 95% of the time? That’s obviously false because you got that from The Plumber’s Digest magazine.
• The only reason that he thinks that Republicans are against the government is because he’s a Democrat.
• Kid talking to teacher: “You just want me to do my homework because you’re a teacher.”
• Susan thinks that George Washington could not have owned slaves, because Wikipedia says he did, and she thinks that Wikipedia is biased.
• A son speaking to his mother: “Of course you want me to stay out of the street. You’re my mother, and mothers always want their kids to stay out of the street.”

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Sometimes a person’s background or belief is actually relevant to the argument. The difference is that ad hominem fallacies are often emotional attacks, or claim a causal relationship when one doesn’t exist.

Examples when background is relevant: A reporter says to a lawyer, “You’re only arguing that your client is innocent, because you’ve been hired to be his lawyer.” The lawyer responds, “Well, that is my job.”

Farmer speaking to friend from the city: “You don’t know what it’s like to raise cattle. You’ve lived in the city your whole life. (It is a valid point that if he’s lived in the city, he probably hasn’t raised cattle.)

Examples of attacks or when background is not relevant: A reporter says to a lawyer, “You think that your client should go free because you’re nothing but a sneaky lawyer.”

Farmer speaking to friend from the city: “How could you possibly like the show, Hee Haw, when you’ve lived in the city your whole life?” The city friend replies, “They air Hee Haw in the city, and I’ve never missed an episode.”

 

The Fallacy of Cherry-picking

Cherry-picking is a logical fallacy that occurs when there is more than one important part to an argument, and a person intentionally omits the part or parts that do not support the person’s preferred conclusion – picking the parts that do support the preferred conclusion.

Cherry-picking is also called the fallacy of incomplete evidence. It can be informally called, “suppressing evidence.”

Sometimes we cherry-pick evidence to no one but ourselves. This is called confirmation bias, and it happens when we first form a conclusion, and then pay attention to arguments and evidence that support the conclusion we want to be true, while ignoring any evidence against.

Examples:

The coach said, “Mary, you’ll be a great help to this team by staying at home.” Mary told her mother, “The coach said I’ll be a great help to this team!”

Joe’s puppy barks at all people except Joe. When Joe tries to sell his puppy, the possible buyer asks if the puppy likes people. Joe says, “He loves people. He licks me all the time.”

Calvin tried out a new diet. He lost ten pounds, and then gained nine. He tells everyone, “That diet was great, because I lost ten pounds!”

Mahatma said, “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” Stanley, his political opponent says, “See! Mahatma said that freedom is not even worth having.”

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Often, when only one or two examples is given as evidence, the speaker is cherry-picking. An exception would be when there are only one or two possible examples.

Cherry-picking:  Mary’s new friend says that Mary eats ice cream all the time because she has seen Mary eat ice cream the past two days. (She doesn’t know what Mary’s ice cream eating habits were before that. Maybe Mary just bought some ice cream for the first time in a long time.)

Not cherry-picking:  Mary’s friend says that Mary must really like red cars because her last two cars have been red. (This would not be cherry-picking if Mary has only owned two cars, but it would be cherry-picking if Mary has owned many non-red cars in the past.)

More cherry-picking info can be found by following this link, this link, or this link.

Idiom of the Month

What idiom is this not?

ASHA Autism Conference

Looks like this conference will be focusing on Social Stories…

From Twitter:  ” Our #autism online conference is next month. Check out all the great sessions and sign up by 7/31 for early bird! http://t.co/ZbBQJWl6qP

— ASHA (@ASHAWeb) July 23, 2014“

I just hope they mention a few other autism therapies while they’re at it – Such as the thirty or so on this list.

Study Questions Ritalin’s Impact on Academics

This large, long study found that children had worse academic outcomes after being treated with Ritalin, a common medication used in the treatment of ADHD.  A 1997 policy reform in Quebec expanded coverage and use of Ritalin, providing ideal conditions to study its use relative to the rest of Canada.  Generally, there were little overall improvements in short term outcomes, and worsened long term outcomes, highlighted by increased incidents of repeating grades, lower standardized math scores, and more school dropouts.

One especially interesting consequence of increased ritalin use was a large reported increase in unhappiness, especially among girls.  The study authors hypothesized that increased Ritalin use, while decreasing adverse behaviors, also decreased attention these students received from teachers.  They surmised that use of these medications may be a substitute for more beneficial learning interventions.

A study summary from The Atlantic can be found here:  http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/study-ritalin-doesnt-help-academics/276894/

A link to the full study can be found here:  http://www.nber.org/papers/w19105.pdf

The Implications of Williams Syndrome

Williams Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder, first identified in 1961, that is characterized by, among other things, outgoing personalities and deficits in processing and adaptive behavior skils. These individuals frequently have comparatively low IQs with comparatively high language skills. While initially the facts of the preceding sentence were eagerly seized by proponents of the separation of intelligence and language, the accumulation of research has (as it so often does) muddied the picture.  Williams Syndrome and Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have frequently been used as converse examples of evidence to support the dissociation between cognition and language.  The cognitive scientist, Steven Pinker, has made this argument in several popular books.  In 1999 he wrote,

Overall, the genetic double dissociation is striking, suggesting that language is both a specialisation of the brain and that it depends on generative rules that are visible in the ability to compute regular forms.  The genes of one group of children [SLI] impair their grammar while sparing their intelligence; the genes of another group of children [WS] impair their intelligence while sparing their grammar.

Subsequent assertions by Pinker leaning more toward an inextricable relationship between genes and environment seem not to have been as widely read as his earlier work.

Comparisons of SLI and Williams Syndrome hinge on the notion that SLI is inherited.  While the research does suggest that at least a predisposition toward SLI is inherited, the complexity of its causes makes any comparisons like that of apples and oranges.  The exact cause of Williams Syndrome is known:  it is the result of missing genetic material on chromosome seven.  SLI is likely the result of a stew of ingredients, with varied recipes, and varied results.  Individuals with Williams Syndrome are gregarious.  They enjoy talking.  Is it any wonder that they may become relatively proficient at something they enjoy?  As with other human behaviors and skills, language acquisition will likely never be reduced to one cause.  Similarly, the fact that these individuals are poor puzzle solvers is more likely related to visual-spacial deficits than an impairment in some “puzzle solving” gene.

People with Williams Syndrome are often outgoing…and smiling.

Anette Karmiloff-Smith has done a lot of great work on Williams Syndrome, much with a focus on accurately describing its characteristic language skills and deficits.  Many of her publications are available for download on her personal web site.  Language log has published an interesting post on the science and state of language research in Williams Syndrome, found here:  Language Log link.

Language Assessment Descriptions

The following language assessments are used for children of various ages.

Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS) 

Ages 3-21.  Assesses listening comprehension and oral expression, using both scores to provide an oral composite.  Briefly assesses all domains of syntax, semantics, morphology, and pragmatics.  The OWLS is good at identifying the presence of language disorder, and identifying which area or areas are delayed.  If scores on the OWLS are low, additional testing can be done to obtain more specific information.  There is also a version of the OWLS that tests written expression.  The publisher’s site is here at Western Psychological Services.

Comprehensive Assessment of Spoken Language (CASL) 

Two versions:  Ages 3-6 and 7-21.  There are 15 different subtests of the CASL; five tests in each area of semantics and syntax, four tests of supralinguistic skill measurement, and one test of pragmatic language.  Three, four, or five tests make up a global, or core composite, score, which varies for each age group.  The CASL can measure very specific things, and it’s not necessary to give each subtest required for a composite score.  If it’s necessary to get a composite, it can be very time consuming.  Research on these things has shown that the CASL is not the most specific test; in other words, the scores don’t always accurately identify the presence of a language disorder.  The CASL is best used to obtain additional information in specific areas.  The most useful subtests in this regard are the syntax construction, nonliteral language, and pragmatic judgment subtests.  More information is here at Western Psychological Services.

 Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals – 4 (CELF-4)

Two versions:  Ages 5-8 and 9-21.  The CELF-4 assesses expressive and receptive syntax, semantics, and morphology.  There are 14 subtests with 4 subtests required to obtain a core language standard score.  Subtests include:  concepts/following directions, word structure, recalling sentences, formulated sentences, word classes, word definitions, and understanding spoken paragraphs, among others.  The CELF-4 is said to have good validity compared to other language tests.  It can take awhile to administer, however, and because skills are combined, it can be difficult to identify specific deficits. Find more here at Pearson Assessment’s site.

Continue reading for more tests, including the TOSS, SPELT, TACL, ROWPVT, and EOWPVT.

How Many Words Should A Child Know?

Comparing Estimates of Vocabulary Acquisition

Many estimates of vocabulary size exist, with variability being their one constant.  The difficulties inherent in measuring vocabulary size have not stopped multiple researchers from coming up with their own numbers, some of which I’ve summarized below.

 

Despite the almost inevitable variation, the studies that support these estimates have told us some important things, such as…

• School age language acquisition occurs primarily through incidental experience more than formal teaching.
• Word learning shifts from concrete and functional to abstract and unusual.  This shift occurs gradually from third grade through the high school years.
• Environment matters.  Extreme environments extremely matter. 

There are many more of these studies than even what I’ve listed, and while I’m not saying I’ve seen it happen, it is possible that people could cherry pick ones that most support the point trying to be made.  Also, there is no consensus among anyone really, of what exactly counts for a word in these studies.  Does examine, examines, examined, etc. count as different words or variations of the same word?  Ultimately the numbers themselves aren’t as important as are examining what’s possible and what’s actually occurring.  We know from these studies that it is possible to learn many, many words – at rates of up to 14 words a day according to at least two sources.  Methods of teaching vocabulary – such as teaching categories, word webs, and using reading to facilitate vocabulary acquisition – can be helpful, but ultimately nothing works like an enriched experience.

Keep reading for more information about the sources of these studies.

Some Significant “Effects”

The Matthew Effect – Named after a parable in The New Testament in which Jesus speaks (in fancier biblical words) of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.  While the term has been bandied about in multiple fields, it’s special significance to special education was expounded by psychologist Keith Stanovich.  Because those who learn linguistic foundations, such as phonology, grammar, and reading, have the things they’ve learned, they then learn more.  Those without these foundations fall further behind.  A strong body of evidence supports The Matthew Effect’s common sense notion that the gap that exists in early language learning widens in part because of the very existence of the gap itself.

The Flynn Effect  – The research of James Flynn and others like him has demonstrated that IQs have gone up between 5 and 25 points among those in the general population during the past century.  While some have stated that this is proof positive of our ever increasing intelligence, explanatory opinions have ranged from more expansive schooling, to better nutrition, to better problem solving abilities due to the greater accessibility of puzzles and video games, as well as the greater complexity of society overall.  While a general consensus has remained out of reach, Flynn’s own hypothesis is that IQ testing correlates with intelligence more than it actually tests it.  Click here for a well balanced explanation.

Built by the mob? Or partial reinforcement?

The Partial Reinforcement Effect – This is the one that keeps building those large Las Vegas hotels.  Responses acquired after intermittent reinforcement (such as gambling wins) last longer than those acquired after continuous reinforcement.  Simply put, spacing rewards is the best way to reinforce desired behavior.  Despite it’s power, this one seems underutilized in education and teaching.  I think it just needs a catchier name.

The Spacing Effect – Repeated spaced presentations naturally aid our memory in learning, much more than presentations that occur bunched together.  If you read my earlier post, the spacing effect may be helping you learn about the spacing effect.

The Mozart Effect – Does listening to classical music actually improve intelligence?  Probably not, but click here to read about why this effect has been so easy to believe.

The Perceptual Magnet Effect – According to this theory, this enables us to more easily learn differences between sounds that exist in learned language.  We perceive a sound as its intended exemplar, even when not produced exactly as that exemplar.  Here’s more info.

Does Thought Precede Language?

In this article from Nature magazine, psychologist Paul Bloom discusses research suggesting that infants are born with the ability to distinguish phonology and certain aspects of meaning.  He specifically discusses a study that suggested babies are born with the ability to distinguish between loose fits and tight fits.  In English we lose this distinction, while in the Korean language the distinction is maintained with two separate verbs.  This research (and research like it) involves showing 5 month olds things like a ring around a post that is initially tight, until they bore of it and look away.  The researchers then show them the varying instances of the same or the converse – like a ring fitting loosely around a post.  If the babies seem more interested in the contrast they are said to be innately predisposed, which is in fact what happens.  For the study’s authors, Paul Bloom, and even St. Augustine, this kind of thing is considered evidence that we are all born with cognitive precursors to language – a variation of the famed Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis.

Read on for my take…