Sometimes I feel like I was ruined in those philosophy logic classes they forced on us in high school and undergrad. I spent all of my time reading the article going (as I always do now) "really? What premise was that based on?". My roommate (whenever we're watching TV or reading billboard signs) always asks "what? Did they cite that? What sources are they using?", and we both always comment about how those stats aren't really saying that, but my own contribution centres around how that the premise is faulty (or, my personal favourite: "that's a Texas sharpshooter fallacy"). Sometimes I wonder how anyone ever watches TV with us anymore.
When writing the peer review paper, that's all I could think about. Even when they laid out their assumptions, I kept stumbling across other ones buried in the analysis that made me stop and think "what? What premise is that based on??". Hopefully I tied the questions into the whole 'hey-we're supposed to be talking about the research methods' part of the paper.
Makes me wonder, sometimes, though. There are all kinds of things we're trained to do, to the point that they become second nature and entirely automatic. Sometimes I'm afraid to take theoretical classes (like research methods) for fear that I will add yet another reason my family wishes I'd keep my mouth shut while home for the holidays.
I already point my toes when I jump over puddles. I already think to myself that it's "me" sometimes, and "I" other times, and it's ALWAYS the other person before you. I already wonder about if they're fooling anyone with those totally ridiculous "statistics" which don't actually say anything. And I already ask, far too often, what that argument is based on. If these are filters through which I see the world, then I'm far past "rose" and into full on "burgandy" by now.
No comments:
Post a Comment