From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Wed Aug 29 2001 - 07:26:42 MDT
Lee Corbin wrote,
> > More faulty logic. "Cubans" are different than "Mormons"? "Cuban" is a
> > descriptor of race or nationality. "Mormon" is a descriptor of
> religion.
> > How are you comparing the two?
>
> There are statistical differences; I know of a number, but I
> doubtlessly know only a subset. One to ponder is the usage
> of time: stand up a Mormon more than a few minutes, and you've
> crossed over into behavior that requires an explanation. But
> members of most Latin American cultures aren't so punctual.
> Other Americans tend to fall in between.
>
> I'm not going to attempt to follow your "logic" anymore, Harvey.
> Sorry. And before you attack each sentence of the foregoing
> paragraph in context or out, please insert the word "statistically"
> where appropriate.
I am having as much difficulty trying to parse your "logic" as well. The
rules of logic and the basic logical fallacies I was taught don't seem to be
the same as the ones you recognize. The same is true of your "statistics".
My graduate courses in statistical analysis for biology and psychology just
don't apply to the usages that your statistics seem to apply. I wouldn't be
surprised if your basic math and scientific methods were fundamentally
different as well. Although we seem to agree on the basics of using logic,
math, statistics and science as an approach to rationality, we seem to be
using incompatible algorithms underneath.
Since I cannot even parse the logic of your assertion, I won't bother with a
disproof at this time. However, I would be very curious to see any
references that also claim such a thing. Are there any studies or
references to support your assertion that "Cubans" aren't as punctual as
"Mormons"? Or is this just your own personal belief that you are sure that
logic and statistics would prove if anybody bothered. If you just took a
belief and then assumed statistical support afterwards without doing the
math, I would be even less inclined to work out a disproof of your
statistics.
-- Harvey Newstrom <http://HarveyNewstrom.com> <http://Newstaff.com>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Sat Nov 02 2002 - 08:10:13 MST