This page presents a list of definitions of key terms for this blog. These terms will be used with these specific definitions in mind. This list is intended to provide solid footing for discussions on a wide ranging array of subjects.
Argument: a series of claims intended to establish a theory.
Belief: An opinion held by an individual or group of individuals. Beliefs vary widely in the amount of validity they use in their support. Some beliefs are supported by what many consider to be tens or hundreds of valid facts; other beliefs are supported by almost no facts at all. Interestingly, the benefits of a belief or the number of people who subscribe to it often have little or nothing do to with how well supported that belief is. A belief can often be distinguished from a theory by its greater amount of stickiness.
Bias (biased): the tendency of a human mind or group of minds to believe something that stands in contradiction to fact, or stands against logic. In some cases, a bias might feel very true because it could be based on a wide amount of experience; however, that does not mean those experiences hold up in every case. [see confirmation bias and implicit bias]
Claim: a statement of opinion or theory intended to support an argument. Claims, like opinions and theories become better when they are valid.
Data (datum): a collection of facts or records used to support an argument or theory. Please note that "datum" is a singular fact and that "data" means many facts.
Confirmation Bias: this is a particular kind of bias that causes human minds to perceive data that confirms what they already believe to be true. This can mean selectively remembering or misinterpreting data that confirm a previously held opinion.
Emotional Truth: Human beings have needs beyond science. The statement "I will die unless you love me," for example, seems totally unreasonable, totally unscientific, yet many humans have felt this emotional truth. "Death is terrifying," is another emotional truth for many. There is no science behind this opinion yet it is emotionally true for many people. In order for most humans to thrive, emotional truths must be satisfied. [see myth and wish fulfillment]
Fact (factual, factuality): A piece of information or datum established by witness and confirmed by record. A fact tends to become more reliable when it is confirmed by multiple witnesses and many records. [see true]
False (falsehood): not true; easily contradicted or debunked by fact, theory, or reputable sources.
Firsthand Account: An observation made by a witness. The film if the Hindenburg burning up is a video record that contains a verbal firsthand account. [see secondhand account]
Implicit Bias: people often feel that to have a bias it must be explicitly stated and / or the bias must be known to the person who holds it. The theory of implicit bias suggests that this is not true. People can have biases and not state them explicitly; people can also have biases and not know it.
Invalid: not valid, weak or lacking in support. [see valid]
Law: in science, the word "law" is sometimes used to describe a theory that is supported by so many facts and tested by so many reputable experts that it is generally considered universally true. "Gravity pulls things towards the Earth" is generally considered a law.
Lie: a record that is invalid or false. A lie is told or recorded to intentionally harm or to serve one’s own interests at the expense of another person. In contrast, a mistake or misperception is also invalid or false, but is told or recorded without the intent to harm. [see propaganda]
Logic (logical, logically): the internal process of the human mind that links perceptions together into meaningful stories. Although arguments and theories arise from the process of logic, they can only do so when logic operates in accordance with fact.
Logical Fallacy: a group of commonly known tricks that the human mind can play on itself. Logical fallacies often satisfy emotional truth or bias, but seldom hold up when tested against fact or a valid theory or valid argument [see appended list for common logical fallacies]
Myth (mythic, mythical): a story which fulfills one or more emotional truths which may vary wildly in the amount of support it presents. Many argue that myths operate in a space that is totally alien to support and more akin to dreams or imagination. [see emotional truth and wish fulfillment]
Objective (objectively, objectivity): this term describes how many facts or how much data supports an assertion. It also helps distinguish between records and the testimony of a witness. A video or mathematical formula is said to be objective. A memory or story recounted by a person is more subjective.
Opinion: a pared down version of a theory. Opinions are often created quickly and often depend less on support than they do on emotional truth.
Propaganda: a series of lies or badly supported claims that is intended to support an invalid theory or bias. Propaganda often hopes to establish itself by satisfying an emotional truth or by simple repetition. Propaganda is often created by a group or institution and spread by mass media.
Record (records, recorded, recorder): documents, interviews, video, or audio that help establish the factuality of an event, or phenomenon. A record is useful because it can be perceived and examined by multiple witnesses. In this way it closely resembles a fact. However, be aware that records can often be misleading or false. Records are sometimes dependent on witnesses, firsthand accounts, or secondhand accounts which can make them less valid. Sometimes records unintentionally show an event from one point of view; sometimes they are intentionally created to deceive like a lie or propaganda.
Reputation (repute, reputable): confidence in a person or institution. In this context, the confidence that the theories, claims, and beliefs of that person or institution are based on facts.
Secondhand Account: information delivered by someone who heard it from a witness but who did not perceive it themselves. If someone saw the film of the Hindenburg burning up and then told you about it, you would have a secondhand account.
Science (scientific): the process by which human minds attempt to distill facts from perceptions. In this process, humans try to eliminate bias and emotional truth while accumulating enough facts to construct a valid theory. Science also tests theories, discarding those that are invalid and modifying them in light of newly acquired facts.
Support: facts, records, reputable opinions, and / or theories used to validate an argument or another theory.
Sticky: (stick, stickiness, stuck): the tendency of a myth, urban legend, or theory to persist even when a large number of facts, valid theories, and / or reputable opinions exist to contradict it or none exist to validate it. [see truthiness]
Subjective: describes the degree to which information is filtered through the mind of a person, how much that information may be tainted by memory or an individual’s point of view. This term also helps distinguish between records and the testimony of a witness. A memory or story recounted by a person is more subjective. A video or mathematical formula is said to be objective. [see firsthand account and secondhand account]
Theory (theorize, theoretical): is a special kind of belief. A theory differs from a belief in that it is constructed with the idea that it is temporary. Theories are designed to explain currently known facts and records, but always with the idea that the theory can be changed or replaced when new knowledge becomes available.
True (truth, truly, trueness): describes things which are absolutely real, physical things such as objects you can directly perceive. This is sometimes a difficult prospect, however, because humans can’t directly perceive things like atoms, infrared light, or dust mites. Are they truly there? In such cases we often must depend on fact, science, reputable sources, witness and record to establish what it true. Additionally, the word "true" is also used to describe things that feel true. Phrases like "true love" or "true grit" fall into this category. [see emotional truth]
Valid (validate, validation, validity): describes opinions and observations that are supported by a reasonable amount of truth, facts and / or have the support of reputable sources. Validation is never complete; it is an ongoing process in which ideas are tested and criticisms are answered. Some scientific theories stand for years until new data emerges to modify or replace them with more valid theories. [see belief, opinion, and science]
Truthiness (truthy): A truthy statement looks like a fact or theory but is often more like wish fulfillment or emotional truth. A term coined by Stephen Colbert, "truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from ignorant assertions of falsehoods to deliberate duplicity or propaganda intended to sway opinions" (Hayes-Roth).
Urban Legend: a story, not unlike a myth. The difference is that an urban legend is more easily confused with fact because its support often looks more valid. "Giant Alligators Live in New York Sewers!" is a classic example. We know that alligators and sewers exist. We also know that sewers are large and wet and that people seldom enter them. All these facts create conditions in which the urban legend could be true. In contrast to myth or propaganda, urban legends are often perpetuated by individuals, word of mouth, or independent internet sources and tend to lack the malicious intent of a lie. [see stickiness and truthiness] \
Vested Interest: this term describes a person’s motivation to do something for personal gain. For example, if the producer of a documentary film, "The Hidden Truth of Aliens in the Government" may say their reason is to reveal the truth and expand democracy. These are good motives, but it should be noted that a documentary film might also bring fame and money to that producer. [see lie, reputation]
Wish Fulfillment: the process by which emotional truth is satisfied. For example, you see a bird fly, you wish you could fly, but you can’t. Your emotional truth is not satisfied. That night, you have a dream in which you are flying; you feel yourself fly, and that satisfies your emotional truth. Children do this all the time through imagination and creative play. Adults do it too, though often through more sophisticated means. [see myth, urban legend, and propaganda]
Witness: a person who perceives an object or event. A witness differs from a recorder because a witness has a human mind. A recorder, like a video camera or microphone, just collects a record of an event without thinking about what it is, deciding what it means, or storing it in human memory which is often not true. [see firsthand account]
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