5,077
edits
(15 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
'''Social Studies Skills''' | ''', Social Studies Skills''' | ||
[[category: Social Studies]] | |||
[[category: Social Studies Skills]] | |||
*tools, concepts, and terms to be applied to the study of society and history [[category: Geography]] | |||
* [[category: Geography]] | |||
See also: | See also: | ||
* [[Geography vocabulary]] | * [[Geography vocabulary]] | ||
Line 16: | Line 15: | ||
These tools provide the conceptual framework for understanding the Social Studies | These tools provide the conceptual framework for understanding the Social Studies | ||
* students may apply these tools towards any subject in the Social Studies | * students may apply these tools towards any subject in the Social Studies | ||
== Distinctions == | == Distinctions == | ||
Line 100: | Line 98: | ||
*** "Well, I didn't have time to study, anyway" | *** "Well, I didn't have time to study, anyway" | ||
*** = placing blame on something that did not cause the outcome of the low grade | *** = placing blame on something that did not cause the outcome of the low grade | ||
* example: | |||
** in the woods, Puck, a dog, ate a bull frog whole | |||
** he seemed fine, so the owner put him in his cage in the cabin for the night | |||
** in the middle of the night, he started foaming at the mouth, until eventually throwing up the half-digested frog | |||
** from then on, Puck refused to sleep in the cage -- and never stopped chasing and trying to eat bull frogs | |||
=== Types of causes === | === Types of causes === | ||
Line 205: | Line 209: | ||
* the "'''sufficiency'''" here is that without the successful shot on goal no goal would be made | * the "'''sufficiency'''" here is that without the successful shot on goal no goal would be made | ||
* | * | ||
|- | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
* | |||
|} | |} | ||
==== Logical sufficiency ==== | |||
* given the statement, "John is a batchelor" | |||
** since it is necessary for each statement that John be male, knowing that "John is a batchelor" informs us that John is a male, unmarried, and an adult | |||
* however, this sufficiency does not exclude other conclusions outside of that | |||
=== Other causality terminology === | === Other causality terminology === | ||
Line 219: | Line 234: | ||
* motives are frequently behind agency, catalysts and triggers | * motives are frequently behind agency, catalysts and triggers | ||
* historical literacy is enhanced by understanding motives | * historical literacy is enhanced by understanding motives | ||
* a fundamental question to ask over any historical situaetion or decision is ''cui bono.'' | |||
** = ''who benefits?'' | |||
** the benefits can be of various kinds | |||
*** political | |||
*** monetary | |||
*** position | |||
** or it may be "altruistic" which means for the benefit of another | |||
==== Unintended consequence ==== | ==== Unintended consequence ==== | ||
* when an expected outcome yields additional, unexpected and/or unpredicted outcomes | * when an expected outcome yields additional, unexpected and/or unpredicted outcomes | ||
Line 229: | Line 251: | ||
=== Why the cat died last night: an exercise in causality === | === Why the cat died last night: an exercise in causality === | ||
* see [[Exercises in Causality]] | |||
=== butterfly effect === | === butterfly effect === | ||
* small effects that lead to larger events | |||
* ex. George Washington sparking the global Seven Years War | |||
=== Goldilocks principle === | === Goldilocks principle === | ||
Line 332: | Line 356: | ||
=== Unexpected consequence === | === Unexpected consequence === | ||
=== Externalities === | |||
== Time, change & continuity == | == Time, change & continuity == | ||
Line 368: | Line 394: | ||
==Comparison== | ==Comparison== | ||
= | ===Distribution of Power=== | ||
== Distribution of Power == | |||
* a measurement of how societies "distribute" or organize sources and applications of power | * a measurement of how societies "distribute" or organize sources and applications of power | ||
* "power" may be considered any application of force or coercion or structure that achieves the same | * "power" may be considered any application of force or coercion or structure that achieves the same | ||
Line 381: | Line 405: | ||
"wide distribution" of power = decentralized governance | "wide distribution" of power = decentralized governance | ||
*may include: | *may include: | ||
** democracy, anarchy | ** republic, democracy, anarchy (absence of governance) | ||
** typical of groups of city states | |||
*** (although individual city states may have highly centralized rule) | |||
* no society is all one or the other | * no society is all one or the other | ||
** even anarchy essentially distributes power to the individual level, which may be coercive at that level | ** even anarchy essentially distributes power to the individual level, which may be coercive at that level | ||
Line 387: | Line 413: | ||
* see "Social Organization" above | * see "Social Organization" above | ||
=== political dissent === | === Centralized v decentralized systems === | ||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
* those disenfranchised by disparate distributions of power may seek alternative forms of expressing dissent or confronting larger powers | |+ | ||
! | |||
==== asymmetric warfare | !Centralized | ||
!Decentralized | |||
! | |||
|- | |||
|'''Incentive compatibility''' | |||
|incentives for elites only, so little compatability between general incentives and results | |||
|incentives for positive behaviors increase as their rewards are more widely distributed and available across society | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Certainty, stability''' | |||
|higher stability, predictabilty | |||
|less stable, subject to change | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Risk-taking''' | |||
|low incentives for risk-taking unless organized centrally | |||
|higher incentives for risk-taking | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Rents''' (taxes, profits, benefits of economic activity) | |||
|flows up to and contained to elites | |||
|spreads across society | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Wealth''' | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Competition''' | |||
|less competition leads to less innovation | |||
|more competition leads to more innovation | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Decision making''' | |||
|orderly, contained to elites | |||
|more input, can lead to disagreement but also more effective communication and persuasion | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Relation to state''' | |||
|subject | |||
|citizen | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Relation to one another''' | |||
|heirarchical | |||
|distributed (to various degrees, or across social structures) | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Cooperation''' | |||
|forced, less incentive outside of compulsory behaviors | |||
|incentives for cooperation through cooperative rewards | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Overall benefits''' | |||
|orderly society, less change, political stability, can manage disagreement and protect minorities | |||
|innovation (economically, politically, institutionally), broader benefits for citizen cooperation | |||
| | |||
|- | |||
|'''Overall challenges''' | |||
|less innovation, inability to adapt to external change | |||
|less stable, susceptible to charismatic leadership; minorities unprotected | |||
| | |||
|} | |||
=== political dissent === | |||
* those disenfranchised by disparate distributions of power may seek alternative forms of expressing dissent or confronting larger powers | |||
==== asymmetric warfare ==== | |||
* when access to "levers" or instruments of power, the disenfranchised may seek alternative forms of engaging or participating in the larger society, including | |||
** isolation | |||
** resistance | |||
*** uncooperation or other passive resistance | |||
*** active or violent resistance | |||
** coalition building | |||
==== Heckler's veto ==== | |||
* disruptions of events and political advocacy deliberately intended to shut them down | * disruptions of events and political advocacy deliberately intended to shut them down | ||
** ex. A threat is called in to an arena where a speech is to take place, and the venue is shut down, resulting in a "veto" of that speech, as it was not given as a result of the threat | ** ex. A threat is called in to an arena where a speech is to take place, and the venue is shut down, resulting in a "veto" of that speech, as it was not given as a result of the threat | ||
Line 472: | Line 573: | ||
* humans fear the unknown | * humans fear the unknown | ||
* humans yearn for predictability | * humans yearn for predictability | ||
* | * | ||
* | |||
=== Known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns === | |||
* During the Iraq War, US Secretary of War Donald Rumsfeld famously explained to the press that it's not the "known knowns" or even the "known unknowns" that worry him, it's the "unknown unknowns" that he's worried about | |||
* humans hate uncertainty, and so plan for "contingencies" (possibilities) and structure their societies and lives around "mitigating" uncertainty | |||
** ex. building dikes in case of flooding, or aqueducts in case of drought | |||
* however, they cannot plan for what they do not expect | |||
==== "Absence of evidence is not evidence" ==== | |||
* the 19<sup>th</sup> century historian William Wright first coined the expression, “Absence of evidence is not evidence,” | |||
* 20th century scientist Carl Sagan turned the expression more fully into "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." | |||
==== "black swan" events ==== | |||
* black swan events are unforeseen events that come without warning and without general observation of their approach | |||
* black swan events may include economic collapse (2007 mortgage crisis) or sudden war | |||
* as well as non-man controlled events such as meteors, volcanoes, and major weather events | |||
==== Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" for analysis of human fear of uncertainty ==== | |||
Click EXPAND for excerpts from ''Leviathan'' on uncertainty: | Click EXPAND for excerpts from ''Leviathan'' on uncertainty: | ||
<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | <div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> | ||
Line 579: | Line 702: | ||
* sources: | * sources: | ||
===Literature & Arts === | ===Literature & Arts === | ||
* links | * links to do | ||
===Architecture=== | ===Architecture=== | ||
* Types & periods of human organization & food sources | |||
Types & periods of human organization & food sources | |||
=== Hunter-gatherers === | === Hunter-gatherers === | ||
Line 606: | Line 727: | ||
* animal husbandry / domestication / livestock | * animal husbandry / domestication / livestock | ||
* nomadic, semi-nomadic | * nomadic, semi-nomadic | ||
* | *cooperative use of land | ||
=== Pastoral farmers === | === Pastoral farmers === | ||
Line 722: | Line 843: | ||
=== law === | === law === | ||
* may be by | |||
** consensus | |||
** tradition | |||
** statutes (legal codes) | |||
* key to functional law are coopration and enforcement | |||
* as well as equitable application | |||
=== money === | === money === | ||
* “Money can be anything that the parties agree is tradable” (Wikipedia) | * “Money can be anything that the parties agree is tradable” (Wikipedia) | ||
Line 817: | Line 946: | ||
** could be contemporaneous or historical | ** could be contemporaneous or historical | ||
*** an "indirect witness" would be someone who lived at the time but did not directly participate in the event | *** an "indirect witness" would be someone who lived at the time but did not directly participate in the event | ||
==== techniques to evaluate historical documents ==== | ==== techniques to evaluate historical documents ==== | ||
* '''OPVL''' | * '''OPVL''' | ||
Line 882: | Line 1,009: | ||
* see also | * see also | ||
** [https://www.cairn.info/revue-cahiers-d-economie-politique-1-2015-2-page-203.htm The discovery of the comparative advantage theory (on James Mill, 1821)] | ** [https://www.cairn.info/revue-cahiers-d-economie-politique-1-2015-2-page-203.htm The discovery of the comparative advantage theory (on James Mill, 1821)] | ||
=== Desire Path === | |||
[[File:Desire path - 52849400711.jpg|thumb|right|A desire path between concrete sidewalks at the Ohio State University (wikipedia)]] | |||
* specifically: a path created by people off or outside of an established, planned path | |||
* generally: the idea that people will more efficiently choose their methods and means of conducting day-to-day affairs better than planners | |||
** related to Frederick Hayeks' idea of the "emergent order" created by accumulated individual decisions rather than by a collective decision | |||
=== Economies of scale === | === Economies of scale === | ||
Line 898: | Line 1,031: | ||
* Hayek | * Hayek | ||
** dispersed knowledge | ** dispersed knowledge | ||
** emergent order | ** emergent order/ spontaneous order | ||
* Locke | * Locke | ||
* Smith | * Smith | ||
Line 1,025: | Line 1,158: | ||
*** wars (spur economic activity and mobilization) | *** wars (spur economic activity and mobilization) | ||
*** however, whatever the benefit it does not account for Bastiat's "unseen" costs and cannot in any way outweigh the suffering, death and loss of choice created by the disaster or war | *** however, whatever the benefit it does not account for Bastiat's "unseen" costs and cannot in any way outweigh the suffering, death and loss of choice created by the disaster or war | ||
* see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window#Parable | * see: | ||
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window#Parable | |||
** [https://realinvestmentadvice.com/bastiat-and-the-broken-window/ Bastiat And The "Broken Window" - RIA] | |||
</div> | </div> | ||
* Examples: | * Examples: | ||
Line 1,148: | Line 1,283: | ||
* origins of the idea of confirmation bias | * origins of the idea of confirmation bias | ||
** Aesop's fable: Fox and the Grapes, which is where we get the expression, "sour grapes" ("oh well, those grapes are probably sour") | ** Aesop's fable: Fox and the Grapes, which is where we get the expression, "sour grapes" ("oh well, those grapes are probably sour") | ||
*David Hume and confirmaton bias | |||
* David Hume | |||
** 18th century Scottish philosopher who argued that knowledge is derived from experience (called "empiricism") | ** 18th century Scottish philosopher who argued that knowledge is derived from experience (called "empiricism") | ||
** however, Hume warned against reason alone as the basis for knowledge, as one can "reason" just about anything | ** however, Hume warned against reason alone as the basis for knowledge, as one can "reason" just about anything | ||
Line 1,160: | Line 1,289: | ||
** Hume warned against jumping to conclusions based on limited knowledge | ** Hume warned against jumping to conclusions based on limited knowledge | ||
*** i.e. drawing conclusions based on our own confirmation bias | *** i.e. drawing conclusions based on our own confirmation bias | ||
* may also be called "motivated reasoning" | |||
** i.e. drawing conclusions ("reasoning") based upon bias or reason for ("motives") | |||
* see: | |||
** [http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/method/confirmation_bias.html Confirmation Bias & Wason (1960) 2-4-6 Task (devpsy.org)] | |||
** [https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201905/the-curious-case-of-confirmation-bias The Curious Case of Confirmation Bias | Psychology Today] | |||
==== historical examples of confirmation bias ==== | |||
*in 1938, British Prime Minister Chamberlain returned from Germany after signing the Munich Agreement, under which Hitler agreed not to many further claims on Czechsolvakian territory (after siezing the Sudetenland), and announced that the agreement would bring "peace for our time." | |||
**within six months Germany had annexed more of Czechoslavia and would soon after invade Poland. | |||
**Chamberlain and his allied nations so wanted Hitler not to be a problem that they accepted anything he proposed thinking that appeasing him would stop his agression. | |||
*the Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were driven by confirmation bias that considered evidence gave proof of witchcraft, and even otherwise harmless things, like a broken fence, served as proof of it. | |||
**Worse, authorities accepted without question ridiculous claims such as that a witch supposedly made cows jump | |||
*The New Testament tells of various miracles performed by Jesus, some of which occur on the sabbath, which is the Hebrew "day of rest" (no work is allowed) | |||
**when some of the Jewish leaders, "Pharisees," witness a miracle, instead of responding in awe of it (such as healing a cripple or giving sight to a blind man), they become upset that Jesus performed the miracle on the sabbath | |||
***basically, saying, "Yeah, whatever, you healed a dude, but you can't do that on a Saturday!" | |||
**the bias of the Pharisees was so strong that they ignored the miracle and instead accused Jesus of breaking the law by "working" on the sabbath | |||
=== Correlation is not causation === | === Correlation is not causation === | ||
* a cause and effect fallacy that mistakes "correlation" for cause | * a cause and effect fallacy that mistakes "correlation" for cause | ||
Line 1,225: | Line 1,370: | ||
** ex. getting the latest cell phone even though your current one is working fine | ** ex. getting the latest cell phone even though your current one is working fine | ||
* loss aversion drives decisions by "not wanting to lose out" on something | * loss aversion drives decisions by "not wanting to lose out" on something | ||
=== Mandela effect === | |||
* false memories created by the spread of one or more sources of innacurate or false information that is then shared by others | |||
* named the "Mandela effect" for a "paranormal researcher" who claimed that she was sure Mandela died in prison in the 1980s, and upon publishing this on a website she found that many other people shared in or adopted her false memory | |||
* these false memories are then propogated and believed by others who were not part of the original false memory | |||
=== Necessary and sufficient conditions === | === Necessary and sufficient conditions === | ||
* necessary | * confusion between necessary and sufficient conditions can lead to false or poor logic and confusion about causes and effects. | ||
* see entry above under causality | |||
* | |||
=== No real Scotsman fallacy === | === No real Scotsman fallacy === | ||
Line 1,835: | Line 1,981: | ||
* | * | ||
== Other theories & conceptual tools == | == Other theories & conceptual tools == | ||
=== | |||
=== Glasl's model of conflict escalation === | |||
[[File:Glasl's Model of Conflict Escalation.svg|thumb|Glasl's "Nine stages of conflict escalation"|385x385px]] | |||
* when analyzing conflict, diplomacy, events, etc. students may employ the conceptual framework of "conflict escalation" by Friedrich Glasl ([[wikipedia:Friedrich_Glasl's_model_of_conflict_escalation|here from wikipedia]]) | |||
* Glasl's model divides disagreement or conflict scenarios into "stages" based upon three core outcomes: | |||
** win-win | |||
*** both sides benefit | |||
** win-lose | |||
*** one side benefits, the other loses | |||
** lose-lose | |||
*** conflict w/ bad outcomes for one or both parties | |||
* conflicts escalate through and into: | |||
** tension and dispute | |||
** debate | |||
** communication loss | |||
** coalition building (seeking sympathy or help from others) | |||
** denunciation | |||
** loss of face (pride) | |||
** threats and feelings of threat | |||
** depersonalization (treating the other as not human) | |||
** attack, annihilation, defeat | |||
* deescalation includes: | |||
** mediation from third-party (intercession, intermediation) | |||
** process guidance | |||
** arbitration, legal actions | |||
** forcible intervention, especially from higher power | |||
* Glasl's model works at the individual (a family fight) or global level (international affairs) | |||
=== Graham's hierarchy of disagreement === | |||
[[File:Graham's Hierarchy of Disagreement-en.svg|thumb|Graham's hierarchy of disagreement]] | |||
* tech entrepreneur Paul Graham in 2008 proposed a model for levels (hierarchies) of disagreement | |||
* the top of the hierarchy is refutation of the "central point" | |||
** i.e., that the opposing idea is fundamentally "refuted" | |||
*** via logic, demonstration, evidence, etc. | |||
* the bottom of the hierarchy is "Name-calling", which leads to no resolution and further anger or dispute | |||
* key points in the negative side of the hierarchy are essentially [[Logical fallacy|logical fallacies]]: | |||
** name-calling (ad hominem) and | |||
** criticism of tone or attitude rather than substance ("responding to tone") | |||
** contractions without evidence | |||
* on the constructive side are | |||
** strong argument via reason, logic, evidence | |||
** refutation: proof | |||
=== Overton Window === | |||
* [[File:Overton Window diagram.svg|thumb|An illustration of the Overton window, along with Treviño's degrees of acceptance]]Joseph Overton observed that along the spectrum of social or political thought, policy, or opinion | |||
** there exists a mainstream "middle" of consensus | |||
*** that middle may have variances, but most people generally agree with it | |||
** with extremes on both sides that are not generally accepted | |||
** however, as one extreme or the other becomes acceptable, they enter into the "Overton Window" | |||
** example: | |||
*** in the 1950s, rock music was considered anti-social, thus lay outside of the Overton Window | |||
*** as its popularity grew, especially following Elvis Presley, rock music became popular music | |||
**** and thus, entered the Overton Window | |||
* in the Overton Window, "Policy" should reflect a consensus of points of view within the window, and will move according to changes within that window | |||
** so, while "Policy" may not always reflect the middle of the Window, it acts to reflect changes in the window. | |||
=== Weber's "Protestant Work Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism" === | === Weber's "Protestant Work Ethic & the Spirit of Capitalism" === | ||
* Social Scientist Max Weber attributed the economic success of U.S. and northwestern European nations to their dominant "Protestant work ethic" | |||
* based on | |||
** individualism and notions of self-sufficiency | |||
** ethics of hard work, timeliness, frugality, etc. | |||
*** that cumulatively yielded productive economies and a dominant middle class | |||
* note that Weber's seen today by "critical race" theorists as elements of "white privilege" | |||
==External Resources== | ==External Resources== |