Tag: amusing
Psycho-neuron-babblist…
This is brilliant (thanks to the BPS Research Digest).
Lord Falconer hit the nail on the head:
“Why are we talking about the precise detail of Gordon’s personality traits… why aren’t we talking about the substance of the issues?”
“Forget all this… sort of psycho-babble from… the Penguin guide to… And LET’S LOOK AT THE REAL ISSUES!”
“You’re a most irresponsible programme for doing all of this.”
“You don’t need a man who’s a psycho-neuron-babblist to come and say is he connecting… for goodness sake.”
“Usefulness” in psychometrics
“Consider, for example, instrumentalism. This view does not invoke truth but usefulness as the primary criterion for the adequacy of scientific theories and measurements. However, we are surely not seriously considering the idea that we have to rule out rivals to the hypothesis that intelligence tests are useful. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS; Wechsler, 1955) comes in a big heavy box, which is very useful to hit people on the head with, but the hypothesis that the WAIS is valid for inflicting physical injury is certainly not the kind of hypothesis we are interested in.”
Borsboom, D., Mellenbergh, G.J., & Van Heerden (2004, p. 1065). The concept of validity. Psychological Review, 111, 1061-1071.
CAPITAL
(Hat-tip: FFFOUND!)
What Ayer saw when he was dead
“Did you know that I was dead? The first time that I tried to cross the river I was frustrated, but my second attempt succeeded. It was most extraordinary. My thoughts became persons.”
– A.J. Ayer, What I saw when I was dead.
Protesting close to parliament
As you’re probably aware, to protest near parliament these days you have to ask for permission. Mark Thomas recently played around with this, seeing how the system worked…
Officer: Let’s have a look. What have you got here? You want a demonstration to defend Surrealism.
Mark Thomas: Yeah, I do. I can have a demonstration about anything I like.
O: Indeed you can. I just didnae know surrealism was under threat!
MT: It is.
O: How so?
MT: Because we have a government of paradox. We have a government that seeks peace through war and protects civil liberties by eroding them. This is a paradox. This is absurdism. Absurdism is the enemy of Surrealism. Ergo it is under attack.
O: I wish I’d never asked.
[Thanks James—and this gentleman for saving me typing]
Need motivation to vote?
This video of Koichi Toyama, part of a 2007 election campaign for the position of Tokyo governor, may help get you down to the polling station.
Choice quotes:
“To all the voters. This nation is horrible.”
“I have no interest whatsoever in political reform or any kind of reform.”
“This nation must be destroyed.”
“I do not have a single constructive proposal!”
“Annihilate everything that exists.”
“I despise each and every one of you.”
“If you think you can change something by voting, you are COMPLETELY wrong.”
“NO MATTER HOW MUCH REFORM IS DONE THERE IS NO HOPE!”
“Please give me a phone call.”
(He wasn’t elected.)