我用的那本教科書剛改版，大大小小的改動不少，令我備課的工夫多了，不過，我倒十分歡迎書裏增加了講認知偏差（cognitive biases）那部份，因為學生知道了認知偏差是如何普遍和頑強，明白自己也免不了有些認知偏差，便較容易接受批判思考是重要的訓練。
20120228
批判思考與認知偏差
這個學期要教「邏輯及批判思考」，不是我特別喜歡教的一科；這是所有本科生的必修通識科，不少學生根本對這科毫無興趣，是被迫修的，要令這些學生也覺得課程內容有趣，殊非易事，要特別用力，尤其是邏輯那部份，教到如何畫 Venn diagrams 及 truth tables 和解釋一些邏輯定理時，更要在例子上花心思，否則不出十分鐘便有些學生會昏昏欲睡了。
在我講解認知偏差時，大部份學生都表現得十分感興趣，這大概是因為我用了很多日常生活的例子，還播了好些短片，播完後跟他們討論，教學效果很不錯。他們似乎特別喜歡以下兩條短片，第一條是關於 confirmation bias 的（我在堂上只播了前面的三分一），第二條講的是 stereotype：
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Mr. Wong, This is very interesting and helps me to recall what I had learned from before,thank you.
回覆刪除Here is another example, I hope it won't make you stereotype the Chinese woman,that all of them are the SAME:
Last week in a department store, a Chinese lady find a luggage bag she want to buy is not on discount, but she find another luggage bag with different color is on discount, so she bring both luggage bags to the cashier, telling her that these two bags are the SAME , so they shall be ALL on discount. She is not happy at all, when the cashier telling her they are not the SAME. The Chinese lady try to keep reasoning the cashier again and again, the two luggage are the same, they shall be have the same price but the cashier telling her she can't do that, they are not the SAME, the lady then walked away, don't buy either of one of them....10 minutes later, she come back again. I guess she finally think all luggage are bags are the same, only the price are different!
老舍工:
刪除I am not sure how this example relates to what Wong was talking about.
I understand that the Chinese lady was probably pushy and even impolite in this situation from your description. However, I don't think it would be wrong to ask if the bag in the different color had the same discount too. One thing I have learned in the US is that it never hurts too ask (be polite and reasonable of course), and the worst is that people might say no. It could have been a mistake too that the luggage of the other color was not given a discount...(not with luggage, but I have this experience with clothing). Sometimes when you ask very nicely, the salesperson might say not but give you further information, like, "sorry this color is not on sales right now but we have a special promotion coming up....etc." Heck, sometimes I am even not that interested, but I just ask questions while I make small talks. I am always polite and all smiles. though. Perhaps I got used to living in a small city.
Sometimes you get special discounts, late fee waivers, upgrades, etc. just because you ask. One time when I was out for dinner with a bunch of faculty, one of us asked if the discount for local college students would apply to faculty as well - and we got it. And of course we tipped the waitress well in return. It was all in good fun.
It is not wrong to ask for better deal, everyone has the right to ask for that. But in this case, I was amused by her point of argument, when both are luggage are with different price tags, and two totally different color, she keep saying they are the SAME. Her behavior fit the impression of Chinese people in my mind: they can deny fact and reality, if they want to suit their own purpose. Besides, she speak English to Cashier,but Mandarin to her friend she really like the expansive one but complain that cashier won't change the price. I could listen both.
回覆刪除或者應該貼在這裡：
回覆刪除我不知道「民族性」（某些民族的特性）算不算是stereotype，我只是看到不同的民族有其自己一些與其他民族不相同的特性。有些民族你嘲笑他們的領導人，例如你可以嘲笑英女皇，他們很寬容大量，不會計較。但如果你在泰國嘲笑泰皇，就肯定坐監無疑。
就連中國政府自己，也經常說要選擇「符合中國國情」的制度，這個所謂「國情」其實就是國裡面的人的情況，也就是中華民族與其他民族不同的情況（或特性）。
這些民族的特性又算不算是stereotype呢？
就算有民族特性這回事，我們也不應在判斷一個獨特的個人時，未經觀察就隨便套用一些「民族特性」，否則便是 stereotyping。
刪除是的，明白一個總體上的趨勢不等於其中每一個人都有那樣的特性。
刪除可否請教你用的是哪本教科書？
回覆刪除或者有沒有其他講認知偏差的書可以介紹？
我用的教科書是：Brooke Moore & Richard Parker, Critical Thinking。這本書很貴（九十多美元），如果你只是讀有關認知偏差的，我會推薦以下這本：
刪除Thomas Gilovich, How We Know What Isn't So: The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life（免費下載）
我覺得用「偏差」這個工程術語來形容非工程性質的「認知」似乎是顯得很模陵兩可和「含糊其辭」。
回覆刪除在工程應用上，通常可以用「偏差允許+-幾多尺寸」，那是因為有一把「尺」（不論公制或英制）可以用來「量度」尺寸從而知道偏差是多少。
但當把「偏差」用來形容「認知」的時候，因為「認知」並不是一個工程上的量，那用什麼來衡量「認知」呢？換句話說，衡量「認知」的「尺」是什麼呢？
還有一個可能是有趣的問題，在工程上，公制尺寸和英制尺寸是可以互相轉換而對偏差沒有影響。
但當應用在非工程量的「認知」上時，「英制」即英國人對某個議題的認知，例如「人權」，與比如說中國大陸對「人權」的認知會不相同，因而不可以「互換」而不發生「偏差」，那是因為不同國情和不同民族對同樣的議題其認知可能差別很大，在此種情形之下，又可以說是中國大陸對人權有「認知偏差」還是英國人對人權有「認知偏差」呢？誰是誰非呢？
認知的目的是知識，「偏差」是不中的，「認知偏差」不過是指令人難以達到知識這目的的認知方式或過程，我看不出有何含糊其辭之處。
刪除Thank God. I was dumb enough as a kid not to believe every word dumb grownups said (like I was dumb). Otherwise I would have grown up as a dumber person than I am (already dumb enough). --zpdrmn
回覆刪除The two videos are indeed very interesting, in particular the second one. Obviously it has a lot of relevance to teaching and maybe I should encourage my not-so-good students more...
回覆刪除Within the people in research, we somehow do stereotype people with different research background as well...