Movie Review: Blades of Glory

Summary: How can you make pairs figure skating even more exciting? How about we add Will Ferrell skating with Napoleon Dynamite? Oh, yeah.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Review: Before I rented this one (actually, we use Netflix) I was told it wasn’t very good. Even for a Will Ferrell movie. When you go into a Ferrell movie, you know what to expect: stupid situations mixed with “you can’t help but laugh” humor. His movies will not win an Oscar any time soon. You know this, and yet they are still freakin’ hilarious. BUT, I was told that this one was bad, even for Ferrell?! Let me tell you, this was not true. It was a great movie (again, for a Ferrell-style comedy). I laughed out loud at least a dozen times. Will Ferrell was the perfect complement to Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). Will was the tough, manly skater compared to the very feminine and graceful Jon Heder. This proved the prefect combination for banter and hilariousness. Not only that, but the other actors were great: Amy Pholer (SNL), Jenna Fisher (The Office), and Will Arnett (Arrested Development). All in all, a good laugh that did not disappoint.

The Baby Moved!!!

And I felt it. She ... I mean he was kicking up a storm today. I think we were pissing him off by pushing back trying to feel the kicking. But, he was really kicking. Pretty cool.

LFotW: Argument from Authority

The logical fallacy of this week is Argument from Authority. The basic structure of such arguments is as follows: Professor X believes A, Professor X speaks from authority, therefore A is true. Often this argument is implied by emphasizing the many years of experience, or the formal degrees held by the individual making a specific claim. The converse of this argument is sometimes used, that someone does not possess authority, and therefore their claims must be false. (This may also be considered an ad-hominen logical fallacy.)

In practice this can be a complex logical fallacy to deal with. It is legitimate to consider the training and experience of an individual when examining their assessment of a particular claim. Also, a consensus of scientific opinion does carry some legitimate authority. But it is still possible for highly educated individuals, and a broad consensus to be wrong – speaking from authority does not make a claim true.

This logical fallacy crops up in more subtle ways also. For example, UFO proponents have argued that UFO sightings by airline pilots should be considered valid because pilots are trained observers, are reliable characters, and are trained not to panic in emergencies. In essence, they are arguing that we should trust the pilot’s authority as an eye witness.

The argument from authority, or appeal to authority, has many potential subtypes, all of which invest authority in a particular group or situation. In the broadest sense this logical fallacy assumes that because a person or group possesses some positive quality (such as authority), their claims are true. Below are some examples of different types of positive qualities worth specific mention.

Subtype: Appeal to Common Belief
This fallacy is the argument that a claim must be true because many people believe it. It ignores the possibility, demonstrated frequently throughout history, that the majority can be completely wrong. The popularity of an idea or claim is often based upon features other than logic or evidence.

Subtype: Appeal to impending acceptance
I consider this to be a subtype to the argument from authority, because it attempts to invoke the authority of future belief and acceptance. Many peudosciences, such as creationism, ESP, and UFOlogy, claim that broad acceptance is right around the corner. This is a logical fallacy (the argument from authority) coupled with an assumed premise (that of future acceptance).

Subtype: Appeal to virtue or sincerity
This is the argument that a person or group possesses a virtue and therefore their claims must be true. For example, alternative medicine proponents often cite that a particular practitioner is very sincere and caring, and therefore claims for the efficacy of their treatment should be believed. Also, a credulous ghosthunter argued to me that an eyewitness who claimed to have seen someone levitate three feet off their bed should be believe because “why would she lie.”

Subtype: Argument from Conspiracy or anti-authority
This is the converse of the argument from authority, and basically states that a claim is false because it is held and promoted by an authority. This occurs often in the context that the official government position must be false because it’s the official government position. This is more properly considered a subtype of ad-hominem logical fallacy, arguing that the government must be wrong because they habitually lie or engage in cover-up conspiracies.

Movie Review: Zodiac

Summary: True story of a murder mystery with a lot of investigative journalism.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

Review: The movie started strong with some murders and with a “who done it” feel. But, as the hours roll by, I just wanted them to find the guy (or girl) and get it over with. The movie was 2 ½ hours long and this was at least 60 minutes too long. It finished much weaker than it started. Pretty boring in the end. So, all in all, it was just an “alright” movie. It is an interesting story; it just wouldn’t end. (I guess that can happen when you tell a true story)

LFotW: Non-Sequitur

In Latin this term translates to “doesn’t follow.” This refers to an argument in which the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the premises. In other words, a logical connection is implied where none exists. This is the most basic type of logical fallacy, and in fact many of the fallacies listed below are also non-sequiturs but are an identifiable and common type.

Subtype: Magical Thinking
Magical thinking is perhaps the most common type of non-sequitur. The logical connection in these fallacious arguments are often a vague magical principle not based upon logic or evidence. For example, Feng Shui proponents might argue that it is better to place your bed in a certain position within your bedroom so that luck will flow into your home.

Here are two types of non sequitur of traditional noteworthiness:

1) Any argument that takes the following form is a non sequitur:

1. If A is true, then B is true.
2. B is stated to be true.
3. Therefore, A must be true.

Even if the premises and conclusion are all true, the conclusion is not a necessary consequence of the premises. This sort of non sequitur is also called affirming the consequent.

An example of affirming the consequent would be:

1. If I am a human (A) then I am a mammal. (B)
2. I am a mammal. (B)
3. Therefore, I am a human. (A)

"I" could be another type of mammal without being a human. While the conclusion may be true, it does not follow from the premises. This argument is still a fallacy even if the conclusion is true. It is a non sequitur (note that it is the exact same argument form as in example 1 - the form is always a non sequitur).

2) Another common non sequitur is this:

1. If A then B. (e.g., If I am in Tokyo, I am in Japan.)
2. Not A. (e.g., I am not in Tokyo.)
3. Therefore, not B. (e.g., Therefore, I am not in Japan.)

The speaker could be anywhere else in Japan. This sort of non sequitur is called denying the antecedent.

(If either of the above examples had "If and only if A, then B" as their first premise, then they would be valid and non-fallacious but unsound.)

Many other types of known non sequitur argument forms have been classified into many different types of logical fallacies. In everyday speech and reasoning, an example might be: "If my hair looks nice, all people will love me." However, there is no real connection between your hair and the love of all people. Advertising typically applies this kind of reasoning.

Logical Fallacy of the Week - Preview

I'm starting a Logical Fallacy of the Week article. Should be fun. So, here is a good description of what a logical fallacy is (by Dr. Michael C. Labossiere) before I present the first one. The logical resources here are things that should be taught in schools, but rarely are.

In order to understand what a fallacy is, one must understand what an argument is. Very briefly, an argument consists of one or more premises and one conclusion. A premise is a statement (a sentence that is either true or false) that is offered in support of the claim being made, which is the conclusion (which is also a sentence that is either true or false).

There are two main types of arguments: deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) complete support for the conclusion. An inductive argument is an argument such that the premises provide (or appear to provide) some degree of support (but less than complete support) for the conclusion. If the premises actually provide the required degree of support for the conclusion, then the argument is a good one. A good deductive argument is known as a valid argument and is such that if all its premises are true, then its conclusion must be true. If all the argument is valid and actually has all true premises, then it is known as a sound argument. If it is invalid or has one or more false premises, it will be unsound. A good inductive argument is known as a strong (or "cogent") inductive argument. It is such that if the premises are true, the conclusion is likely to be true.

A fallacy is, very generally, an error in reasoning. This differs from a factual error, which is simply being wrong about the facts. To be more specific, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. A deductive fallacy is a deductive argument that is invalid (it is such that it could have all true premises and still have a false conclusion). An inductive fallacy is less formal than a deductive fallacy. They are simply "arguments" which appear to be inductive arguments, but the premises do not provided enough support for the conclusion. In such cases, even if the premises were true, the conclusion would not be more likely to be true.

Greek Isles Restaurant = Fantastic!

For Christmas my brother and I got some gift cards to a fairly new restaurant called Greek Isles. The restaurant is up on Hwy 129, so it took us a while to organize a night to meet there, but it finally happened. It’s a small restaurant with seating for 20 or so families. We were met with a large, muscular guy behind the counter who could tell that we were new to the whole Greek scene. He told us to go have a seat in the booth and he would wait on us (not something that normally happens, usually you get your food yourself). Well, it turns out that the guy was Konstantine Karvelas and he owns the restaurant (his day job is working for Grandview Hospital in Dayton running the heart-lung machine during open-heart surgery). One of the nicest guys I’ve met in a while. He helped us with our orders (and pronunciation) and delivered the food personally, taking great interest in how we like it and how we came to be in the restaurant.

Justin got the Loukaniko (spicy sausage) which was fantastic. Kate had the chicken Souvlaki which was pretty good. I had the gyro (how could I not?) and it was fantastic. Sarah’s pizza had some very tasty sausage on it with quite a kick. The hummus was some of the best I’ve ever had. So, after a great meal, the owner came over to make sure that everything was going okay and that the meal was up to par. The owner could tell how much we were enjoying the feast, so he decided to try out one of his dips on us: a spicy red pepper and feta dip. This was amazing stuff.

So, after a great meal, how could we not try the baklava? So, Justin got the chocolate dipped baklava. Amazing, yet again. I saw that he had Baklava Ice Cream, so I asked for that. He told me that they were out of ice cream and I acted disappointed. At this point, he said, “Just wait right there. They have ice cream next door.” He proceeded to walk outside with a bowl and come back with some ice cream with which he mixed in some baklava. Now that’s good service. I did feel slightly guilty. But, it was definitely worth it. Then, he would not let us tip him, as we were leaving.

Overall, this was a fantastic experience and I have a feeling we will be going back soon. I plan picking something up often, on my way home from work. I would completely recommend this small restaurant to others.

One other thing he mentioned was Greek Night. Apparently, once a month, they have a reservation-required, 100+ people, all night Greek party; with a live band and “dancing on the tables” fun. The belly dancers come out at 11pm and 1am, so make sure not to miss them.

Check out this amazing restaurant: http://kostasgreekisles.com/index.html

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