THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 30

Can you buy a mnemonic device at a hardware store

Subject:  Mnemonic Devices -  “Thirty Days Hath September” 

Event: September 30

On this last day of September, we focus on not forgetting one of the more famous mnemonic rhymes in English:

Thirty days hath September,

April, June, and November.

All the rest have 31,

Except for February all alone,

It has 28 each year,

but 29 each leap year.

This verse is attributed to Mother Goose, but it’s only one of many versions of the poem.  One website, for example, lists an astonishing 90 variations of what has come to be called The Month Poem (1).

Mnemonic rhymes are just one type of mnemonic device. No, you can’t buy them in stores. A mnemonic device is a method of remembering something that is difficult to remember by remembering something that is easy to remember.

The word mnemonic is an eponym, originating from the Greek goddess of memory and mother of the Muses, Mnemosyne.

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

To make things easy to remember, mnemonic devices employ different methods, such as rhyme, acrostics, or acronyms. Another method is the nonsense sentence made up from the initial letters of what it is you are trying to remember. 

Mnemonic devices capitalize on a concept known as cognitive fluency:  the brain’s strong bias in favor of things that are easy to think about.  (For more on cognitive fluency, see THINKER’S ALMANAC - January 31 and September 28.)  By crafting a mnemonic device, you are packaging information in a way that makes it easier for your brain to process; therefore, there is a higher likelihood it will be remembered.  Not only does the brain like things that are easier to process -- such as things that are repeated, things that rhyme, or things that are in an easy-to-read font -- the brain also sees these things as more valid.  As a result, the brain is more likely to transfer them from short term memory to long term memory.

Here’s an example of a sentence that is crafted to help us remember Roman numerals:

In Various Xmas Legends Christ Delivers Miracles.

Notice how the letters that begin each word correspond, in order, to Roman numerals:

I=1, V=5, X=10, L=50, C=100, D=500, M=1,000

You might also use an acronym. For example, CAMP WE is a mnemonic device that helps us remember the essential elements of the rhetorical situation.  For example, if you want to truly understand Lincon’s Gettysburg Address you need to know more than just words, you need to know something about the following elements:

C = Context

A = Audience

M = Message

P = Purpose

W = Writer

E = Exigence

Generations of school children have used the rhyme from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” (1861) to remember the start date of the American Revolution:

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is a mnemonic device, and what are some examples of different ways they are created?

Challenge - Remember, Remember the Mnemonics of September:  What are some examples of important information that needs to be committed to memory?  Think of something you need to remember or something that everyone should remember, and create your own original mnemonic device.  Use rhyme, acrostics, acronyms, and/or nonsense sentences to package your device in a handy, easy-to-remember format. 

Sources:

1 – Leap Year Day.com. Days of the Month Poem. 1904 Public Domain. http://leapyearday.com/content/days-month-poem.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 29

How did a psychologist’s boyhood memories of playing chess springboard a lifetime study of happiness? 

Subject: Happiness - Flow

Event:  Birthday of Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1934

While happiness itself is sought for its own sake, every other goal – health, beauty, money or power – is valued only because we expect that it will make us happy. -Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

From its beginnings in ancient Greece, one primary purpose of philosophy has been to help people live fulfilling lives. The Greeks used the word eudaimonia, which translates to the English words “fulfillment” or “happiness.”

Plato’s prescription for achieving eudaimonia began with reason.  Thinking is hard work, but it is necessary to think carefully and logically, seeking knowledge, but most importantly seeking to “know yourself.”  Long before the field of cognitive psychology was invented, Plato understood that good thinking required an understanding of the human tendency toward bad thinking: errors, prejudice, and superstition.  Plato knew that people were often led by their emotions, feelings, and instincts rather than their reason.  Furthermore, rather than thinking for themselves, people let the crowd do their thinking by adopting popular opinions, what the Greeks called “doxa.”

Plato - Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

To know yourself, you must think for yourself, which means being skeptical and applying reason to both our thoughts and our emotions.

One modern person who exemplifies Plato’s method is the Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-SENT-me-hi), who was born on this day in 1934.  Csikszentmihalyi's contribution to the human quest for eudaimonia is what he calls flow: a state of optimal experience in which an individual is fully and passionately immersed in an activity.  To achieve this flow state there must be a just right balance between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer.   Furthermore, in the flow state an individual becomes so absorbed in their activity that they lose themselves in it;  self-consciousness and time disappear.

To illustrate his own experience with flow, Csikszentmihalyi recounts his own experience as a 10-year-old in Hungary during World War II.  He and his family were interned by the Italians in a refugee camp.  To pass the time he played chess against adult players.  Immersing himself in the games, he discovered, allowed him to forget all his troubles (1).

For Csikszentmihalyi, happiness comes not from acquiring property, earning a lot of money, or relaxing on a sunny beach; instead, true happiness -- ecstasy even -- is achieved through the intrinsic desire to engage and immerse oneself in a challenging, exhausting activity.  Based on his interviews with more than a thousand people, including actors, athletes, doctors, and artists, Csikszentmihalyi concludes that happiness is not about extrinsic rewards, but is about intrinsic motivation: “A person can make himself happy, or miserable, regardless of what is actually happening 'outside,' just by changing the contents of consciousness.”

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  What is flow, and how does it relate to happiness?

Challenge - Get Lost in the Flow:  What is the activity that allows you to enter into the flow state.  Describe the activity.  How are you able to lose yourself in it, and why does it bring you happiness?

Sources:

Flaste, Richard.  “The Power of Concentration.” The New York Times  8 Oct. 1989.

ALSO ON THIS DAY

September 29, 1999:  The television series West Wing premiered an episode named for one of the most prominent of all logical fallacies: “Post Hoc.” See THINKER’S ALMANAC - October 1.

September 29, 2009:  Padgett Powell published a novel made up entirely of questions.  It’s called The Interrogative Mood.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 28

How did the closing argument in O.J. Simpson’s 1995 murder trial illustrate an important rhetorical principle?

Subject: Cognitive Fluency - The Rhyme As Reason Effect  

Event:  Murder Trial of O.J. Simpson ends, 1995

On September 28, 1995, the O.J. Simpson murder trial was finally wrapping up after 11 months.  Of the millions of words presented to the jury, it was just seven words proclaimed on this day that stood out.  Defense Attorney Jonny Cochran was speaking to the jury about a key piece of evidence, a pair of gloves found at the scene of the crime.  Earlier in the trial when the prosecution requested that Simpson put on the gloves, it appeared that the gloves were too small for Simpson’s hands.  Cochran was reminding the jury of this fact during his closing argument, saying “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”  A few days later, as the entire nation watched, the jury announced their verdict:  not guilty.

What if Cochran had said, “Mr. Simpson is not guilty because the glove did not fit”?  Is it possible that the way something is said can be just as important as what is said?

To test this Psychologist Matthew McGlone did a study in 1999 where he presented unfamiliar aphorisms in either rhyming or non-rhyming form.  (“Woes unite foes,” for example, versus “Woes unite enemies.”)  The study showed that even though the meaning of the two aphorisms was essentially the same, people labeled the rhyming ones as more accurate than the non-rhyming ones.  When participants in the study were asked whether or not rhyme influenced their choice, they overwhelmingly answered no.  The results showed that what makes sense to us can be unconsciously influenced by our sense of sound.

This study also affirmed what the poet John Keats said in his poem “Ode to a Grecian Urn” in 1819:  “Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”  In other words, the more elegantly something is said, the more inherently true it appears.  Based on the results of his study, Matthew McGlone dubbed this cognitive bias the rhyme-as-reason effect, also known as the “Keats Heuristic.”

Image by SarahCulture from Pixabay

The impact of rhyme can be seen in the following everyday expressions.  As you read each one, think about how the sound of each expression contributes to its sense:

Fake it ’til you make it

See you later, Alligator

Good night, sleep tight

You snooze, you lose

Put the pedal to the metal

In addition to rhyme, Cohran’s line and the familiar lines above have the advantage of what psychologists call cognitive fluency, a principle that says the human brain has a preference for things that are easy to think about versus things that are more difficult to comprehend.  As a result, we’re much more likely to prefer rhyming slogans and concise, pithy statements to more verbose or less sonically pleasing sentences.  

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is the rhyme-as-reason effect, and why is it important to anyone who wants to persuade an audience?

Challenge - Words that Worked:  What are some examples of the greatest slogans in the history of advertising or politics?  Select one that you like, and explain how cognitive fluency might have contributed to its success.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

September 28 (Each Year):  This day is celebrated in Taiwan as “Teacher’s Day,” the birthday of Confucious, who said, “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”

Sources:

1-Bennet, Drake.  “Easy = True.”  Boston Globe 31 Jan. 2010.

THINKER'S ALMANAC - September 27

How did Socrates illustrate the quest for truth by talking about a toppled statue?

Subject:  Epistemology - The Warren Report and Daedalus’ Statues

Event:  The Warren Report is published, 1964

When I think of the most able students I have encountered in my teaching - I mean those who have distinguished themselves not only by skill but by independence of thought - then I must confess that all have had a lively interest in epistemology. -Albert Einstein

In very simple words, the quotation above encapsulates the purpose of one of the key branches of philosophy.  It is called epistemology: the study or theory of knowledge.  If we are, as Socrates stated, to live examined lives, we must be able to tell what is true from what is false.  The quest for the truth and the questioning of the truth is the core of epistemology.  

In Plato’s Meno, Socrates presents a metaphor to illustrate how belief differs from knowledge.  He began by describing a statue by the Greek sculptor Daedalus -- you might remember him from another story about his son, Icarus.  It was said that Daedalus’ statues were so life-like that they needed to be tethered to prevent their walking away.  Socrates compared a true belief to an untethered statue that might be easily lost or toppled.  Knowledge, however, was a statue that was tethered by cables, giving it stability.  A statue anchored by reason and tethered by examined counterarguments will stand strong even against a strong wind or storm.

One of the most important quests for truth ever published came in the form of the 888-page Warren Report issued on this day in 1964. The goal of the report was to establish the truth behind who assassinated President John F. Kennedy on November 29, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. The commission, chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren, concluded that a lone assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

From the moment the Warren Report was published, its validity was questioned.  In the true epistemological tradition, several of these critics were philosophers who were not convinced by the evidence presented. 

One of the skeptical philosophers was Josiah Thompson, who completed his own extensive investigation into the evidence.  In his 1967 book Six Seconds in Dallas: A Micro-Study of the Kennedy Assassination, Thompson concluded that it was impossible for Oswald to have acted alone.  He closely examined the physical evidence and eyewitness testimony, including the Zebruder film, which captured the six-second sequence of gunshots that took President Kennedy’s life.  Because Thompson believed that it was impossible for Oswald to have fired his rifle three times in six seconds, he concluded that there must have been a second gunman.

Of course, Thompson is just one of the hundreds of authors and filmmakers who have questioned the Warren Report’s conclusion.  Kennedy’s assassination is a moment in time that demonstrates the elusive nature of truth.  Even though there were dozens of eyewitnesses and a color film of the assassination, every second of the events in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza continues to be debated (1).

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: What is epistemology, and how does it relate to Daedalus’ statues and the Warren Report?

Challenge - True or False?:  Do some research on quotations relating to truth and falsehood.  What is the best, most insightful quote you can find about either truth, falsehood, or the relationship between the two concepts?  What is the quotation, who said it, and why do you think it is important?

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

September 27, 1992:  On this day the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) made a presentation to persuade the general public that “movie popcorn is fatty.”  Standing in front of a table covered with a smorgasbord of greasy entrees, the CSPI spokesperson’s message was short but sticky:  “A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theater contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all trimmings -- combined!” See THINKER’S ALMANAC - May 13.

Sources:

1-Madigan, Tim.  “The Warren Report.”  Philosophy Now March/April 2008.

THIKER'S ALMANAC - September 26

Given just five minutes and limited information, how did a Soviet colonel make a decision that saved millions of lives?

Subject: Decision Making - Petrov’s Life-Saving Decision

Event:  Stanislav Petrov saves the world, 1983

Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking. -Malcolm Gladwell

Imagine having to make a life-or-death decision that would decide not just your fate, but the fates of millions of other people?  To add a little more pressure to this decision-making process, imagine you are working with incomplete information and with the clock ticking; you have 25 minutes to make your decision.

Image by 巻（Maki） from Pixabay

These were the circumstances of Colonel Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Air Defense Forces on the morning of September 26, 1983.  Petrov’s mission that day was to monitor Russia’s early-warning satellites over the United States. It was the Cold War, and Petrov’s job was to be alert in the event that the U.S. launched intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) against Russia.

That morning a computer sounded an alarm, and the early warning system indicated that 5 Minuteman ICBMs had been launched by the U.S.  Petrov now had to make a decision. Was the early warning system correct?  By reporting an incoming American strike to his superiors, Petrov knew the Soviets would respond with full nuclear retaliation.

To make his decision Petrov relied on his training, which told him that a nuclear first strike would not begin with just 5 warheads; instead, it would begin with a massive number of warheads -- in 1983 the U.S. arsenal consisted of over 23,000 missiles.  Furthermore, radar installations in Russia were not detecting an attack.  Based on this limited information, Petrov contemplated his decision for an incredibly tense 5 minutes.  In the end, he concluded that the computer was registering a false alarm.  As a result, he did not report an attack.  

Fortunately for Petrov and the rest of the world, he was correct.  The Soviet early-warning system had mistaken the sun’s reflection off of clouds for an attack.  As a result of Petrov's cool thinking under pressure, he prevented the deaths of an estimated 136 to 288 million people.  For comparison, the total deaths in World War II amounted to 55 million (1).

For his decisive role in saving the world, you might think that the Soviets would have held a parade in his honor; instead, as recorded in his 2017 New York Times obituary, the hero received a reprimand for incomplete record keeping:

Colonel Petrov was at first praised for his calm, but in an investigation that followed, he was asked why he had failed to record everything in his logbook. “Because I had a phone in one hand and the intercom in the other, and I don’t have a third hand,” he replied. (2)

Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason:  How did Petrov use the information he had to make a reasonable decision that saved thousands of lives?

Challenge - Decision Precision:  Do some research to find some quotations on decision-making.  Find the one quotation that gives the best insight or advice and how to make decisions or why decision-making is so important.  Explain why you think your quotation is so insightful.

ALSO ON THIS DAY:

September 26, 1898:  Today is the birthday of Leonard E. Reed, the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE).  He is best known for his essay “I, Pencil” (1958), which traces the miracle of the free market from the first-person perspective of a pencil.    See THINKER’S ALMANAC - June 5.

Sources:

1-Matthews, Dylan. “36 years ago today, one man saved us from world-ending nuclear war.”  Vox 26 Sept. 2019.

2-By Sewell Chan, Sewell.  “Soviet Officer Who Helped Avert Nuclear War, Is Dead at 77”  The New York Times 18 Sept. 2017.