What is a feeling?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Ralph Roletschek

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is a feeling? I have two definitions:

1. A feeling is an unclear reason

2. A feeling is an emotional response

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. A feeling is an unclear reason

I believe that intuition is based on feeling. For example, imagine that you're filling out a lotto ticket and you have a feeling that the winning numbers are 31, 44, 21, 8, 19, 12. Although you don't have a clear reason, you have an overwhelming feeling these will be the winning numbers. If you choose these numbers, you are following your intuition.

Another example, imagine that you look at tomorrow's weather forecast and the forecast says it will be sunny. On the contrary, you have a feeling that it will rain. You do not have a clear reason to believe this, but something in your mind tells you that it will rain. In this regard, your intuition is telling you something against the evidence.

2. A feeling is an emotional response

The second definition of feeling has to do with emotion. For example, imagine that you sign a million dollar contract. In this situation, you would probably have a good feeling while signing contract. This is a feeling because your emotion is responding an event.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is intelligence?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Nobel Foundation

What is intelligence? Here is my definition:

Intelligence is the ability to learn, understand and reason

In the pursuit of knowledge, I believe that intelligence is the second most important quality a person can have. Instead, I regard motivation to learn as the most important quality. Intelligence by itself does not push a person to inquire into the mysteries of reality. Motivation accompanied by wonder is what will truly expands the knowledge base of humanity. Intelligence and the ability to reason will naturally fall into place for those who are motivated.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is bias?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Internet Archive Book Images

What is bias? Here is my definition:

Bias is an unreasonable inclination that prevents reasonable judgement

I believe it's very difficult to convince somebody that they're being bias. As a natural reaction, the person will instead think you're the one being unreasonable. That leads to the question: how can two opposing sides find agreement? In our current political environment, I believe this is the most important question. If both sides are willing to put forth time and effort, I have a suggested method that I believe can help opposing sides find agreement. This is a simplified version of belief analysis.

The first step is to figure out what exactly is being debated. This would be to determine a statement that one side believes is true while the other believes is false. Surprisingly, this can be difficult in some cases but its a necessary pre-requite.

The second step is for each side to provide a list of concise reasons why they hold their belief. Each side should be limited to about 5 reasons. Each reason should be clearly stated and consist of no more than a few sentences. This enables the structure of the belief to become transparent. This is crucial because, its nearly impossible to find agreement when either side is not clear about the reasons and evidence they are using.

By clearing stating reasons and pieces of evidence, it becomes much easier to identify bias. Instead of arguing against a morphing argument, we can hold each side still and dissect each belief. In this regard, we can discover that some reasons are false or have a weak connection to the proposition.

Overall, I believe this systematic approach would have a much greater chance for agreement, than our current jumbled situation. At the very least we can better understand the other side and I believe that would be progress towards agreement.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an ideology?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Domenico Fetti

What is an ideology? Here is my definition:

An ideology is a system of beliefs common to a group of people

In my personal beliefs, I try to avoid ideologies. Sometimes this can be hard especially when everyone around you strongly believes something that might be false. I believe these strong opinions leave little room for serious reasoning. Even if they're correct, it often seems as though ideologies are lead by emotion rather than reason.

I believe its better to maintain independence of thought and question commonly held beliefs. Usually the most revolutionary discoveries are hidden in the exact place nobody else is looking. Physicist Max Planck once said,

"New scientific ideas never spring from a communal body, however organized, but rather from the head of an individually inspired researcher who struggles with his problems in lonely thought and united all his thought on one single point which is his whole world for the moment." (Address on the 25th anniversary of the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gesellschaft, 1936)

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 

What is syntax?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Tjo3ya

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is syntax? Here is my definition:

Syntax is a system of rules for the combination of words

What's the difference between syntax and grammar? While syntax is concerned with the ordering of words, grammar has a wider scope which includes how words are formed. Grammar includes morphology which has to do with rules on how to use prefixes, root words and other word variations. Although these two words have a large overlap, I believe there is a clear difference in meaning.

Without syntax, there would not be rules for how words in a sentence relate to each other. This would result in confusion and misinterpretation. For example if I said, "Crayons the box are in 64 there" you would be unclear on the meaning. But if I followed the correct syntactic rules I would have said, "There are 64 crayons in the box" and you would be able to understand. Although you might have been able to guess the meaning from the first collection of words, syntax makes the second collection much more clear.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is grammar?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Gb89.2

What is grammar? Here is my definition:

Grammar is a system of rules for the combination and formation of words

I believe that humans are not born with pre-wired grammar rules. If you compare languages from around the world, you will not find a universal commonality in the way words are ordered. The only syntactic consistency you will find is the subject-predicate pair.

I believe that babies learn language primarily through example. Over time, children are able to catch onto the patterns of how nouns, adjectives and verbs relate to each other. They also figure out the way certain words are used. In this regard, grammar is something that is imitated.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is subconscious?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Arup1981

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is subconscious? Here is my definition:

Subconscious is the part of the mind one is unaware of

One of my favorite activities is to examine how I experience my own mind with the goal of discovering subconscious aspects. For example, sometimes I'll eat something very delicious and try to figure out what exactly I enjoy about the food. Although I might be able to point to specific qualities such as crunchiness or sweetness, I can never figure out why I enjoy that specific quality. In this regard, I feel as though I'm traveling down the infinite staircase into the subconscious.

Another example, I enjoy examining how I experience thoughts. In our daily lives we are bombarded with thoughts that seem to blend together. My goal is to examine if each of these thoughts are isolated entities on a conveyor belt or if something else is going on. I believe these details of thought experience is something most people are unaware of.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is statistics?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Martin Grandjean

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is statistics? Here is my definition:

Statistics is the study of analyzing numerical data

I believe that statistics can be a useful tool for testing hypotheses and discovering probabilities. Often in statistics, a researcher will study data from a representative sample with the purpose of inferring a conclusion about the whole population. It's important to have a good representative sample because some samples can misrepresent the entire population.

Another issue has to do with the relationship between correlation and causation. Just because two variables are correlated does not mean that one variable causes the other. In order to draw the conclusion that one variable causes the other, further research might be needed such as controlling confounding variables and examining the causal mechanism.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a hypothesis?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

What is a hypothesis? Here is my definition:

A hypothesis is a representation to be investigated

What's the difference between a hypothesis and a theory? Although these two concepts are very similar, I believe there is a slight difference in emphasis. While a hypothesis implies future investigation and experimentation, a theory does not imply such testing.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a conclusion?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Derek Jensen (Tysto)

What is a conclusion? Here is my definition:

A conclusion is a representation reached after thinking

Sometimes in life we become confused about certain things. In my experience, I will ruminate through related thoughts over and over until I reach a conclusion. This process is similar to pouring dirt into a glass of water, stirring the contents and waiting for the substance to settle. Once the substance has settled to equilibrium, I regard this as the conclusion. I always appreciate the conclusion because it feels as though my thoughts have become united into a coherent whole.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a theory?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Pieter Kuiper

What is a theory? Here is my definition:

A theory is a representation that attempts to explain something

In our daily lives we encounter countless mysteries. We may ask ourselves what causes these mysteries happen. For example, why does reality exist in the first place? Or why are beer prices so expensive? Or what is the process that my mind creates thoughts? All of these are good questions and any attempt to answer them will be a theory. In this regard, I believe the essence of a theory is explanation.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a proposition?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

What is a proposition? Here is my definition:

A proposition is a representation to be considered

I believe that propositions are not necessarily beliefs. Sometimes people make propositions for the purpose of evaluation rather than asserting their opinion. In this regard, a proposition is a tool to help people organize their thoughts. Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (in the above photo) once said,

"If a false thought is so much as expressed boldly and clearly, a great deal has already been gained." (Culture and Value, 1980 posthumous)

 

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a guess?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Kallerna

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is a guess? Here is my definition:

A guess is a representation based on little or no evidence

I believe that guessing and intuition are very similar because both methods do not rely on clear evidence and proof. One difference is that intuition necessarily relies on a feeling, while guessing does not have this requirement. Some guesses are like throwing a dart at all the possible answers and picking the one the dart lands on. But not all guess are like this because guesses can involve a small amount of evidence or feeling. In this regard, intuition and guessing can overlap in some cases.

Another difference is that intuition necessarily results in a belief, while guessing does not have this requirement. Sometimes people guess things at random without believing they are right. This is another way that a guess is different from intuition.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an opinion?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, NavioZuber

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an opinion? Here is my definition:

An opinion is a belief not based on proof

In our daily lives we form many opinions about reality. Many of these opinions will be wrong, while others will be correct. The crucial aspect of an opinion is that they lack proof. I do not mean proof in the extreme skeptical sense, but rather proof that generates certainty. For example, if the menu at a restaurant says the pasta is $9.00, then that is proof enough that $9.00 is the actual price even though it could be a typo. In this regard, it is not an opinion that the price is $9.00.

I believe that opinions constitute a large portion of everything we believe. Of course we have proof of many things such as that there is a refrigerator in the kitchen and that my computer runs on electricity, but there also many beliefs that have marginal concrete evidence. In this regard, I believe its important to know there is subjective line between opinion and fact.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a form?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, XoMEoX

Photo license: CC BY 2.0

What is a form? Here is my definition:

A form is a general representation

I believe that forms are very similar to concepts. Concepts and forms are both general representations that we establish to interpret reality.

From my understanding, Plato believed that every particular form we encounter in life has a corresponding transcendental ideal form. For example, if we see a frog then there is a corresponding ideal form of a frog that exists in transcendental reality. This also applies to every concept such as justice, horse and courage. Plato also believed that above all the ideal forms there is a Form of the Forms which permeates the entire system.

According to Plato, the world of transcendental forms is the most true reality. Plato believed that when we recognize a horse, we are actually remembering the ideal form of the horse that we knew before we were born. In this regard, forms are not based on experience but are rather based on remembering the ideal form.

Aristotle disagreed with Plato and believed that forms are created through experience rather than remembering an ideal form. For example, we can establish the form of a horse by experiencing multiple examples of horses. Through experience we can figure out a commonality to every particular horse and label this concept. Aristotle's theory of forms does not rely on remembering the ideal form.

I agree more with Aristotle on this topic. I believe that reality is full of potential forms and the conscious mind establishes these forms. Upon establishing a form, the ideal form is stored in the mind. In this regard, ideal forms existing in the mind could be considered as transcendental, but I do not think there's a list of perfect forms that exist in a perfect transcendental realm.

It should also be mentioned that reality has an unlimited amount of potential forms. For example, we can establish the form for when a computer is on top of a stack of books and call it 'X'. It seems strange to think that an ideal version of 'X' exists somewhere in a metaphysical reality.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is faith?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Serge Melki

Photo license: CC BY 2.0

What is faith? Here is my definition:

Faith is a belief in something without clear evidence

I believe that faith is a useful concept. Faith helps people cope with life and live optimistically. Sometimes life can be uncertain and scary, and faith allows a person to maintain confidence that everything will be okay. Faith does not require clear evidence but instead it relies on intuition and a feeling. Faith can be applied to religions, achieving goals and just going through life.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a fundamental?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Zzubnik

Photo license: CC BY 3.0

What is a fundamental?

A fundamental is a core principle

I believe its important to establish the most important principles behind a topic. This can be difficult because principles can overlap and have complex interrelations. Although a topic may appear inherently complicated, I believe there are usually a few underlying fundamentals that govern the whole system. Similar to untying a knot, fundamentals can be unearthed and organized into clear structures.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an axiom?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Raffaello Sanzio

What is an axiom? Here is my definition:

An axiom is a principle believed to be certain

When a person reasons about something, sometimes a good starting point is to establish the axioms. In this regard, axioms build an unshakable foundation upon which a person can think about something. By making the axioms clear and established, I believe that a person can have a better chance of determining truth beyond the axioms.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a principle?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Stefan Kuhn

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is a principle? Here is my definition:

A principle is a proposition that contributes to the structure of a topic

I believe that we structure our knowledge around principles. Principles constitute the outline of our knowledge. We can add to this list of principles and create dynamic systems. In this regard, principles help organize our thoughts into coherent structures.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is truth?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, PJParkinson, CC0 1.0

What is truth? I have two definitions:

1. Truth is an accurate representation of reality

2. Truth is the actual state of affairs

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. Truth is an accurate representation of reality

I believe that truth is anything that is an accurate representation. When somebody says that they're telling the truth, they're claiming to be saying something that correctly corresponds to reality. In this regard, every true proposition is the truth.

2. Truth is the actual state of affairs

I believe that the second meaning of truth is equivalent to the word 'reality'. Sometimes people capitalize the word 'Truth' to demonstrate this meaning.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is being?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Ayyoubsabawiki

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is being? I have two definitions:

1. Being is the essential self

2. Being is the way something is

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. Being is the essential self

I regard being as most inner and most authentic self. Our being is who we truly are beneath everything else. When I look inward into myself, I feel an individual who is conscious and awake to experience. Diplomat Dag Hammarskjold once said,

"The longest journey, is the journey inwards. Of him who has chosen his destiny, who has started upon his quest for the source of his being." (Markings, 1964)

2. Being is the way something is

This second definition corresponds to ontology: the study of the way something is. For example, imagine a box of crayons. What is the being of a crayon box? I believe that the being of a crayon box is everything that constitutes its physical construction. Although the crayon box is not conscious, it still has a physical being.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a detail?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Dhirad

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is a detail? Here is my definition:

A detail is information about something

What's the difference between a detail and a piece of information? I believe these words have a perfect overlap but they have a slightly different emphasis. The emphasis of a detail is to describe, while the emphasis of information is to provide education. Every detail is a piece of information; every piece of information is a detail.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an attribute?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Dietmar Rabich

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an attribute? Here is my definition:

An attribute is an identifiable part of something

I believe that anything that can be identified as being part of something is an attribute. For example, if somebody asked you for a list of attributes about your car, you would tell them a few identifiable parts of the car. You might tell them that your car has three wheels or that it can go over 200 kilometers per hour. Both of these attributes are identifiable aspects of the car.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a trait?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, TimVickers

What is a trait? Here is my definition:

A trait is an attribute that does not consistently exist among members of the same group

I believe that traits are what make individuals unique. For example, brown eyes are a trait because eye color varies from person to person. What makes something a trait is the existence of members in the same group without the attribute.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a property?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Alchemist-hp

What is a property? Here is my definition:

A property is a fundamental attribute

I believe that properties are the most fundamental type of attribute. When I think of properties, I often think of chemical elements. Every chemical element has its own fundamental attributes which are also called 'properties'. For example, helium has the property of a low boiling point. This is a property because having a low boiling point is fundamental to helium.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an aspect?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Vyacheslav Argenberg

Photo license: CC BY 4.0

What is an aspect? Here is my definition:

An aspect is a specific attribute

I believe that an aspect is an individual attribute that exists among a group of other attributes. This defining feature of an aspect is its coexistence in relation to other attributes in the same thing. In this regard, viewing something from an alternative perspective might reveal different aspects.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a characteristic?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Lupus in Saxonia

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a characteristic? Here is my definition:

A characteristic is a typical attribute

I believe that a characteristic is a quality that is often true. For example, if you say, "The employee is normally punctual" then the word 'punctual' is a characteristic because it describes a typical quality. Although there might be instances where the employee is not punctual, the employee usually will be on time.

Another example, if you say "San Diego normally has warm weather" the word 'warm' is a characteristic because most its true most of the time. Of course there are times when San Diego has cold weather, but this doesn't remove the underlying characteristic.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a condition?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, P sakthy

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is a condition? Here is my definition:

A condition is a non-permanent attribute

I believe that a condition is a state of existence and is not permanent. For example, 'frozenness' is a condition of an object. The word ' frozen' is a condition because it describes an attribute of an object even though it's not permanent. It's conceivable that a frozen object could someday not be frozen.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a quality?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Micha L. Rieser

What is a quality?

A quality is a non-quantitative attribute

I believe that qualities cannot be quantified. For example, if you look at grass and notice that it's dry, you cannot describe this attribute with a number. Instead you need to use a word that represents the concept 'dry'. Since there are many attributes in reality that do not involve numbers, we have created words to represent these concepts.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an entity?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Mauro Cateb

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is an entity? Here is my definition:

An entity is something that has a distinct and independent existence

I believe that distinctness is the core essence of the word 'entity'. For example, if there was a golf tournament with 500 participants, each participant would be its own entity. This is because every participant's score would be independent from every other participant's score. Another example, in the photo above each pebble is an entity because each one has a clear separation from each other.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an object?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Andreas Bauer Origami-Kunst

Photo license: CC BY-SA 2.5

What is an object? I have two definitions:

1. An object is a physical entity

2. An object is something that can be perceived

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. An object is a physical entity

In our daily lives we encounter many objects. Anything that takes up physical space is an object. According to this interpretation, neurons in your brain are also objects.

2. An object is something that can be perceived

I believe that the second definition of 'object' is synonymous with the word 'phenomena'. An object is something that can occupy your awareness. In this regard, an object can be an attribute such as 'tangled' or 'dry', but it can also be a noun such as 'chair' or 'airplane'.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is something?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, NASA

Photo license: CC BY 2.0

What is something? Here is my definition:

Something is an unspecified object, event, thought,attribute or transcendental entity

I believe that the difference between 'something' and 'thing' depends on whether or not there is a clear reference point. For example, if you see a mushroom in the grass, you might point at it and say, "Look at that thing!" but you wouldn't say, "Look at that something!" In this situation, it would be incorrect to say 'something' because the mushroom is clearly referenced.

On the contrary, if you want to refer to something that is vague or unspecified, you might say, "Something is wrong with the painting." In this situation, you don't know what exactly is wrong but you believe there's a thing that is wrong.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a thing?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, NASA

What is a thing? Here is my definition:

A thing is a physical object, event, thought, attribute or transcendental entity

I believe that 'thing' is one of the most expansive concepts. If you look around your room, you will see nothing but things. Everything that has physical matter is a thing. Also every attribute is a thing regardless of how abstract it is. I also consider mental objects as things. For example, if you imagine eating ice cream, the imagination in your head is a thing even though it's not a physical object.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a noun?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Hariadhi

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a noun? Here is my definition:

A noun of is a word or group of words that refer to something

I believe that every noun corresponds to a thing. Daily life is filled with many different things and our culture has decided to name those things with nouns. I also believe that nouns are more fundamental than verbs and adjectives. The noun is the thing itself, while verbs and adjectives describe the thing.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a verb?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, מינוזיג

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is a verb? Here is my definition:

A verb is a word or phrase that describes an action of something

What is the difference between a verb and an adjective? I believe the difference is that verbs describe an action, while adjectives describe a quality. For example, in the sentence "The candle is dripping" the word 'dripping' is a verb because 'dripping' is an action. Another example, in the sentence, "The person is interesting" the word 'interesting' is an adjective because 'interesting' is a quality.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an adjective?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, WFan

Photo license: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an adjective? Here is my definition:

An adjective is a word or phrase that signifies an attribute

What is the difference between an adjective and a verb? I believe the difference is that adjectives describe a quality, while verbs describe an action. For example, in the sentence, "The sky is blue" the word 'blue' is an adjective because 'blue' is a quality. Another example, in the sentence "The clouds are moving" the word 'moving' is a verb because 'moving' is an action.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is an anecdote?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Johannes Jansson

Photo license: CC BY 2.5 DK

What is an anecdote? Here is my definition:

An anecdote is a short narrative about an incident

I believe that our entire past experience could be described as a collection of anecdotes. Even the knowledge we obtain from controlled experiments are anecdotal. When we recollect an experiment, we can describe all the procedures and reasons why it was controlled. In this regard, every past experience can take the form of a short story.

I also believe that whenever we use language to refer to the past, we are using anecdotes. For example, if you say, "The ball bounced into the air" you are providing a single sentence story. In this regard, I believe language about the past and anecdotes are the same thing.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

James Heckman and the philosophy of economics

James Heckman (1944-now) is an American economist best known for his contributions to econometrics and labor economics. Wikipedia says,

"Heckman is noted for his contributions to selection bias and self-selection analysis especially Heckman correction, which awarded him the Nobel Prize in Economics. He is also well known for his empirical research in labor economics, particularly regarding the efficacy of early childhood education programs." (Wikipedia: James Heckman, 8.11.21 UTC 19:17)

The rest of this post is some quotes from Heckman.

Critique of econometrics

"I've worked on China and trying to look at what technical change is in China. If you were to use 20 year old data sets, it's a waste of time. It's much better to actually go the sites in Shanghai and further in the interior to see what the technologies are, who is actually engaged and what kind of investment is being made. Those anecdotal accounts are things that banks do, what business school people do but it's not what a real economists does." (How the Economics of the Economics Profession Resists New Thinking, YouTube 2017)

"I think there's been a huge shift away from understanding behavior and moving towards statistical artifacts that are hard to interpret as responses to economic questions. So I think the credibility revolution has been somewhat overstated and not properly appreciated as having really turned focus away from serious economic analysis towards something I think is purely statistical." (EconTalks: James Heckman on Facts, Evidence and the State of Econometrics, 2016)

Academic journals

"If people are really aiming to go just into the top 5 journals and their goal is to publish papers as opposed to contribute to basic knowledge, I think that's a limited vision of economics and what economic research should be." (AEA Publishing and Promotion in Economics, 2017)

"Economics... is vulnerable in the following sense that if evidence is presented in anecdotal form or they say this is just descriptive, that is a killer in a lot of top journals." (How the Economics of the Economics Profession Resists New Thinking, YouTube 2017)

"Economic history has suffered a big beating. Economic historians are typically slow to get things out. They do these large scholarly studies. The tenure clock works against them and the publication journal works against them." (How the Economics of the Economics Profession Resists New Thinking, YouTube 2017)

Economic models

"Calibrated models are models looking at some stylized facts that are putting together different pieces of data that are not mutually consistent. I mean literally you take estimates of this area, and estimates from that area and you assemble something that's like a Frankenstein..." (EconTalks: James Heckman on Facts, Evidence and the State of Econometrics, 2016)

What is emergence?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Christoffer A Rasmussen (Rasmussen29892)

What is emergence? Here is my definition:

Emergence is the process of a phenomena coming into existence

Imagine the earth billions of years ago with nothing on it except scattered random elements. These elements would react with each other and create even more reactions. As time would pass, new phenomena and patterns would emerge. From these reactions, later DNA would emerge and after that many types of intelligent animals.

Eventually human beings would come into existence and invent many new technologies. In this regard, the history of reality has been an ongoing emergence of new phenomena. I believe this process of emergence will go into the future infinitely. I don't know what exactly will happen to the universe, but I believe emergent phenomena will continue to occur in some way.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is think?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Moritz Nahr

What does it mean to think? I have three definitions:

1. Think is to attempt to use one's mind rationally

2. Think is to focus one's attention on something

3. Think is to tentatively believe

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. Think is to attempt to use the mind rationally

I believe that a person is thinking whenever they use reason, logic or intuition. It doesn't matter whether or not they were correct; what matters is if they attempted to make the right conclusion. When somebody acts impulsively or blindly, they are not thinking.

2. Think is to focus one's attention on something

Sometimes when a person thinks, they are not trying to make a decision or form a belief. Instead they are simply aiming their attention at something. For example, if somebody says, "Think of the last time you went to a restaurant" they are asking you to reflect on a past event. Another example, if a person says "I'm thinking about this cup of coffee" they are simply aiming their attention at that object.

3. Think is to tentatively believe

I believe that 'think' is used to express a belief that a person is not sure about. For example, if somebody says, "I think the class will be difficult" they are stating an uncertain belief. In this regard, 'think' is a weaker version of 'believe'.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is imaginary?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

What is imaginary? Here is my definition:

Imaginary is the condition of existing only in the mind

In your head, think of a tennis ball sitting on a windowsill. The tennis ball is doing nothing but just sitting there. Then you see a cat jump onto the windowsill and walk towards the tennis ball. At this moment, the cat pushes the tennis ball off the windowsill with its paw. This entire scenario is imaginary because it only exists in your mind.

I believe that all concepts are imaginary. A concept is a a general meaning and does not exist in particulars. For example, it is correct to point to a cat and say, "there is a cat" but it is incorrect to point to a cat and say, "there is the concept of a cat". That particular cat does not capture the entire essence of the concept. The only place that a concept can be found is in the mind.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is abstract?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Wassily Kandinsky

What is abstract? I have two definitions:

1. Abstract is the attribute of existing in conceptual form

2. Abstract is the attribute of art that does not attempt to look like realistic objects

The rest of this post is an explanation of each definition.

1. Abstract is the condition of existing in conceptual form

I believe that all language is abstract. Every word represents a concept and the physical form of a word usually has zero resemblance to the concept. The only reason that words work is because we have memorized the corresponding concept.

When a piece of literature is complex, it becomes even more abstract. This is because the concepts are becoming even more detached from physical reality. In this situation, the literature is usually placing difficult concepts on top of an already complex concepts.

2. Abstract is the condition of art that does not attempt to look like a realistic object

The painting above is called 'Brun suplemente' and was created by Wassily Kandindsky in 1935. Although this painting is beautiful, it does not attempt to look realistic. When I look at this painting, I see a book but it also includes many shapes and lines that go against this interpretation. All of the extra shapes which have no correspondence in reality make this painting abstract.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is proof?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Audrius Meskauskas (Audriusa)

Photo license: CC BY-SA 3.0

What is proof? Here is my definition:

Proof is a evidence that establishes near absolute certainty

I believe there's not a clear line between proof and non-proof. For example, imagine that you see a person driving a public transit bus. Is this proof that the person is employed as a bus driver? I would regard this phenomena as proof even though I cannot be 100% certain that the person is employed as a bus driver. There is a small chance that the person driving actually stole the bus. Regardless, we can consider this evidence as proof because it generates near absolute certainty.

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

What is ontology?

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons, Arinx, CC0 1.0

What is ontology? Here is my definition:

Ontology is the study of the way something is

I believe that ontology is the overarching study of everything. Whenever we study something, we are always studying the way it is. Even epistemology is a branch of ontology, because in epistemology we are studying the nature of knowledge. Regarding ontology, philosopher Willard van Orman Quine once said,

"A curious thing about the ontological problem is its simplicity. It can be put into three Anglo-Saxon monosyllables: 'What is there?' It can be answered, moreover, in a word - 'Everything' - and everyone will accept this answer as true." (On What There Is, 1948)

License: CC BY-SA 4.0