Section B 4 1 UNIT Why do smart people do dumb things? To master the reading skill To understand the...

Section B

4

1UNIT

Why do smart people do dumb things?


To master the reading skill

To understand the text

To practice the phrases and patterns

To learn about writing a survey report

Objectives

Life and logic

Warming-up

Reading Skills

Text Study

Comparative Study

Contents

Unit Project

B Why do smart people do dumb things?

Section

BSection

Warming-up

Lead-in

Background Information


Video Watching

1. What are the two examples of Sunk Costs Fallacy

mentioned in the video?

Tips

Tips

2. According to the speaker, what are Sunk Costs

and what is the meaning of Sunk Costs Fallacy ?

Tips

1. What are the two examples of Sunk Costs Fallacy mentioned in the video?

Example one: go to a store / closed / 10 blocks / wasted

Example two: career / not fulfilling / stick with it / don’t want past ten years / effects, time and money / wasted

Sunk Costs: Time, money, effects or whatever you’ve spend.

2. According to the speaker, what are the Sunk Costs and what is the meaning of Sunk Costs Fallacy?

Tips

Sunk Costs Fallacy: make choice / not base on / best / desire / not / past investment / wasted.

1. What is Cognitive Bias?

2. What is Fundamental Attribution Error?

3. What is Confirmation Bias?

Tips

Tips

Tips

1. What is Cognitive Bias?

Tips

A cognitive bias is a pattern of deviation in

judgment that occurs in particular situations, leading to

perceptual distortion, inaccurate judgment, illogical

interpretation, or what is broadly called irrationality.

Many cognitive biases ( 认知偏差 ) are often studied for

how they affect business and economic decisions and

how they affect scientific and experimental researches.

2. What is Fundamental Attribution Error?

Tips

A Fundamental Attribution Error ( 基本归因错误 )

is a cognitive bias in social psychology. It refers to the

tendency to judge a person in an unpleasant situation

in a bad light and attribute his behavior to internal

causes and qualities rather than consider the situation

or circumstances that may have caused the person to

behave in that manner. But, if we ourselves made the

same errors, we would easily attribute the causes to

external factors.

3. What is Confirmation Bias?

Tips A Confirmation Bias ( 确定性偏差 ) is a cognitive

bias whereby one tends to notice and look for

information that confirms one’s existing beliefs,

whilst ignoring anything that contradicts those

beliefs. It is a type of selective thinking. For

example: After having bought a piece of clothing,

you will look for the same clothing in a more

expensive store to confirm that you have bought a

bargain.

BSection

Reading Skills

Presentation of the Skill

Reading Skill Practice


Skimming is a method of rapidly moving

the eyes over a text with the purpose of

getting the main idea or a general overview

of its content. For example, many people

skim read a newspaper article just to get a

quick overview, or a text to see whether it’s

worth reading in detail. The key word for

skimming is “general”.

Skimming

Some steps to help you to skim an article

1 Read the title – it is the shortest possible summary of the content of the article.2 Read the introduction or lead-in paragraph(s).3 Read any sub-headings, and identify the relationships between them.4 Read the first sentence of each remaining paragraph; the main idea of most paragraphs appears in the first sentence.

Skimming

To be continued

5 Alternately read and “float” over the body of the article, looking for the following: • Clues about who, what, when, where, how many, how much • Connective words and phrases such as furthermore, also, however and on the contrary6 Read the concluding paragraph(s) completely.

Skimming

Some steps to help you to skim an article

Skim Text B to find answers to the following questions. 1 What is this text mainly about? 2 What common cognitive biases can cause smart people to make bad decisions? 3 How can we avoid being affected by various types of cognitive biases when making a decision?

Practice

Skimming

BSection

Text Study

Text Comprehension

Language Focus

Critical Thinking


1. What is the traditional view about smart people according to

Paragraph 1? (Para. 1) 2. What is the most typical characteristic of the fundamental attribution error? (Para.3)3. What will you be affected if you are only interested in evidence that is in agreement with your own belief?

(Para.5) 4. When does the overconfidence bias usually occur? (Para.7) 5. Why does the availability bias leads to strange and inaccurate conclusions? (Para.8)6. Why don’t people want to leave a bad investment situation and commit the sunk cost fallacy? (Para.11)7. What is the purpose of this text?

1. What is the traditional view about smart

people according to Paragraph 1?

00TipsSmart people, by virtue of what they’ve

learned, will formulate better decisions.

原句：Orthodox views prize intelligence and intellectualrigor highly in the modern realm of universitiesand tech industry jobs. (Para. 1, L1)

解释 : Intelligence and the ability to think logically have long been regarded as important qualities in modern universities and in jobs related to the technology industry.

译文：传统观念将智力和思维的缜密性看作现代大学领域和科技产业工作的重要素质。

Tips

2. What is the most typical characteristic of the

fundamental attribution error? (Para.3)

One of the most common biases is what is known as

the fundamental attribution error. Through this people

attribute the ______________ to _____________ and

their own to ________________, subconsciously

considering their own characters to be ________.

failures of others character flaws

mere circumstance

stainless

3. What will you be affected if you are only interested in evidence that is in agreement with your own belief? (Para. 5)

Tips

A The fundamental attribution error.

B The confirmation bias.

C The overconfidence bias.

D The availability bias.

Choose the best answer to the question.

原句：Outwitting confirmation bias therefore requiresexploring both sides of an argument with equaldiligence. (Para. 6, L5)

解释 : Therefore, to be able to use your intelligence to overcome the confirmation bias requires you to analyze both sides of an argument with equal efforts.

译文：所以，要克服“确定性偏差”，就要以同样的努力认真探究论点的正反两面。

4. When does the overconfidence bias usually occur? (Para. 7)

Tips

Overconfidence bias most frequently comes

into play in areas where someone has _______

____________________________ – estimating

how many people are in a crowded plaza, for

example, or how likely it will rain.

no direct

evidence and must make a guess

Because it causes

people to use evidence

that is not so convincing

and strong.

5. Why does the availability bias leads to strange and inaccurate conclusions? (Para. 8)

Tips

6. Why don’t people want to leave a bad investment

situation and commit the sunk cost fallacy? (Para. 11)

Tips

A Because they don’t want to admit that they have made a poor decision. B Because they will lose more money if they decide not to continue it.C Because they will have greater chances to win if they are patient.D Because they don’t want their previous investments to be wasted.

Choose the best answer to the question.

原句：Gamblers with a high threshold for risk put money into a slot machine hoping for a big return, but with each pull of the lever they lose some money playing the odds. (Para. 11, L2)解释 : Gamblers who engage themselves into highly risky situations put money into a slot machine, expecting to get big amounts of money back. But each time they pull the lever on the machine, they lose some money trying their luck.译文：赌徒们冒着高风险，把钱投入老虎机，期望能够

得到很大的回报，但随着一次次拉动拉杆，他们也

一次次把钱赌输了。

译文：当涉及重要决策时，最好是依靠严密的逻辑并仔细审查证据；同时，要保持警惕，那些看上去良好的直觉总是很容易导致判断失误。

原句：When a decision matters, it is best to rely on watertight logic and a careful examination of the evidence and to remain aware that what seems like good intuition is always subject to errors of judgment.(Para. 14 ， L1)解释 : When you make an important decision, it is always best to rely on sound logic and a careful analysis of the evidence and to keep in mind that what seems to be good at first can often lead to errors of judgment.

The purpose of this text is try to help us learn

about cognitive biases and be better at decision-

making.

7. What is the purpose of this text?

Tips


Psychologists have uncovered _________ biases are common to all people. One of the most common biases is_________________________. Through this people attribute the failures of others to character flaws and their own to mere ____________. ____________ bias is found together with fundamental attribution error. This one has two parts. First, people tend to gather and rely upon information that only confirms their existing views. Second, people avoid or veto things that refute their ______________________. Similar to confirmation bias is the _____________

cognitive

fundamental attribution error

circumstance Confirmation

pre-existing hypothesesoverconfidence

bias, Which means we could be correct 100

percent of the time we were ______________

about something, _________________ of the time

we were 80 percent sure about something. The

availability bias is also related to ______ in

estimation, In action this bias might lead someone

to cancel a trip because of a report that the

________________________________________

. The sunk cost fallacy can lead people to stay in

__________________. The key to avoiding these

biases remains the same: Rely on

_____________, carefully examine the evidence

and ____________!

100 percent sure

correct 80 percent

errors

biggest plane crash in history happened there

damaging situationswatertight logic

remain aware

Practical Phrases Specific Meanings1. by virtue of 因为；由于；凭借2. factor sth. into sth. 把…考虑在内3. attribute sth. to sb. / sth. 把…归因于4. come into play 开始起作用5. in that 因为；由于6. in a row 连续地7. be / get stuck on sth. 被…困住；被…难住8. subject to sth. 易受…影响的

因为；由于；凭借

(has access to / available)

By virtue of his work, he has access to a tremendous

amount of the latest data available in this field.

by virtue of短语逆译

短语应用由于工作原因，他有机会接触这一领域可以得到的大量的最新数据。意群提示

把…考虑在内 factor sth. into sth.短语逆译

(calories) Now it has become more popular for people to

factor calories into their food choices.

短语应用现在人们在选择食物时把热量考虑在内已变得更加普遍了。意群提示

把…归因于

(material and labor)

The company attributed the loss to higher material and labor costs.

attribute sth. to sb. / sth.

短语逆译

短语应用公司把亏损归因于原料及劳动力成本的上涨。

意群提示

开始起作用

(underneath / seemingly)

Underneath the surface of this seemingly easy decision, there were so many other details that came into play.

come into play短语逆译

短语应用在这一看似简单的决定的外表之下，有许多其他细节都起了作用。意群提示

因为；由于

(market competition / keep prices down/consumer)

Market competition is good in that it tends to keep prices down, which will definitely benefit all consumers.

in that短语逆译

短语应用市场竞争是好事，因为它往往会使价格下降 , 这必定给消费者带来福利。

意群提示

连续地

(share price / fraud squad officer / raid )

The company’s share price has fallen for three days in a row after fraud squad officers raided its offices.

in a row短语逆译

短语应用反欺诈小组的工作人员突击搜查了这家公司的办公室后这家公司的股价已连续三天下跌。

意群提示

被…困住；被…难住

(negotiation / key issues / ambassador )

If the negotiations did get stuck on a number of key issues, I’d ask the ambassador for help.

be / get stuck on sth. 短语逆译

短语应用如果谈判确实在一些重大问题上陷入僵局，我会去找大使帮忙。

意群提示

易受…影响的

(overseas holiday / surcharges)

The prices of overseas holidays are subject to some surcharges.

subject to sth.短语逆译

短语应用

海外度假游的价格受各种附加费的影响。

意群提示

Functional Patterns Functions & Usages

1. Doing sth. give sb. an awareness of sth./ doing sth.

用于表达“做某事使某人意识到其他事情” 。

2. Sb. might assume that…, because…

用于表示“某人由于某些原因而假定某事”。

3. Doing sth. calls for sth. else ， not…

用于表达“做成某事的首要因素，排除错误因素”。

只要知道这些偏差如何发生及在何种情况下发生，你就能意识到自身的缺陷。

原句译文

逆译练习Understanding how and in what situations they occur can give you an awareness of your own limitations. (Para. 2)

句型提炼

Doing sth. give sb. an awareness of sth./ doing sth.

句型提炼

应用提示用于表达“做某事使某人意识到其他事情”。

句型应用

(legal sanction / jail / abiding )

Receiving the legal sanction in the jail gives him an awareness of the importance of knowing the laws and abiding them.

典型例句在狱中接受法律的制裁使他意识到知法守法的重要性。

意群提示

你可能会毫无根据地假定自己的房子会升值，哪怕周围百分之九十的房子都已经贬值了，因为你总认为自己的能力更强。

原句译文

逆译练习You might assume, without evidence, that the price of your house will go up even though 90 percent of them have dropped in price, because you yourself are more competent. (Para. 4)

句型提炼

Sb. might assume that…, because…

句型提炼

应用提示用于表达“某人由于某些原因而假定某事”。

句型应用

(stock market / retained earning)

You might assume that the stock market will never fell to a new low, because companies have invested their retained earnings.

典型例句你可能认为股市不会跌入新低，因为企业拿出留存盈利来投资股市。

意群提示

要排除“可得性偏差”，就必须在作某一具体决定时，以实证方法所取得的证据为依据，而不是以与现实不太相符的某个鲜明的记忆为依据。

原句译文

逆译练习Repelling the availability bias calls for an empirical approach to a particular decision, one not based on the obscured reality of vivid memory. (Para. 10)

句型提炼

Doing sth. calls for sth. else, not…

句型提炼

应用提示用于表达“做成某事的首要因素 ,排除错误因素” 。

句型应用

(championship / constant / opponent)

Winning the championship calls for constant practice, not focusing your energy on your opponent.

典型例句要想在锦标赛中获胜就必须不断的努力练习，而不是把精力放在关注你的对手上。

意群提示

1. 认知偏差 cognitive biases

2. 意识到自身的缺陷 awareness of own limitations

3. 基本归因错误 fundamental attribution error

4. 心胸狭窄地对别人评价

petty judgments about other people

5.忽略了某些要点 fail to recognize valid points

6. 有可能起作用 comes into play

7.出庭作证 testify in a court trial

8. 冒着高风险 with a high threshold for risk

9.沉没成本谬误 sunk cost fallacy

10. 依靠严密的逻辑 rely on watertight logic

传统观念将智力和思维的缜密性看作现代大学领域和科技产业工作的重要素质。 a. Orthodox views prize

intelligence and intellectual

rigor highly in the modern

realm of universities and tech

industry jobs.

b. Through this people attrib

ute

the failures of others to character

flaws and their own to mere

circumstance, subconsciously

considering their own characters

to be stainless.

犯这种错误的人会将别人的失败归因于性格缺陷，而将自己的失败仅仅归因于周遭环境，潜意识中认为自己的

性格是完美无瑕的。

c. Gamblers with a high

threshold for risk put money

into a slot machine hoping for

a big return, but with each pull

of the lever they lose some

money playing the odds.

赌徒们冒着高风险，把钱投入老虎机，期望能够得

到很大的回报，但随着一次次拉动拉杆，他们也一

次次把钱赌输了。

当涉及重要决策时，最好是依靠严密的逻辑并仔细

审查证据；同时，要保持警惕，那些看上去良好的

直觉总是很容易导致判断失误。

d. When a decision matters, it is

best to rely on watertight logic and

a careful examination of the

evidence and to remain aware

that what seems like good intuition

is always subject to errors of

judgment.

Tips

2. Are people smart in the same way or in different ways? Explain your answer with details.

3. What do you think determines one’s intelligence? Is it genes or is it environment?

1. Do you often listen to experts when you are in doubt of something? Why or why not?

Tips

Tips

1. Do you often listen to experts when you are in doubt of something? Why or why not?

Tips

• Yes. There are several reasons:-Experts are people who have gained a lot more knowledge

in a particular field ；- Experts have more skills and experience in that field.

• No. There are several reasons:

- Experts could have biased opinions toward a specific

issue ；- We need to think critically about other people’s opinions.

2. Are people smart in the same way or in different ways? Explain your answer with details.

Tips

•People are smart in different ways because there are different types of intelligence, such as:- verbal (linguistic) intelligence;- numerical intelligence.•People can be smart in similar ways because smart people have many common qualities. For example, they are all willing to learn and can learn quickly. They are all highly curious, and keen to solve problems.

3. What do you think determines one’s intelligence? Is it genes or is it environment?

Tips

•Genes. Many stories have proved that if one’s genes are not good enough, no matter what favorable environment he is exposed to, he will not be able to learn as quickly as those whose genes are good.•Intelligence. Children who are well-nurtured, that is, those who have more life experiences, who read more, learn more and travel more, can usually get much higher scores in intelligence tests, which, as we know, are important indications of their intelligence.

Talk about

cognitive biases

2. What do you think are the best ways to avoid cognitive biases?

Tips

Tips

1. Can you give an example to illustrate that you

have also been affected by cognitive biases when

making a decision?

Yes, certainly. For example, last summer, I dropped in a clothing store in Nanjing Road and found a dress with a fashionable style and really good price. I bought the dress and liked it very much. Because of this happy experience, this year I decided to go to the store again. I bought another fashionable dress and happily paid the price asked by the salesgirl. I believed I had got another good bargain. But later, to my disappointment, I found the price I had paid was actually much higher than in other stores. I made the wrong decision owing to my overconfidence.

Tips

1. Can you give an example to illustrate that you have also been affected by cognitive biases when making a decision?

2. What do you think are the best ways to avoid cognitive biases?

Tips

To avoid such cognitive biases, we should:

• Improve our thinking process. Think carefully and

critically. Avoid making unqualified generalizations

or jumping to conclusions ；

• Learn from our past mistakes. Avoid being affected

by the same cognitive bias again and again.

Thematic study

BSection

Comparative Study

Thematic Study

Language Features Analysis


2. How do you comment on the quote “Knowing a lot of facts is not the same as being smart”?

1. Comparison the logical fallacies motioned in Text A and Text B.

Tips

Tips

1. Comparison the logical fallacies motioned in Text A and Text B.

Text A

1. Dicto Simpliciter;

2. Hasty Generalization;

3. Ad Misericordiam;

4. False Analogy.

Text B

1. Fundamental attribution;

2. Confirmation bias;

3. Overconfidence bias;

4. Availability bias;

5. Sunk cost fallacy.

Tips

2. How do you comment on the quote “Knowing a lot of facts is not the same as being smart”?

I agree with the saying, because being smart

does not simply mean the ability to learn facts. It

includes many other abilities, such as the ability

to analyze, the ability to think abstractly, the

ability to reason, the ability to generalize, the

ability to solve problems, the ability to

communicate, etc.

Based on your study of

the two texts, compare

the writing styles of the

two texts in terms of their

typical language features.

1. What are the typical language features of the two texts?

2. List more examples from the text to support your ideas.

Tips

Tips

Text B is an expository essay, employing the listing method of writing.

1. What are the typical language features of the two texts?

TipsText A is a piece of narrative writing following the chronological approach and developed in the form of light conversation mixed with descriptions.

2. List more examples from the text to support your ideas.

TipsText A is developed in the form of light

conversation mixed with descriptions:

She nodded with delight.

“Listen closely,” I said. “A man applies for a job.

When the boss asks him what his qualifications

are, he says he has six children to feed.”

“Oh, this is awful, awful,” she whispered in a

choked voice.

BSection

Unit Project

Survey Report

Report Writing


Writing a survey report on

logical fallacies

Survey Report

Text A introduces four types of logical fallacies. In reality, there are many other types of logical fallacies that are also very common. You will be given a list of most common types of logical fallacies and work in small groups on them.

Survey Report

Survey Report

1 Form small groups of four or five. Each group will be assigned two logical fallacies from the following list. Work together with your group members to define the two fallacies your group has got and provide their Chinese names as well. Red Herring Begging the Question Hasty

Generalization Slippery Slope

Dicto Simpliciter Bandwagon

False Dilemma False Cause (post hoc)

False Analogy Ad Hominem

Ad Misericordiam Appeal to Authority

2 Discuss a few examples for each type, and explain why they are fallacies. You may refer to the following sources for examples: • Daily life • Advertisements • Political arguments • Newspaper articles

3 Discuss some tips on how to avoid such fallacies.

4 Prepare a report about what you have found and discussed.

Survey Report

5 Present your report to the class and vote for the best one.

Writing a Report on False Dilemma

You may include the following points: Beginning:

The purpose of the report. Body:

1. Definition of False Dilemma.

2. Examples of False Dilemma.

3. How to avoid the fallacy. Conclusion:

Benefits of the report.

Report Writing

You may use the following expressions in your writing.

The report provides an introduction to…

According to the recent research / investigation …

It is a common misconception that…

The phenomenon is attributable/due to…

A case in point is…

The following are the recommendations …

I'm sure the implications of this are clear to all of us.

Report Writing

BSection

The end


Section B 4 1 UNIT Why do smart people do dumb things? To master the reading skill To understand the...

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