[MD] Choosing Chance

[markhsmit]

[Krimel]
Notice that both 0 and 100% probability are certainties. They represent
Never and Always. Chance is a way of talking about everything in 
between. We live in the realm of chance and factoring of odds. We don't 
live long enough to have much to say for certain about Always or Never.

As for the "choice" of broccoli or vanilla:

"We dispose of free will in the way that the American divine of the 
18th century Jonathan Edwards did. He said, 'We believe in free
will because we know about our behavior but not about its causes.' Of course
it is the object of a science of behavior to discover causes and once 
you have found those causes there is less you need to attribute to an
internal act of will and eventually I think you need to attribute 
nothing to it."
- B.F. Skinner

[Mark]
Skinner had no choice but to make the statement above, so it should 
not be attributed to him, unless we attribute things to the medium 
relaying the messages in the seance.

[Krimel]
Skinner's ideas about why we act the way we do, rely heavily on his
recognition of the importance of probability. He defined reinforcement as
anything that increases the probability of a response. His insights into
stimulus and response (input/output)and his emphasis on probability led him
to work out a science of human behavior that dovetailed Darwin almost
perfectly. He demonstrated for example that ritual is the produce of random
reinforcement. It is easy to criticize Skinner at a distance but much harder
when you look closely. His influence on management, human resources,
advertising and marketing; in other words the technology of psychology; is
enormous. Wanna know why? Because it works.
[Mark]
Yes, I studied Skinner.  Didn't do much for his son, put him through mazes as I recall.
But often great intellects are tyrants.   Yes it works, manipulation to the extreme.
But, it does make some fabulously rich, thanks BF.

By the way, my posts are full of subliminal messages, which is why you
answer the way you do.  It's kind of fun to see that it works over the internet
too.  Bet I can guess your response.




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