Xref: utzoo comp.edu:2157 comp.software-eng:1321 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!husc6!think!ames!lll-winken!uunet!datapg!sewilco From: sewilco@datapg.MN.ORG (Scot E Wilcoxon) Newsgroups: comp.edu,comp.software-eng Subject: Re: "Expertise" Message-ID: <3861@datapg.MN.ORG> Date: 1 Apr 89 17:14:39 GMT References: <354@cbnewsc.ATT.COM> <7531@thorin.cs.unc.edu> Reply-To: sewilco@datapg.MN.ORG (Scot E Wilcoxon) Followup-To: comp.edu Distribution: usa Organization: Data Progress, Minneapolis, MN Lines: 21 In article <7531@thorin.cs.unc.edu> coggins@coggins.cs.unc.edu (Dr. James Coggins) writes: > I have a new question, and maybe you folks can fill in more > (even more irritating) examples. > > Why does... ...anyone who has written a program (in BASIC, say) > think he's a computer scientist? > etc. Because humans are good at making generalizations from very few data points. We're good at making generalizations, but not necessarily correct ones. This skill is often harmless ("I was singing when I planted this good crop, so we should sing every spring"), and is successful often enough to be useful ("That wolf stayed away from this burning tree, so we should keep some of this fire stuff near the village"). I've read some books on cognitive psychology and watch public TV, so I'm a qualified psychobabblist. :-) -- Scot E. Wilcoxon sewilco@DataPg.MN.ORG {amdahl|hpda}!bungia!datapg!sewilco Data Progress UNIX masts & rigging +1 612-825-2607 uunet!datapg!sewilco I'm just reversing entropy while waiting for the Big Crunch.