Source-Based Skills- What You Don't Know. Episode 1: Inference

Source-Based SkillsOld Skills, New Perspectives

Overview

• The things we still don’t know• Inference • Usefulness• Reliability

• Applying what we now know• Source-based problems• Real world problems

Overview

• The things we still don’t know• Inference • Usefulness• Reliability

• Applying what we now know• Source-based problems• Real world problems

What is Inference?Click:Things Guys Say When Texting Girls

InferencesShe’s typing! She stopped!

She went offline again…

*Cries*Nonono, ‘hello’ is too formal. It shows that

you’re nervous, then she will feel uncomfortable.

If she texted you back saying ‘haha’, that means

she is just entertaining your joke, cuz that’s a lazy ‘haha’, you know people

wouldn’t just put a ‘h-a-h-a’

Maybe people need to open

camera app to take picture for me right? Ya,

shouldn’t be so gan jeong…

Inference: Three Facts, One Rule

The Facts

1. Everyday skill

2. Justify our inferences (PEEL)

3. Strongest is rightest

The Rule

Start by judging, end by justifying

Inference:Judging and JustifyingPay attention to detail

Ask: who, what, when, where, why

Beef up judgment

Judgment with most hits= most persuasive

Click: Famous Lazy People

Inference:Judging and JustifyingPay attention to detail

Ask: who, what, when, where, why

Beef up judgment

Judgment with most hits= most persuasive

Click: Famous Lazy People We all learn laziness= wrong Other facets of human thought Justification sound? Who wins?

Scene from The Mentalist

Click here: Mentalist- The Best Scene So Far

Background:- Everyone thinks Tommy is

mentally challenged- Patrick found a book of Moby

Dick in his house- Patrick noticed the shirt he

was wearing to the victim’s house during mourning period

Question:Did we have an answer? Or were we just assuming Tommy Olds is not a mental case?

How Patrick inferred:1) He paid attention to detail: Book, Shirt2) Who, what, when, where, why:

• Who: Tommy- really crazy?• What: Owns Moby-Dick: Tommy is intelligent, not

insane!• When & Where: Visiting mourning victim’s family

while wearing shirt with skull design… Not as innocent…

• Why: Faking mental case to defend himself! Beefed up judgment that Tommy is

not the mental case he seems to be! Strongest judgment Most

persuasive Tommy yields

Applying InferenceInfer 7 things from this picture from WWII

Applying Inference

1) America won. 2) Germany or Japan lost.

7) Center of land= close to

sea. Island.

4) Safe to take off helmets; enemy

defeated

6) Mound: Summit. Center

of land.

3) Guns= War

5) Non-tired pose. Picture taken a lot

later.

8) Island? Probably in the Pacific= Japan lost.

9) Attack from shore. Possibly epic, bloody battle.

10) Why the special pose? Important battle to Americans? 11) Intended target audience= Americans via press12) Key position if to be used to motivate Americans

1) War involved, America won, Japan lost, island involved• Correct: WWII, Battle of the island, Iwo Jima.

Americans defeated the Japanese there.

2) Picture taken a lot later• Correct: Called the ‘Gung Ho’ shot, it was taken

after two flags were put up.

3) Mound, summit, center of land• Correct: Mount Suribachi Yama

4) Possibly epic, bloody battle• Correct: Named the ‘bloodiest battle in Marine

Corps history’

5) Key position for America• Correct: So important, Japanese organized

counterattack following night

6) Intended target audience: Americans• Correct: Picture arrived on front pages of Sunday

newspapers across the country two days later

Correct Inference?

You probably got at least 7 out of the

previous 12 inferences from the

picture, a great number.

See- you already have it in you!

What we’ve learned so far What is Inference

We use it in our everyday lives We naturally justify our inferences Basically, we have it in us

How we Infer Rule: Start by judging, end by justifying

Pay attention to detail Make the links: Who, What, When, Where, Why? Beef up initial judgment with 5Ws

Cardinal rule There may be a right answer at the end (fact= Iwo Jima) There may also not be a right answer (opinion= laziness) But we ALWAYS start without answers, but with

JUDGEMENT

In the case of Humanities

There is really…NO right or wrong

answer

The one with the most

number of hits wins

Inference: The Doorway

Inference

Usefulfness

Reliablity

Purpose

Similarity/ Difference

General Information

Answers to Question

Even if we were not prepared for our baby boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each obstacle comes our way. Home too small? Move back with parents. Money not enough? Rent out our empty flat. Job too stressful? Quit. But I will never quit having him. I refuse to fret over what I have to give up, or whether I have enough money to give the baby the best.

I would like to think that my parents’ generation did a fine job with child rearing and they never strained so hard to think about how to do it. They just had them.

Now I am having one, I intend to have more simply because the kid might get lonely. My husband wants four. We’ll see.

Source B: Views expressed by a young Singaporean civil servant - Forum Page, The Straits Times.

Back to Earth:Where to Look

Back to Earth:Where to Look

Even if we were not prepared for our baby boy, who is arriving in two months’ time, we will cope and adapt as each obstacle comes our way. Home too small? Move back with parents. Money not enough? Rent out our empty flat. Job too stressful? Quit. But I will never quit having him. I refuse to fret over what I have to give up, or whether I have enough money to give the baby the best.

I would like to think that my parents’ generation did a fine job with child rearing and they never strained so hard to think about how to do it. They just had them.

Now I am having one, I intend to have more simply because the kid might get lonely. My husband wants four. We’ll see.

Source B: Views expressed by a young Singaporean civil servant - Forum Page, The Straits Times.

Provenance

Fact or Opinion?

Tone: Accented

General Content

Purpose

Final words on Inference You really have it in you

You already know the stuff

Perhaps…

Imagine you’re a kickass criminal investigator

It’s really close to the real deal

Up next: Reliability- what you don’t already know