We considered - How to make:

   * Constructive questions that show an extensional orientation

   * Meaningful questions that can be answered using the scientific method.

   * Reasonable questions / problems that can be solved.

To avoid the Type III error of trying to solve the wrong problem / asking the wrong question.

The AGS AGM was held immediately after the seminar.

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Questions: The good, the bad and the unsane.

The aim of the seminar was to learn about unreasonable questions and problems that can’t be solved.
So avoid the Type III error of trying to solve the wrong problem or ask the wrong question.

First we reviewed GS formulations needed to recognise and analyse faulty questions, for example:

   1) Undefined word names.

   2) Meaningless words. Unanswerable questions.

   3) Limiting responses by using:

      a. Words that imply only one response. So use “a” instead of “the”.
      b. Questions using the idea of just ONE cause. Use etc.
      c. Either / Or distortion questions, limit you to two options.
      d. Filtering out all the good positives (e.g. depression) or all of the negatives (over confidence.)

   4) Non-allness versus allness. Use Etc.

   5) Higher order abstraction question implying a large number of specific questions

   6) Projection of some attribute or evaluation

   7) Multi meaning, i.e. Vague or ambiguous questions

   8) False assumptions, stated or implied by the question.

   9) Fact – inference confusion or jumping to a conclusion, e.g. mind reading, fortune telling, emotional reasoning.

 10) Paradoxical questions or contradictory questions

Practice

We then practised on a lot of faulty questions, for example:

Question that are meaningless to the recipient, e.g.
  1) “how many legs does a ‘florgiedorfle’ have?”
  2) What is the area of a trapezoid figure 100 metres on one side, 50 meres on the other side and 25 metres on the remaining 2 sides?
  3) And for the more advanced students: how can you change an assumption in the above question to give a different area? 

AI got the first of these two questions correct but failed on the last one.

  * Two people were arguing about “whether the Bible says: “Thou shalt not kill” or “Thou shalt not murder.”
     What’s wrong with the question?

  * Do you support the Democrats or the Republicans?

  * “She’ll be right. So I don’t have to put any effort in do I?”

  * Why does everyone constantly tell me that I’m wrong?

  * Am I rich?

  * How long do you have to perform the Indian rain dance to get rain?

  * Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

  * Is there a barber, who, in a village of men who are all clean shaven, shaves all those do not shave themselves?

  * How does not reading "Science and Sanity" make me lazy person?

Changing questions

Then we practised converting the poor questions into better ones.

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When:
   Saturday 13th September 2025.  Logon after 10:00 am and 10:15 am seminar start (Sydney time).    (8pm NY time)
   We take a little break along the way, end lunch around 1 pm.

Cost: Free for Zoom participants