Chapter 12 Quiz Without Consequence

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. Cynicism is naysaying, fault-finding, and ridiculing the beliefs and claims of others without necessarily seeking the truth.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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. The key distinction between a true believer and a skeptic is the strength of the belief one holds tenaciously; true believers have strong beliefs, skeptics do not.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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. Self-correction of erroneous beliefs is a hallmark of a skeptic.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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. Skeptics seek to prove claims as certain.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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. As a speaker, you only want to make claims that are absolutely certain.

True correct incorrect

False correct incorrect

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. A speaker claims "You're more likely to be bitten by a human than a dog." When challenged to prove this claim, the speaker retorts, "Prove it isn't true." This is an example of

shifting the burden of proof correct incorrect

cynicism correct incorrect

true belief correct incorrect

all of the above correct incorrect

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. When a person claiming to be a psychic fails to make accurate psychic readings of audience members but "explains" the failures with the assertion that "there is too much negative energy in this audience," the self-proclaimed psychic is using

confirmation bias correct incorrect

rationalization of disconfirmation correct incorrect

shifting the burden of proof correct incorrect

all of the above correct incorrect

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. The probability model

sets certainty as the ultimate goal for any skeptic correct incorrect

varies claims from possibility to plausibility correct incorrect

is a fundamental basis of skepticism correct incorrect

none of the above correct incorrect

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. To be a skeptic you should

doubt all beliefs equally because doubt is the essence of skepticism correct incorrect

be open-minded by giving an equal hearing to even thoroughly researched and discredited points of view correct incorrect

subject your own views to the same rigorous standards used to evaluate beliefs of others correct incorrect

give Holocaust deniers an equal opportunity to express their point of view along with those who claim the Holocaust occurred correct incorrect

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. The Law of Truly Large Numbers means that

with a large enough sample almost anything is likely to happen to somebody, somewhere, sometime correct incorrect

all claims should be supported by abundant statistics correct incorrect

anything is possible, so don't be close-minded by discounting any claim no matter how probable it may seem correct incorrect

all of the above correct incorrect