Skip to main content

Doctor's Dilemma

Here’s a dilemma for you from the psychologists, Tversky and Kahneman. They asked the following to a group of doctors

The U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease. It is expected to kill 600 people.

Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed.

If program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.

If program B is adopted, there is a one third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved.

Which of the two programs would you favor?


What do you think?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Language Wars: Nations without an official language?

In his  Language Wars (2011) Henry Hitchins lists eight nations which do not have an official primary language. This number has now reduced to five, with Ethiopia, Somalia and Pakistan all nominating official languages. UK see here USA though 20 states now have an official language —  see here Australia 80 % speak English but not official Pakistan Urdu became the official language in 2015 Ethiopia Amharic, though there are more Oromo speakers  Somalia Somali and Arabic Eritrea Costa Rica Why these countries? (5 minute read) How many French Words in English?How did they get there? The English Language — Fun Facts & FAQ Teaching Pack  —  only £1.99

What is Moore's Law? Are robots taking over the world?

In 1965  Gordon Moore, co-founder of  Intel ,  observed that the number of  transistors  per square inch on  integrated circuits   had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented. Moore predicted that this trend would continue for the foreseeable future   source Computers are getting faster and (relatively) cheaper with each passing year. The phones we carry in our pockets are far more powerful than the ones that sent the Apollo astronauts to the Moon.  Moore has suggested that his law will not continue indefinitely - suggesting  2025 as a possible end date. Others have speculated about  what might replace it .  Download The English Language Teaching Pack  for only £1.99

Language Wars: Proper English?

Henry Hitchings (yes, that's Hitchings not Higgins) has ruffled many feathers with his  The Language Wars: A History of Proper English . As his near-namesake in Pymalion/My Fair Lady points out, when one Englishman opens his mouth it sure to offend another one. Like David Crystal, Hitchings takes a relaxed view regarding the alleged decline in standard. He points out that bitter protests about the misuse of English have been a running theme since the 18th century. And the impact of texting on the writing habits of young people has been wildly exaggerated. Teenagers know that it's not wise 4u2 put emoticons in your job application letter. Nonetheless, it is striking is how the range of widely used formal vocabulary has narrowed dramatically in recent years. To take just one example, only a small minority recognise biblical references which would have been universally familiar fifty years ago. While it's true that the internet and other new spheres of activity have intr...