Page | 1
SCIE 326 UNIT 1-8 FOR MIDTERM FINAL
EXAM 2025| BRAND NEW ACTUAL EXAM
WITH 100% VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT SOLUTIONS| GUARANTEED VALUE
PACK| ACE YOUR GRADES.
Give a simple, one-sentence summary of this paragraph by the
postmodern French sociologist and philosopher Jean
Baudrillard. - correct answer - Our complex, metastatic, viral
systems, condemned to the exponential dimension alone (be it
that of exponential stability or instability), to eccentricity and
indefinite fractal scissiparity, can no longer come to an end.
Condemned to an intense metabolism, to an intense internal
metastasis, they become exhausted within themselves and no
longer have any destination, any end, any otherness, any
fatality. They are condemned, precisely, to the epidemic, to the
endless excrescences of the fractal and not to the reversibility
and perfect resolution of the fateful
Write a short essay (300-500 words) discussing the apparent
contradiction between the idea that all science is carried out
within, and hence is influenced by, a particular cultural context,
and the idea that science produces objective knowledge of the
world. - correct answer - (insert here)
, Page | 2
List and describe the seven gestalt criteria for good form. -
correct answer - 1 - Regularity: All other things being equal, a
hypothesis that can be seen as an extension of already existing
and accepted ideas is to be preferred to one that requires
radical changes in these ideas
2 - Symmetry: All other things being equal, a hypothesis that is
symmetrically related to existing ideas is to be preferred.
Examples include cases in which an idea that has been
successful in one field of science is taken over into another
field by analogy.
3 - Harmony: All other things being equal, a hypothesis that is
in harmony with, or resonates with, existing accepted ideas is
to be preferred to one that does not, and an argument whose
structure is harmonious with existing patterns of reasoning is to
be preferred.
4 - Simplicity: All other things being equal, the simpler
hypothesis or argument is to be preferred.
5 - Conciseness: All other things being equal, a concise
hypothesis/argument is to be preferred.
6 - Inclusiveness: All other things being equal, the hypothesis
that explains the most is to be preferred.
7 - Unity: Theories that provide a sense of closure, a unified
understanding of a field of phenomena, are to be sought as the
goal of science.
Choose one of the two examples of the development of a
scientific theory given in Chapter 2 of What Science Is, and
, Page | 3
discuss ways in which it exemplifies the idea of a good fit. -
correct answer - The theory of continental drift or that the
worlds land masses used to be connected prior to some event
that displaced them into their current positions highly
exemplifies the idea of a good fit. The theory is simple and
concise in nature. It is inclusive to why West Africa and East
South America have geographically similar coastlines as well
as people who are culturally similar. The theory has unity as it
provides a sense of closure and understanding to why we see
these similarities.
What are the three heuristics that are used in making
decisions? Give examples of each. - correct answer - 1.
Representativeness: The natural tendency to choose vivid,
striking features even if they are highly unrepresentative.
Availability: Referring to the fact that we tend to make
comparison judgements on the basis of what is most easily
available to the mind, either in sensory input or in memory. Ex/
vivid and highly emotional experiences tend to stick in the mind
with far greater intensity than more natural experiences
Anchoring: the quick selection of an interpretation, belief,
theory or scenario to interpret an event, which is then
maintained even in the face of strong contrary evidence.
Which fallacy of causal reasoning did John Stuart Mill describe
as "the most deeply-rooted, perhaps"? - correct answer - The
prejudice that the conditions of a phenomenon must, or at least
, Page | 4
probably will, resemble the phenomenon itself. Ex/ great events
must have great causes, complex events must have complex
causes, emotional events must have emotional causes etc.
What is the "fundamental attribution fallacy"? - correct answer -
When observing a person's behavior, we tend to assume that it
is characteristic of their personality, rather than a product of the
context in which we observe them, even through we explain
our own behavior in terms of the situation.
It seems that the perception of events in terms of cause and
effect is a built in aspect of the way the human mind interprets
the world, to the extent that we automatically assume causal
relations even in completely random sets of experiences. Write
a short essay (300-500 words) discussing why such an in- built
bias might be of value for a hunter-gatherer. - correct answer -
(insert here)
Write a short essay (300-500 words) defending the contention
that the three decision heuristics are necessary for any use of
language to think about or communicate experience. - correct
answer - (insert here)
SCIE 326 UNIT 1-8 FOR MIDTERM FINAL
EXAM 2025| BRAND NEW ACTUAL EXAM
WITH 100% VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT SOLUTIONS| GUARANTEED VALUE
PACK| ACE YOUR GRADES.
Give a simple, one-sentence summary of this paragraph by the
postmodern French sociologist and philosopher Jean
Baudrillard. - correct answer - Our complex, metastatic, viral
systems, condemned to the exponential dimension alone (be it
that of exponential stability or instability), to eccentricity and
indefinite fractal scissiparity, can no longer come to an end.
Condemned to an intense metabolism, to an intense internal
metastasis, they become exhausted within themselves and no
longer have any destination, any end, any otherness, any
fatality. They are condemned, precisely, to the epidemic, to the
endless excrescences of the fractal and not to the reversibility
and perfect resolution of the fateful
Write a short essay (300-500 words) discussing the apparent
contradiction between the idea that all science is carried out
within, and hence is influenced by, a particular cultural context,
and the idea that science produces objective knowledge of the
world. - correct answer - (insert here)
, Page | 2
List and describe the seven gestalt criteria for good form. -
correct answer - 1 - Regularity: All other things being equal, a
hypothesis that can be seen as an extension of already existing
and accepted ideas is to be preferred to one that requires
radical changes in these ideas
2 - Symmetry: All other things being equal, a hypothesis that is
symmetrically related to existing ideas is to be preferred.
Examples include cases in which an idea that has been
successful in one field of science is taken over into another
field by analogy.
3 - Harmony: All other things being equal, a hypothesis that is
in harmony with, or resonates with, existing accepted ideas is
to be preferred to one that does not, and an argument whose
structure is harmonious with existing patterns of reasoning is to
be preferred.
4 - Simplicity: All other things being equal, the simpler
hypothesis or argument is to be preferred.
5 - Conciseness: All other things being equal, a concise
hypothesis/argument is to be preferred.
6 - Inclusiveness: All other things being equal, the hypothesis
that explains the most is to be preferred.
7 - Unity: Theories that provide a sense of closure, a unified
understanding of a field of phenomena, are to be sought as the
goal of science.
Choose one of the two examples of the development of a
scientific theory given in Chapter 2 of What Science Is, and
, Page | 3
discuss ways in which it exemplifies the idea of a good fit. -
correct answer - The theory of continental drift or that the
worlds land masses used to be connected prior to some event
that displaced them into their current positions highly
exemplifies the idea of a good fit. The theory is simple and
concise in nature. It is inclusive to why West Africa and East
South America have geographically similar coastlines as well
as people who are culturally similar. The theory has unity as it
provides a sense of closure and understanding to why we see
these similarities.
What are the three heuristics that are used in making
decisions? Give examples of each. - correct answer - 1.
Representativeness: The natural tendency to choose vivid,
striking features even if they are highly unrepresentative.
Availability: Referring to the fact that we tend to make
comparison judgements on the basis of what is most easily
available to the mind, either in sensory input or in memory. Ex/
vivid and highly emotional experiences tend to stick in the mind
with far greater intensity than more natural experiences
Anchoring: the quick selection of an interpretation, belief,
theory or scenario to interpret an event, which is then
maintained even in the face of strong contrary evidence.
Which fallacy of causal reasoning did John Stuart Mill describe
as "the most deeply-rooted, perhaps"? - correct answer - The
prejudice that the conditions of a phenomenon must, or at least
, Page | 4
probably will, resemble the phenomenon itself. Ex/ great events
must have great causes, complex events must have complex
causes, emotional events must have emotional causes etc.
What is the "fundamental attribution fallacy"? - correct answer -
When observing a person's behavior, we tend to assume that it
is characteristic of their personality, rather than a product of the
context in which we observe them, even through we explain
our own behavior in terms of the situation.
It seems that the perception of events in terms of cause and
effect is a built in aspect of the way the human mind interprets
the world, to the extent that we automatically assume causal
relations even in completely random sets of experiences. Write
a short essay (300-500 words) discussing why such an in- built
bias might be of value for a hunter-gatherer. - correct answer -
(insert here)
Write a short essay (300-500 words) defending the contention
that the three decision heuristics are necessary for any use of
language to think about or communicate experience. - correct
answer - (insert here)
