Monday, February 6, 2012

Facts Glossary


Glossary
Chapter 3
absoluteAn absolute is something that is perfect, complete, always true, something never to be doubted or questioned.
accommodationAccommodation is achieved when we can do the thinking needed to create a new schema or modify an old schema in order to explain a new experience.
argumentThere are the two parts of an argument. The conclusion, or main summary idea and the reasons given to support that idea.
assimilationAssimilation is achieved when we can integrate new experiences into existing schemas.
certainCertain is a characteristic of something fixed, assured, or inevitable.
disequilibriumThe confusion and discomfort felt when a new experience cannot be integrated into existing schemas.
equilibriumA stable inner feeling of well being that we feel when our thinking enables us to modify or create a new schema that better explains our world.
factA fact is something proven to be true, real, existing or to have existed.
fictionFiction is an idea or story based on imagination rather than reality.
objective/subjectiveObjective is to be impartial, free of bias or prejudice. Subjective is to be swayed by bias or prejudice rather than facts and evidence.
plausibilityThis standard weighs the reasonability of a event or explanation.
probabilityThis standard estimates the likelihood that an event occurred or will occur.
reliabilityThis is another standard: that the data was confirmed to be fact by a reputable independent source. Reliability also means that the confirmation proved dependable over time.
schemaSchemas are the mental files in which we store our explanations of experiences.
thinkingPurposeful mental activity such as reasoning, deciding, judging, believing, supposing, expecting, intending, recalling, remembering, visualizing, imagining, devising, inventing, concentrating, conceiving, considering.
verifiabilityThis is a standard for determining facts; that they can be tested and confirmed to be either true and/or in existence or past existence or not.
verifyTo verify is to test and confirm the truth, accuracy, or existence of something.

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