Creating Accurate Definitions
Notes
It is very difficult to create a definition that includes what we want to include, while excluding what we want to exclude.
John Hodgman And Stephen Debate: Is A Hot Dog Is A Sandwich? (watch from 5:15 to 7:30)
Stephen Works Out With Ruth Bader Ginsburg (2:30 to 3:40)
Activity
- Write out a definition for a "chair".
- Swap your definition with a classmate.
- Read your classmate's definition.
- As a class, we will look at the following pictures. You must decide if each of the following are a chair according to the definition you were given by your classmate.
- As a class, discuss the mis-classifications that occurred using your classmate's definition. Why were some chairs not classified as chairs? Why were some non-chairs classified as chairs?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_it_when_I_see_it