IB TOK class: The alternate universe in which Tottenham are top
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article picked by a teacher with suggested questions is part of the Financial Times free schools access programme. Details/registration here.
Read all our IB ToK picks here.
Specification:
Teacher themes Subjects driven by published data and evidence, and anyone interested in the way data can be deliberately or accidentally represented to mislead us
Links to Human sciences, Natural sciences, Mathematics
Relevant BQ Spin
Key terms and ideas Publication bias, Evidence, Misperception, “The focusing illusion”, Clear metrics
Investigating Issues Unconscious bias
Exhibition Prompt 12 (bias); possible object — a scientific journal
Click to read the article below and answer the questions:
The alternate universe in which Tottenham are top
What conclusions can we draw from the information provided by this (factually accurate) image of the UK Premier League table, particularly which team has the best chance of winning the League this season?
To what extent should we base our understanding of Premier League football from this table?
From the source: What problem does the article reveal about basing our understanding of Premier League football on the table?
How does the article link this to ‘publication bias’?
How can publication bias skew the way we understand the world, and what examples does the article offer of this?
What solutions does the article suggest to offset the effects of publication bias?
“Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it.” How can grasping what Daniel Kahneman meant by this help us to overcome the effects of publication bias?
Michael Dunn, theoryofknowledge.net
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