Yak Shaving -- [MIT AI Lab, after 2000: orig. probably from a Ren & Stimpy episode.] Any seemingly pointless activity which is actually necessary to solve a problem which solves a problem which, several levels of recursion later, solves the real problem you're working on.#610 Browser Hack -- Browster is a free plugin (for both IE and Firefox) that lets you preview a site in a preview pane simply by rolling your mouse over the link. It's an amazing Web 2.0 tool that will change the way you view search engine results and other pages you'd prefer to preview before you click.
#611 Firefox Extension -- The ReloadEvery extension automatically refreshes a web page at a time interval you define (like every 10 seconds.) Use it to stay logged into web mail or an online banking session. (HT: LifeHacker)
#612 Word Keyboard Shortcut -- Ctrl+E -- The paragraph in which the insertion point is located is centered the same as if you clicked on the Center tool.
#613 Know Your Fallacies -- Appeal to Authority -- While sometimes it may be appropriate to cite an authority to support a point, often it is not. In particular, an appeal to authority is inappropriate if: (i) the person is not qualified to have an expert opinion on the subject, (ii) experts in the field disagree on this issue; (iii) the authority was making a joke, drunk, or otherwise not being serious. (Ex: Economist John Kenneth Galbraith argues that a tight money policy s the best cure for a recession. (Although Galbraith is an expert, not all economists agree on this point.))
#614 Google School -- intitle:index.of:This will search for pages that contain the text "index of" (the period is a wildcard that can represent any single character). (HT: LifeHacker)
#615 HowTo -- Turn Your iPod into the Ultimate PowerPoint Accessory
#616 Travel Hack -- Courtesy of Don Bosch at Evaneco.com:
As you probably know, Southwest doesn't have assigned seats, but uses an "A" "B" "C" ranking for where you stand in line based on how early you check in. You can check in up to 24 hours ahead of time (the start of the window of opportunity), assuming you have a printer to print the coveted "A" boarding pass. For my trip home to Newport from San Diego this weekend I had a laptop with wireless access in my hotel, but didn't have a printer. I logged in and did the virtual check in, following the links until I got to the "print boarding pass" page, then I logged out. When I got to the airport, I stopped by the kiosk at the Southwest counter and printed out my "A" boarding pass by selecting "re-print boarding pass." Voila!
#617 SoYouWanna -- Get rid of roaches, rats, and other pests.
#618 Download of the Week -- NK2csv is a free utility to view and export the contents of an Outlook autocompletion file. (HT: Daniel Sinclair)
#619 Writer's Tips -- Take it easy on the -ings. Prefer the simple present or past PoynterOnline
See also: The Yak Shaving Razor Archives
Have a useful recommendation for making life more pleasant? Send them to me at jpcarter[at]evangelicaloutpost.com.
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I have a question, sir. Don't some of these "fallacies" rely on a universal, autonomous rationality? I remember you posting about one that had to do with the fallacy of 'taking the person's character into consideration instead of just looking at the argument itself.' However, the books of Timothy and Proverbs, as well as others I'm sure, talk about the importance of 'who taught you what you know' and how a person's character will influence what they can know about God and about the world.
What are your thoughts?
posted on 08.30.2006 11:23 PM2
Appeal to authority. Doesn't this fallacy appeal to an authority (e.g. Aristotle)?
Joel, you make a good point, but a persons character does not change the truthfulness of a position. If a rapist taught you Math, does that make Math void or wrong?
posted on 08.31.2006 10:55 AM