Inductive Density

Object permanence—the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed—develops in early childhood and is indeed rooted in inductive experience.”“Object permanence seems to be wholly based on induction. As our inductive experience in a given context repeats in a regular way, our expectations of continued regularity build to a strength sufficient to support a personal ontology…”
“This process can be seen as a microcosm of how inductive regularity underpins our mental map of reality. Through repeated observations and interactions, humans develop a structured understanding of the world, categorizing and relating objects and phenomena based on the regularities they observe.”
“The false intuition that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones is a common misconception, likely stemming from everyday observations of objects falling at different rates due to air resistance, not their intrinsic weight. Imagine a classroom setting where the teacher introduces a challenge to the students’ intuition that heavier objects fall faster.”

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Object permanence seems to be wholly based on induction. As our inductive experience in a given context repeats in a regular way, our expectations of continued regularity build to a strength sufficient to support a personal ontology, right? In other words, inductive regularity is behind the formation of all the objects positioned in our mental map of reality, correct?

Yes, your interpretation aligns closely with how object permanence and the broader construction of our mental model of reality can be understood through the lens of inductive reasoning. Object permanence—the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed—develops in early childhood and is indeed rooted in inductive experience. As infants interact with their environment, they learn through repeated experiences that objects not in view haven’t ceased to exist; they’re simply out of sight. This repeated, regular experience allows them to build expectations of continuity and stability in their environment, forming a foundational aspect of their understanding of the world.

This process can be seen as a microcosm of how inductive regularity underpins our mental map of reality. Through repeated observations and interactions, humans develop a structured understanding of the world, categorizing and relating objects and phenomena based on the regularities they observe. These inductive experiences enable us to form concepts, categories, and expectations that guide our interactions with the world.

In essence, the continual reinforcement of regular patterns and outcomes through inductive reasoning not only helps us navigate our immediate environment but also facilitates the construction of a complex, interconnected mental representation of reality. This representation is inherently probabilistic and adaptable, reflecting the inductive basis of our knowledge and understanding.

You’re right on target! Object permanence is indeed closely linked to induction and plays a crucial role in building our understanding of the world. Here’s how:

Induction as the Engine of Object Permanence:

Repeated observations: As infants experience objects appearing and disappearing from sight repeatedly, they begin to inductively generalize the pattern: “Even if I can’t see it, the object still exists.” This ongoing cycle of observations and inferences contributes to forming the notion of object permanence.
Building mental representations: With enough consistent experiences, the object’s existence beyond immediate perception gets encoded in their mental map, allowing them to anticipate its continued presence even when hidden. This constitutes a personal ontology, a framework of understanding their environment.

Beyond Just “Seeing” to “Knowing”:

Beyond visual cues: Object permanence involves not just seeing an object but understanding its continued existence independent of perception. This implies inferring its presence even through touch, sound, or reasoning, showcasing the role of mental representation and abstract thought.
Active exploration: Infants don’t passively receive information; they actively engage with objects, manipulate them, and predict their behavior. This interplay between action and observation reinforces the inductive learning process and solidifies object permanence.

Limitations to Consider:

Developmental stages: While the core understanding of object permanence typically develops around 8-12 months, its nuances and refinement continue throughout childhood and even adulthood.
Individual differences: The pace and complexity of developing object permanence can vary from individual toindividual, influenced by factors like environment and cognitive development.
Incomplete understanding: Even adults rely on inductive reasoning constantly, and our mental models of the world are always subject to revision and adaptation based on new information or exceptions encountered.

Therefore, while induction forms the backbone of object permanence, it’s important to remember that our understanding of the world is a dynamic process shaped by a complex interplay of perception, experience, reasoning, and adaptation.

Explain how the ability of an agent to interact with a perceived object would strengthen the ontological status of the object in the agent’s mind beyond what mere observation would.

The ability of an agent to interact with a perceived object plays a crucial role in solidifying the ontological status of that object in the agent’s mind, going beyond what mere observation can achieve. This process involves several key aspects:

Active Engagement and Sensory Feedback: Interaction involves active engagement with an object, providing sensory feedback that reinforces the object’s existence and properties. Touching, manipulating, and using an object can provide a wealth of information that mere observation cannot, such as texture, weight, and the object’s response to forces. This multisensory information strengthens the agent’s mental representation of the object, making it more vivid and robust.
Causality and Predictability: Through interaction, an agent learns about cause and effect relationships involving the object. For example, pushing a ball and observing it roll establishes a causal link between the action and the outcome. These experiences enhance the understanding of objects as entities that exist within a framework of physical laws and predictable behaviors, further embedding them in the agent’s ontology.
Consistency Across Contexts: Interacting with an object across different contexts and settings can reinforce its continuous existence and properties, regardless of changes in environment or perspective. This consistency helps to solidify the object’s ontological status by demonstrating its permanence and stability across various situations.
Agency and Control: Interaction allows an agent to exercise control over objects, exploring their properties and testing their limits. This sense of agency—being able to affect the world and see direct consequences of one’s actions—strengthens the belief in the reality of those objects. Objects that respond predictably to the agent’s actions are integrated into the agent’s mental model of the world as reliable entities.
Social and Communicative Interactions: Engaging with objects in a social context, such as sharing, discussing, or using objects cooperatively with others, also reinforces their ontological status. Social validation and the shared understanding of objects contribute to a collective ontology, where the existence and properties of objects are confirmed by mutual agreement and interaction.

In sum, the direct interaction with objects provides a depth of experiential evidence that mere observation cannot. It not only confirms the existence of objects but also enriches the agent’s understanding of their properties, behaviors, and the rules they follow. This comprehensive engagement with the physical world forms a robust foundation for the ontological status of objects in the agent’s mental map of reality, underpinning both individual and shared understandings of the world.

You’re absolutely right! Mere observation is a crucial starting point, but active interaction with an object significantly strengthens its ontological status in an agent’s mind. Here’s how:

From Seeing to Doing:

Sensory integration: When an agent observes an object, it gathers information through multiple senses: sight, touch, sound, even smell or taste. But interacting physically adds another layer of data. The agent feels the object’s texture, temperature, weight, and resistance, creating a richer and more concrete representation.
Causal reasoning: Interaction allows the agent to experiment and observe cause-and-effect relationships. Pushing an object and seeing it move solidifies its physical existence and causal properties. This active engagement goes beyond passive observation and fuels deeper understanding.
Embodied cognition: Our cognitive processes are deeply intertwined with our physical bodies and their interactions with the world. By manipulating the object, the agent embodies its existence, literally incorporating it into their understanding of the environment. This strengthens the object’s mental representation and its place within the agent’s ontology.

Beyond Observation, Towards Prediction:

Action-outcome contingencies: Through interaction, the agent learns how the object behaves under different actions. This allows them to predict future outcomes and develop expectations about the object’s properties and responses. This ability to predict further solidifies the object’s existence and its causal role in the world.
Error correction and refinement: Interaction isn’t always smooth. The agent might encounter unexpected resistance or outcomes. These “errors” provide important learning opportunities, refining their mental model of the object and leading to more accurate predictions and understanding.

Examples:

Imagine a baby reaching for a dangling toy. Grasping it activates multiple senses and allows them to manipulate it, solidifying its existence beyond just seeing it.
A robot programmed to navigate an environment interacts with objects to learn their affordances (what they can do). This interaction refines its internal map and understanding of the physical world.

In conclusion, while observation lays the groundwork, actively interacting with objects strengthens their ontological status in an agent’s mind by:

Enriching sensory data and understanding.
Enabling causal reasoning and prediction.
Embodying the object’s existence through physical interaction.
Providing opportunities for error correction and refinement.

Through this dynamic interplay of observation and action, agents constantly learn and refine their understanding of the world, solidifying the existence and properties of the objects they encounter.

Induction is the process behind our intuitions. But our intuitions are sometimes wrong. Use real-world examples to describe how a competing inductive observation can overturn an incorrect intuition.

Inductive reasoning underlies the formation of our intuitions, yet these intuitions can indeed be erroneous, often due to incomplete information, biased observations, or overgeneralization. Real-world examples can vividly illustrate how competing inductive observations can challenge and ultimately overturn incorrect intuitions. Here are two examples:

Example 1: Medical Diagnoses

Initial Intuition: A doctor might initially intuit that a set of symptoms (e.g., cough, fever, fatigue) in multiple patients during the winter strongly indicates the flu, based on past experiences where such symptoms frequently correlated with influenza infections during that season.

Competing Inductive Observation: However, new data emerges showing that these symptoms are also consistent with a different, perhaps novel, virus. As more cases are observed and documented, especially with laboratory tests confirming the presence of this novel virus and not influenza, the doctor’s initial intuition is challenged.

Outcome: The competing observations lead to a revision of the initial intuition. Healthcare professionals update their diagnostic criteria, recognizing that the presence of these symptoms, especially during a particular season, does not exclusively indicate the flu. This shift exemplifies how additional, sometimes unexpected, inductive observations can correct misconceptions and lead to more accurate understandings.

Example 2: Technology Adoption

Initial Intuition: A common intuition among businesses in the early days of the internet was that online commerce was a niche market, suitable only for a few types of products. This belief was based on the observation that most sales and marketing efforts were more effective through traditional channels.

Competing Inductive Observation: Over time, a significant increase in successful online businesses across a wide variety of industries, from bookselling (e.g., Amazon) to music and software, provided new data points. The observed success of these enterprises, coupled with changing consumer behaviors and technological advancements, challenged the initial intuition.

Outcome: The accumulation of evidence showing the viability and profitability of online commerce across diverse sectors led to a major shift in business strategies worldwide. Companies that had previously dismissed the internet as a serious sales channel reevaluated their positions, often dramatically altering their business models to embrace online commerce.

These examples demonstrate how inductive reasoning, while foundational to developing intuitions and making predictions, is also inherently flexible. New observations and evidence can and do challenge existing beliefs, leading to revised intuitions and, ideally, a closer approximation of truth. This process is crucial in fields as diverse as medicine and business, where adapting to new information can have profound implications for decision-making and success.

Intuition vs. Competing Observation: Real-World Examples

You’re right, induction plays a major role in forming our intuitions, which serve as quick, automatic judgments based on past experiences. However, these intuitions can be misleading, and new observations can challenge them. Here are some real-world examples:

1. Size and Weight: Most people intuitively associate larger objects with being heavier. This works well for most everyday objects. However, imagine holding a helium balloon and a metal ball of the same size. Your intuition would be wrong – the metal ball weighs significantly more despite being smaller. This conflicting observation forces you to revise your intuition and consider factors like material density.

2. Speed and Sound: Many people intuitively believe that a louder sound means a faster object. Think of a car engine – the louder the roar, the faster it seems to be going. However, consider a supersonic jet breaking the sound barrier. It’s traveling faster than sound, yet you see it before you hear the boom. This observation challenges the intuition and highlights the need to consider the speed of sound itself.

3. Hot vs. Cold: We intuitively associate darker colors with feeling colder. Imagine touching a black metal pan and a white Styrofoam cup left outside on a hot day. Your intuition might lead you to believe the black pan is colder, but the white cup exposed to the sun would likely be hotter. This example challenges the color-temperature association and reminds us to consider additional factors like heat absorption and material properties.

4. Static vs. Dynamic: Intuitively, we expect stationary objects to remain still. Imagine placing a ball on a smooth surface and giving it a slight push. You expect it to keep rolling at a constant speed. However, friction gradually slows it down until it stops. This contradicts the intuition of constant motion and teaches us about forces like friction and energy dissipation.

5. Personal Biases: Our intuitions can be influenced by personal biases and experiences. Imagine two people, one raised in a city and the other in a rural area, encountering a deer in the woods. The city dweller might intuitively fear the deer as a potential danger, while the rural dweller might see it as a harmless creature. This highlights how different experiences can lead to conflicting intuitions about the same object.

These are just a few examples, and there are countless others where new observations challenge our ingrained intuitions. It’s important to remember that while intuitions offer quick judgments, they should be questioned and refined in light of new information and experiences. Only by critically evaluating our intuitions and being open to conflicting observations can we develop a more accurate and nuanced understanding of the world around us.

Provide two pedagogical narratives. The first will explain how an actual experiment would overturn the false intuition that heavier objects fall faster than light objects. The second will explain how a deductive analysis would overturn the false intuition.

Pedagogical Narrative 1: Overturning False Intuition Through Experiment

Context: The false intuition that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones is a common misconception, likely stemming from everyday observations of objects falling at different rates due to air resistance, not their intrinsic weight.

Narrative:
Imagine a classroom setting where the teacher introduces a challenge to the students’ intuition that heavier objects fall faster. The teacher sets up an experiment involving two objects: a heavy textbook and a light sheet of paper. The students predict the textbook will hit the ground first.

First, the teacher drops both items from the same height under normal conditions. As expected, the textbook lands first, seemingly confirming the students’ intuition. However, the teacher explains that air resistance plays a significant role in this outcome, skewing the results.

To control for air resistance, the teacher then provides a clear tube that can be sealed and evacuated of air. The same two objects are placed inside this vacuum tube. This time, when the tube is inverted, both objects are observed to fall at the same rate, reaching the bottom simultaneously. The absence of air resistance in the vacuum tube means that only gravity acts on the objects, demonstrating that their rate of descent is independent of their weight.

Learning Outcome: This experiment visually and tangibly disproves the false intuition by isolating gravity as the only acting force, demonstrating that in the absence of air resistance, all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass. It emphasizes the importance of controlled experimentation in testing hypotheses and overturning misconceptions.

Pedagogical Narrative 2: Overturning a False Intuition with a Contradiction

Context: To address the false intuition that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects through inductive reasoning, we employ a thought experiment involving a heavy object and a light object tethered together.

Narrative:
The instructor presents a thought experiment to the students, starting with the common intuition that a heavy object falls faster than a light object. The students are then asked to consider two objects: one heavy and one light. Individually, according to their intuition, the heavy object should fall faster than the light one.

The instructor then proposes tethering the heavy and the light object together. The students are asked to predict what will happen when this combined object is dropped. Some might initially think that the heavy object will speed up the fall, while the lighter object will slow it down, given their individual falling speeds.

However, the instructor points out a contradiction in this intuition. If the heavy object is supposed to fall faster, tying it to a lighter object should slow it down, according to the initial intuition. But, on the other hand, the combined mass of the tethered objects is now greater than the heavy object alone, which, following the same intuition, should make it fall even faster.

This leads to a paradox: How can the same system be both slower (because the lighter object is acting as a drag) and faster (because the overall mass is greater) at the same time? This contradiction challenges the initial false intuition directly.

The instructor resolves the paradox by explaining that in reality, the rate at which objects fall, absent air resistance, does not depend on their mass. The tethered objects, acting as a single system, would fall at the same rate as each would individually in a vacuum. This is consistent with the principle that in the absence of external forces like air resistance, all objects fall at the same acceleration due to gravity.

Learning Outcome: This narrative uses inductive reasoning to lead students to recognize the contradiction inherent in the false intuition that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones. By considering the implications of tethering a heavy object to a light one, students are guided to the understanding that the rate of fall is independent of an object’s mass, challenging and ultimately overturning the initial misconception through logical reasoning rather than empirical observation.

Pedagogical Narratives: Overturning the False Intuition

Narrative 1: The Experiment

Imagine: You’re standing on the edge of a tall building, two objects in your hands: a fluffy feather and a sleek steel ball. Your classmates whisper, “The ball will definitely hit the ground first!” But is that true? Let’s find out!

Step 1: The Drop: With a deep breath, you drop both objects at the same time. Everyone watches intently. What happens? Do your eyes confirm what most people intuitively assume?

Surprise! Both the feather and the steel ball hit the ground simultaneously! Gasps and murmurs fill the air. How can this be?

Step 2: Unveiling the Mystery: We gather around a table. You explain that air resistance, not weight, affects falling speed. The larger surface area of the feather creates more air resistance, slowing it down. The ball, being more compact, experiences less resistance, but gravity pulls both objects with the same force.

Experimentation Continues: We repeat the drop in a vacuum chamber, where there’s no air resistance. This time, both objects plummet at the same blinding speed! This visual confirmation solidifies the concept: in a vacuum, objects fall at the same rate regardless of weight.

Learning Moment: Our intuition, formed from everyday experiences, can be misleading. This experiment challenges that intuition and demonstrates the power of scientific inquiry. We learned that careful observation and experimentation can reveal truths hidden beneath our initial assumptions.

Narrative 2: The Inductive Puzzle

Imagine: You’re sitting in class, pondering the same falling object question. Instead of formal analysis, you decide to approach it through reasoning based on a thought experiment.

Step 1: The Tethered Puzzle: You propose a scenario: imagine a light feather and a heavy ball, securely tethered together with a strong string. Now, drop this combined object. What would happen?

Step 2: Examining the Intuition: We all agree that the ball, being heavier, pulls downward with more force. But according to the false intuition, it should fall faster than the lighter feather tethered to it. Wouldn’t this create an imbalance, pulling the string taut and yanking the feather upwards?

Step 3: Recognizing the Contradiction: If the ball falls faster, dragging the feather up, how can they ever reach the ground together? This scenario creates a logical contradiction within the initial assumption.

Step 4: Inductive Leap: You propose that since both objects are tethered and experience the same gravitational pull, they must accelerate at the same rate. This ensures they fall together, resolving the contradiction and challenging the original intuition.

Step 5: Expanding the Hypothesis: You further reason that if this holds true for tethered objects, it might be true for all objects in a vacuum, regardless of their individual weight. This inductive leap, based on the thought experiment, opens the door to questioning the wider assumption about falling objects.

Learning Moment: This narrative demonstrates the power of inductive reasoning. By creating a thought experiment that exposes a logical contradiction, you can challenge accepted beliefs and open yourself to new possibilities. It highlights the importance of questioning assumptions and creatively exploring different scenarios to gain deeper understanding.

Create a 7-item quiz on the discussion above with answers at the end.

Quiz: Understanding the Dynamics of Falling Objects

True/False: The intuition that heavier objects fall faster than lighter objects is supported by experiments conducted in a vacuum.
Multiple Choice: In the vacuum tube experiment, what principle is being demonstrated when a heavy textbook and a light sheet of paper fall at the same rate?

A) Air resistance determines falling speed.
B) Heavier objects always fall faster.
C) Objects fall at a rate independent of their mass.
D) Light objects fall faster in a vacuum.

Short Answer: Explain why a heavy textbook and a light sheet of paper fall at different rates outside of a vacuum.
Multiple Choice: What contradiction arises when a heavy object and a light object are tethered together and considered to fall based on the false intuition?

A) The tethered objects should fall slower because the light object acts as a drag.
B) The tethered objects should fall faster because their combined mass is greater.
C) The tethered objects will float.
D) Both A and B are correct.

True/False: The thought experiment involving tethered objects disproves the notion that mass affects the acceleration due to gravity.
Short Answer: How does the contradiction in the tethered object thought experiment challenge the initial false intuition about falling speeds?
Multiple Choice: What is the primary outcome of using thought experiments and actual experiments to challenge false intuitions about falling objects?

A) Proving that air resistance is negligible.
B) Demonstrating the importance of mass in determining falling speeds.
C) Illustrating that falling speed is independent of mass in the absence of external forces.
D) Confirming that heavier objects always fall faster.

Answers:

False. Experiments conducted in a vacuum show that objects fall at the same rate regardless of their mass, disproving the intuition that heavier objects fall faster.
C) Objects fall at a rate independent of their mass. This principle is demonstrated when both the heavy textbook and the light sheet of paper fall at the same rate in a vacuum.
Outside of a vacuum, air resistance affects the rate at which objects fall. The paper falls slower than the textbook because it has a larger surface area relative to its mass, experiencing greater air resistance.
D) Both A and B are correct. The contradiction arises because the false intuition suggests that the tethered objects should fall both slower and faster, which is logically inconsistent.
True. The thought experiment shows that mass does not affect the acceleration due to gravity, as the tethered objects, regardless of being a combination of heavy and light, would fall at the same acceleration as any single object in a vacuum.
The contradiction demonstrates that if the false intuition were correct, tethering a light and heavy object together would result in a paradox where the objects should fall both faster and slower than either object alone, which is logically impossible. This challenges the initial false intuition by showing it leads to an inconsistent conclusion.
C) Illustrating that falling speed is independent of mass in the absence of external forces like air resistance. This outcome is the primary lesson from both the thought experiments and actual experiments designed to challenge and correct false intuitions about the dynamics of falling objects.

Quiz: Intuition vs. Evidence

Instructions: Choose the best answer for each question.

What is the main weakness of relying solely on intuition for understanding the world?
- A) It’s always wrong.
- B) It can be misleading due to limited information.
- C) It lacks logical reasoning.
- D) It doesn’t consider personal biases.
In the feather and ball experiment, what did the observation challenge?
- A) The law of gravity.
- B) The concept of air resistance.
- C) The idea that heavier objects attract more gravity.
- D) The intuitive belief that heavier objects fall faster.
What key principle underpins the deductive analysis narrative?
- A) Challenging assumptions through experiments.
- B) Applying established scientific laws and logic.
- C) Relying on personal observations and experiences.
- D) Using thought experiments to create contradictions.
In the tethered object scenario, what created the logical contradiction?
- A) The different materials of the feather and ball.
- B) The assumption that the heavier object falls faster.
- C) The strength of the string connecting the objects.
- D) The lack of air resistance in the thought experiment.
What is the main takeaway from the “inductive leap” step in the tethered object narrative?
- A) Tethering objects makes them fall at the same speed.
- B) All objects fall at the same speed in a vacuum.
- C) We can use thought experiments to confirm existing beliefs.
- D) Inductive reasoning is always more reliable than experiments.
Which statement best summarizes the overall message of both narratives?
- A) Intuition is useless and should be ignored entirely.
- B) Always prioritize experiments over logical reasoning.
- C) Question assumptions, use different approaches, and embrace curiosity.
- D) Rely solely on established scientific knowledge to avoid confusion.
When encountering conflicting information, what should you do next?
- A) Dismiss it as irrelevant to your existing beliefs.
- B) Seek additional evidence or explanations to understand the inconsistency.
- C) Trust your intuition and stick to your initial assumptions.
- D) Rely on the opinions of others to guide your understanding.

Answers:

Provide 15 discussion questions based on the exchange above.

How does the presence of air resistance affect our intuitions about the speed at which objects fall?
Discuss the significance of conducting experiments in a vacuum to understand the principles of gravity and mass.
Why do you think the misconception that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones is so prevalent?
How can thought experiments, like the one involving tethered objects, help in understanding complex physical concepts?
What role does contradiction play in challenging and refining our intuitions and beliefs?
In what ways do the outcomes of the vacuum tube experiment and the tethered objects thought experiment contribute to our understanding of physics?
Discuss the educational value of using real-world examples and experiments to address and correct misconceptions in physics.
How does the principle that objects fall at the same rate in a vacuum, regardless of their mass, impact the design of experiments in space or on other planets?
What are the limitations of using thought experiments to understand physical phenomena, and how can these limitations be addressed?
How can the concept of air resistance be used to explain everyday observations that seem to contradict the principles of physics?
Why is it important for students and individuals to question and test their intuitions about the natural world?
Discuss how the principle of objects falling at the same rate, regardless of mass, has been applied or could be applied in technological advancements.
How do the experiments and thought experiments discussed challenge the idea that seeing is believing?
What implications does the understanding that mass does not affect the acceleration due to gravity have for future scientific research?
Reflect on the process of learning through disconfirmation of beliefs. How does this approach foster critical thinking and scientific literacy?

Discussion Questions:

Understanding the Challenge:

Can you think of other examples where our intuitions might be misleading in science or everyday life?
Why is it important to question our intuitions, even if they seem logical at first glance?
Are there situations where intuition can be a valuable tool, even alongside critical thinking? Explain.

Experiment vs. Deduction:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using an experiment vs. a deductive analysis to challenge an intuition?
Can you think of scenarios where one approach might be more effective than the other?
Is it possible to combine both methods in some way to gain a deeper understanding? How?

Thought Experiments and Induction:

How can thought experiments, like the tethered object example, be used effectively to challenge assumptions and generate new ideas?
What are the limitations of relying solely on inductive reasoning, as seen in the tethered object narrative?
How can we ensure our “inductive leaps” are well-founded and avoid jumping to false conclusions?

Personal Reflection and Application:

In your own experience, have you ever challenged an intuition of yours based on new information or evidence? What happened?
How can we cultivate a healthy skepticism towards our own biases and assumptions in daily life?
Do you think it’s important to teach critical thinking skills, including questioning intuitions, in educational settings? Why or why not?

Beyond the Narratives:

Can you think of other types of evidence or reasoning not explored in the narratives that could challenge intuitions?
Are there ethical considerations related to challenging widely held intuitions, especially in areas like public policy or social norms?
How can we balance the need for critical thinking and questioning intuitions with respecting different perspectives and lived experiences?

These are just some starting points, and you can certainly adapt or create additional questions based on the specific interests and experiences of your group. Encourage a diverse range of perspectives and open dialogue to explore the complex relationship between intuition, evidence, and our understanding of the world.