Thursday, April 12, 2007

Martin Edmond

got the answer right to the question I asked a couple of posts below but for the wrong reason (& maybe I shouldn't have used "truckdriver", maybe used lorrydriver or teamster, since I seem to remember that what yanquis call "trucks" we south-of-the-border people call 4-wheel drives, & heap much derision on them).

Anyway, the answer has to do with what, if I remember my psychology lessons correctly, is called "associative" thinking or reasoning. We associate certain activities, traits, behaviour, with certain types of people. A book of poetry is less likely to be associated with a truckdriver than with a professor of literature, given an occupation-anonymous & neutral setting.

Think about it though. There are a damn sight more truckdrivers than literature professors in the world. Ergo, the balance of probability.......

1 comment:

Martin Edmond said...

what's wrong with my reason?