The four cells

It is usually not a compliment when somone says of another,"He lives in his head much of the time."  The intent I am referring to is to comment on someone who is preoccupied with his thoughts, what is sometimes called "absentminded".  That term is misleading and maybe should be replaced with "overminded" or "thinking addicted".  Our thinking, conscious minds are wonderful tools but they can over-occupy our attention.  Say, I see an article on tin mining.  Hmm, I wonder how many tin mines there are and where they are loc...Ouch!  I just stumbled over the coffee table.  I wasn't paying attention to input from my eyes and walked into the furniture.  

Thought-y persons are especially prey to over-occupation with Hercule Poirot's little gray cells.  Our minds, especially some of them, such as mine, enjoy thinking about things.  Any conclusions we come to might need checking, verification, confirmation.  That is where the four cells come in, especially the right to left diagonal:

The four cells are the inner parts of the 2 by 2 table, two columns, and two rows.The columns show one variable, what I believe, while the rows show the other variable, what is actually the case, what is true, what is reality.  I find it is worthwhile to remember that there are at least two different sorts of ways my thinking can diverge from what is true.  I can believe in a given "fact" when it isn't true and I can disbelieve in a given fact that is actually true.  "False positive" means I think something exists or is true when that is not true.  False negative is when I reject the notion of unicorns but the one-horned horses exist after all.

When reviewing ideas or a philosophy, I find considering the possibility of each of the error cells helpful.

--
Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety