The Achilles heel from police and justice

Achilles' Heel: The Dangers of an Imperfect Invulnerability

Achilles’ Heel: The Dangers of an Imperfect Invulnerability

Achilles heel:

a small problem or weakness in a person or system that can result in failure.

Maths has always been my Achilles heel.

Cambridge Dictionary

An Achilles’ heel or Achilles heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall.

While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.

Achilles is a typical Greek hero;

handsome, brave,

celebrated for his fleetness of foot,

prone to excess of wrath and grief,

at the same time he is compassionate,

hospitable,

full of affection for his mother and respect for the gods.

“The Achilles heel” is an idiomatic expression that originated from Greek mythology and is commonly used in English to refer to a particular vulnerability or weakness in a person, system, or situation. The key points of using the expression “The Achilles heel” are:

  1. Vulnerability or Weakness: The phrase “The Achilles heel” refers to a specific area of weakness or vulnerability. Just as Achilles, the legendary Greek hero, had a weak spot in his heel that ultimately led to his downfall, the expression implies that there is a particular aspect of the subject being referred to that is susceptible to failure or harm.

  2. Known Weakness: The weakness referred to by “The Achilles heel” is typically well-known or easily identifiable. It is often a known flaw or deficiency that may be exploited or targeted by others. The weakness may not be immediately apparent, but it is something that can be recognized or exploited under certain circumstances.

  3. Connotation of Fatal or Disastrous Consequences: The expression “The Achilles heel” is often used to convey the idea that the identified weakness or vulnerability has the potential for serious consequences, such as failure, defeat, or downfall. It suggests that the weakness is not trivial, but rather a significant flaw that can have dire outcomes.

  4. Contextual Usage: “The Achilles heel” is commonly used in a metaphorical or figurative sense to describe weaknesses or vulnerabilities in various domains, such as individuals, organizations, systems, processes, plans, or strategies. It can be used in a wide range of contexts, including but not limited to, business, sports, politics, and everyday conversation.

  5. Familiarity with Greek Mythology: The origin of the expression “The Achilles heel” is from Greek mythology, where Achilles was a hero with extraordinary strength, except for his heel, which was his only vulnerable spot. Therefore, a basic understanding of this mythological story adds depth and meaning to the usage of the expression.

In summary, “The Achilles heel” is an idiomatic expression used to refer to a known weakness or vulnerability with potentially severe consequences. It conveys the idea of a specific area of vulnerability that may lead to failure or downfall, and it is often used in a metaphorical or figurative sense in various contexts. Familiarity with Greek mythology is also helpful in understanding its meaning and usage.

Trust in research – the ethics of knowledge production

1 Trust in research — the ethics of knowledge production | Garry Gray | TEDxVictoria

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Gepubliceerd op 22 dec. 2014

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. We all take knowledge for granted every day: we assume that those who studied the health effects of using everyday products did their research accurately and without bias. But did they?

What if the researchers we trust to keep us safe are having their work influenced by hidden biases? 

Garry Gray is a University of Victoria Sociology professor and a Network Fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

Draft summary of the  talk by professor Garry Gray (12 minutes)

For the past 3 years I was a researcher at the centre for ethics at the Harvard University where I examened
Corrupting influences and hidden biases in the persuite of knowledge

My goal to understand everyday life of researchers across all disciplenes

In the end I ended up with close to 10 000 pages of in-depth-interviews transcript

Today I want to share with you some of the ethical dilemmas

An increased risk of bias depending who is funding thier research

Why shoud we be concerned about the ethics of knowledge production

An idealist and naive idea of science

The ethics of knowledge production

The structures and Institutions

The close examination of how scientists produce

Patterns of scientific distortions


the corruption of knowledge

The majority of these distortions were not produced by bad people – although this does happen – your friends and family
Initially small lapses here and there
Little Scientific lapses

Not happy with the higher risk of a negative result

Maybe I sensor myself

these types of rationalizes
these little compromises
Neutralize any guily
Ethically lapses
Owner
Over time these small lapses
of which we convince it is ok
I sensor myseld and put the question in a different way

Trust
For instance plastic waterbotles

We trust that drinking from the waterbotle
We should be a little bit less trusty

Every study funded by the industries

The funding effect

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Hidden biases
Some of the ethically dilemma’s

Patterns of distortions
Corrupting of knowledge
Corrupted and blinded
Corrupting influences and biases

The funding effect bias is real
Scientist funding by the industry
Integrity

No industries funded studies

The questions themselves are kind of


Overtime these little compromises
Knowledge production is overtime distorted

We see the pattern
From cell phone safety to climate change to soft drugs

Industry depended think tanks
There is a tendency to have sympathy with the food industry

A little bit

That the questions themselves are kind of selective

The most frequent often consulting managers
These voting members often service consultes

They might be experts but they are not independed experts

As you know in 2008 the world suffered a major financial crisis
Economic professors
blinded and corrupted professors

An upset queen of England
If the problem is so widespread why anyone noticed it?

The director told at every stage the Queen everyone was so blinded

A lack on in depended researchers

The blind leading the blind
And everyone though they did the right thing
No conflict of interest would influence my work

Corrupting influences an hidden biases
An conflict of interest

I would never …
However the power

Accidents related to cell phone distracted driving

The power to rationalize

Saying you have integrity is easy, practicing integrity is not easy...

And recognize our own lapses

What does this all mean

What kind of knowledge is produced

What are the strings attached when we receive funding

What questions there were asked
What kind of knowledge is used

Data confidential so that the research can never be verified

The funding effect bias is real.

What does this all mean in the context of knowledge production?

Ask yourself what are the strings attached when we accept funding

Are the string visible?

Are the strings invisible?

Scientist sensor themselves

My interviews make clear that the funding effect bias is real and if left unchecked

When you check a book

Information in knowledge take

A critical eye for independence
To value science
That the recherche result can never be checked
Information and knowledge requires science
To value

Summary: these little compromises

Minute 5: clips
Minute 7: The Queen

2 [PSYC 200] 3. Introduction to Human Behavior

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13 jul. 2011

Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 200), Dr. Chris Grace.
 
Lecture #3: Introduction to Human Behavior.
 
February 7, 2011.

3 Stuart Firestein: The pursuit of ignorance

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24 sep. 2013

 
What does real scientific work look like? As neuroscientist Stuart Firestein jokes: It looks a lot less like the scientific method and a lot more like “farting around … in the dark.” In this witty talk, Firestein gets to the heart of science as it is really practiced and suggests that we should value what we don’t know — or “high-quality ignorance” — just as much as what we know. 
 
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more. 
 
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/translate

4 Do we see reality as it is? | Donald Hoffman

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11 jun. 2015

 
Cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman is trying to answer a big question: Do we experience the world as it really is … or as we need it to be? In this ever so slightly mind-blowing talk, he ponders how our minds construct reality for us.
 
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
 
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at http://www.ted.com/talks/donald_hoffm…

5 Candid Camera Classic: Ladies Only Golf!

10 jan. 2021

Men discover at this course it’s: Ladies Only! NOTE: We are the owners of this video and all content on this YouTube channel. We produce the “Candid Camera” TV show. No material on this channel is borrowed or sourced from any other owner or creator. —Candid Camera, Inc.