"Why won't they admit, they are wrong?" and other skeptics Mysteries.

4 Guidelines; (1)Ask questions, be willing to wonder. (2)Define your terms. (3)Examine the evidence. (4)Analyze assumptions and biases.

One of the greatest challenges for scientist and educators is how to persuade people to give up beliefs they hold dear when the evidence clearly indicates that they should. Why aren't most people grateful for the data? It's easy to make fun of others who won't give up ideas or practices that scientific research has shown to be demonstrably wrong --therapeutic touch, alien abduction, the Rorschach Inkblot Test --or beliefs in haunted houses and psychic detective skills that the skeptical inquirer keeps exposing as frauds or delusions. IT's harder to see that the mechanism that keeps all these people from admitting they are wrong afflicts us too --all of us, even skeptics. The motivational mechanism that underlines the reluctance to be wrong, to change our minds, to admit serious mistakes, and to be unwilling to accept unwelcome findings is cognitive dissonance was invented fifty years ago by Leon Frestinger, who defined "dissonance" as a state of tension that occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent, such as “Smoking is a dumb thing to do because it could kill me” and “I smoke two packs a day.” Dissonance produces mental discomfort, a state that is as unpleasant as extreme hunger, and people don’t rest easy until they find a way to reduce it. Smokers can reduce dissonance either by quitting or by convincing themselves that smoking is not really so harmful. Hey, in fact, it’s beneficial, since it keep me from gaining weight. The Congressmen and ministers who preach that homosexuality is a sin and a choice reduce dissonance, when caught with male lovers, by saying, I am not "happy" –I was just under stress.

It is important to honesty express your views and thinking regarding the issues discussed, as well as any biases or beliefs you can think of that can help me. Thank you!

An urn contains 5 balls, two of which are marked $1, two $4, and one $10. A player is to draw two balls randomly and without replacement from the urn. Let X be the sum of the amounts marked on the two balls. Find the expected value of X.

Side note:

I know Rx={2,5,8,11,14}

and P(X=2) = 1/10 ... etc

I just need a proper explanation for finding the values of P(X=2), P(X=5), etc. Thanks!

1. Sage Co. provides for doubtful accounts based on 4% of gross accounts receivable, The following data are available for 2017.

What is the balance in Allowance for Doubtful Accounts at December 31, 2017?

2. Explain the difference between bad debt expense, write offs and allowance for doubtful accounts. How can you find one from the other two?

For Exercises 1-4 below, (a) verify that y1 and y2 satisfy the given second-order equation, and (b) find the solution satisfying the given initial conditions (I.C.).

2. y′′−3y′+2y=0; y1(x)=e^x,y2(x)=e^2x. I.C.y(0)=0,y′(0)=−1.
3. y′′−2y′+y=0; y1(x)=e^x,y2(x)=xe^x. I.C.y(0)=1,y′(0)=3.

Disease Terms Puzzle

When Patey Pontoons issued 4% bonds on January 1, 2018, with a face amount of $500,000, the market yield for bonds of similar risk and maturity was 5%. The bonds mature December 31, 2021 (4 years). Interest is paid semiannually on June 30 and December 31. (FV of $1, PV of $1, FVA of $1, PVA of $1, FVAD of $1 and PVAD of $1) (Use appropriate factor(s) from the tables provided.) Required: 1. Determine the price of the bonds at January 1, 2018. 2. Prepare the journal entry to record their issuance by Patey on January 1, 2018. 3. Prepare an amortization schedule that determines interest at the effective rate each period. 4. Prepare the journal entry to record interest on June 30, 2018. 5. What is the amount related to the bonds that Patey will report in its balance sheet at December 31, 2018? 6. What is the amount related to the bonds that Patey will report in its income statement for the year ended December 31, 2018? (Ignore income taxes.) 7. Prepare the appropriate journal entries at maturity on December 31, 2021.

When Patey Pontoons issued 4% bonds on January 1, 2021, with a face amount of $580,000, the market yield for bonds of similar risk and maturity was 5%. The bonds mature December 31, 2024 (4 years). Interest is paid semiannually on June 30 and December 31. (FV of $1, PV of $1, FVA of $1, PVA of $1, FVAD of $1 and PVAD of $1) (Use appropriate factor(s) from the tables provided.)

Required:
1. Determine the price of the bonds at January 1, 2021.
2. Prepare the journal entry to record their issuance by Patey on January 1, 2021.
3. Prepare an amortization schedule that determines interest at the effective rate each period.
4. Prepare the journal entry to record interest on June 30, 2021.
5. What is the amount related to the bonds that Patey will report in its balance sheet at December 31, 2021?
6. What is the amount related to the bonds that Patey will report in its income statement for the year ended December 31, 2021? (Ignore income taxes.)
7. Prepare the appropriate journal entries at maturity on December 31, 2024.

A particle moves once counterclockwise about the triangle with vertices (0, 0), (4, 0) and (1, 6), under the influence of the force F=xyi+xj. Calculate the work done by this force.

Parramore Corp has $12 million of sales, $1 million of inventories, $4 million of receivables, and $2 million of payables. Its cost of goods sold is 80% of sales, and it finances working capital with bank loans at an 8% rate. Assume 365 days in year for your calculations. Do not round intermediate steps.

1. What is Parramore's cash conversion cycle (CCC)? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to two decimal places.
2. If Parramore could lower its inventories and receivables by 12% each and increase its payables by 12%, all without affecting sales or cost of goods sold, what would be the new CCC? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to two decimal places.
3. How much cash would be freed up, if Parramore could lower its inventories and receivables by 12% each and increase its payables by 12%, all without affecting sales or cost of goods sold? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest cent. Write out your answer completely. For Example, 13.2 million should be entered as 13,200,000.
4. By how much would pretax profits change, if Parramore could lower its inventories and receivables by 12% each and increase its payables by 12%, all without affecting sales or cost of goods sold? Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer to the nearest cent. Write out your answer completely. For Example, 13.2 million should be entered as 13,200,000.

Question 4

Samdisk Ltd owns a property which was purchased on 1 January 2015 for $5,000,000, of which $1,000,000 was considered

to relate to the land on which the building is situated. The company has followed a policy of depreciating the buildings at the

rate of 5 percent on cost per annum. On 31 December 2017, the property was valued by a firm of chartered surveyors at

$4,000,000 of which $1,200,000 was considered attributable to the value of the land. The valuers further estimated that the

property possessed a remaining useful life of 30 years from 1 January 2018.

Required:

a Prepare journal entries with narratives for recording the relevant transactions for the year ended 31 December 2017 for this property.   

b Prepare journal entries with narratives for recording the depreciation charges for this property.

c Show the details relating to the property which would appear in the statement of financial position and statement of profit or loss on 31 December 2017 and 31 December 2018.