Enron #3

1. What does Gladwell mean when he says that, 'Puzzles are "transmitter-dependent"; they turn on what we are told. Mysteries are "receiver dependent"; they turn on the skills of the listener.'?

When Gladwell says that puzzles are transmitter dependent because in order to figure out the end result of a puzzle the outcome is completely dependent on the person who made it, not the person who is solving it. Mysteries are receiver dependent since it is up to the receiver to understand the information and be able to find the outcome.

2. Why didn't Enron have to pay taxes on their S.P.E.'s? What would be Enron's defense? Can you name the Illogical Fallacy present?

Enron was able to get away without paying taxes on its S.P.E’s because it wasn’t real money, so it couldn’t be taxed. Enrons defense was that they could still post it as a gain in the stock market, since they would eventually make the money. The Fallacy would be Equivocation because the idea of earnings is viewed in two different ways here. The IRS looks as earnings as something that is real or tangible while the stock market does not.

3. Did Enron try to hide the fact that they weren't paying taxes?

Enron tried to hide the fact that they weren’t paying taxes because people would start to question why, and learn about all of the “fake money” being made in S.P.E’s

4. Why does Gladwell claim that, 'Woodward and Bernstein would never have broken the Enron story.' Why don't you think anyone asked about Enron's financial statements? Is there a fallacy at work here?

Gladwell claims that ‘Woodward and Bernstien would have never broken the Enron story’ because he feels that they only had the pieces to put the puzzle that were given to them from a source. Woodward and Bernstein would have had to interpreted the information that was given to them, since Enron is a mystery not a puzzle. I think no one questioned Enron’s finical statements because they were such a large and trusted company. This is a fallacy of circular reasoning.

5. Gladwell claims that, 'Mysteries require that we revisit our list of culprits and be willing to spread the blame a little more broadly. Because if you can't find the truth in a mystery—even a mystery shrouded in propaganda—it's not just the fault of the propagandist.It's your fault as well.' Do you agree with the implications of this statement?

I do agree with this statement. In a mystery it is up to the people who are solving it to find the truth. If all the information is there for it to be solved, but no one is willing to search hard enough for the truth, then it is his or her fault as well. Since they are letting whatever happen happen while the information is right there.

6. What was the advice of the Cornell students to anyone who held Enron stock?

The advice of the Cornell students to anyone who held Enron stock was to sell it right away since their investigation started to show that there was something strange and not right for the company to have grown so quickly