Psychological Complication
Provincialism and partisan mindsets are modern manifestations of this ancient survival mechanism, where loyalty to the group overrides our ability to engage with outside perspectives.
What is herd instinct (tribalism)?
"We must either cut all social programs or our nation will face immediate bankruptcy."
What is a false dilemma (or false dichotomy)?
Premises are based on fact/scientific consensus. All information has been considered, including reasonable counterarguments. The conclusion follows the facts (even if we don't personally like them).
What are the tenets of cogent reasoning?
This fallacy is incredibly insidious because when accused of it, our instinct is to defend ourselves against the distorted claim, fearing that silence implies agreement. This prevents us from ever returning to the original, nuanced argument.
What is the straw man fallacy?
This is our vasectomy baby.
Who is Hayden?
While often used interchangeably, the lecture makes a key distinction between these two concepts: one is a fixed belief contrary to reality that thrives in echo chambers, while the other involves creating flawed, logical-sounding explanations to justify actions or beliefs.
What are delusion and rationalization?
A corporation launches a high-profile advertising campaign featuring its few diverse employees and donates to a relevant charity after being publicly criticized for discriminatory practices. The professor mentions this concept, warning against mistaking a symbolic gesture for genuine, systemic change, especially when it's done under scrutiny.
What is tokenism? (and how does it function as a fallacy by presenting a misleading appearance of virtue to avoid addressing a substantive issue?)
Beyond checking the date, author, and other sources, this is the ultimate goal of "going upstream" to find the original source of a claim.
What is to assess the original source's trustworthiness and see if it genuinely supports the information presented?
Welfare/unemployment programs lead to crime because giving people money without working creates a culture of dependence and criminality.
What is Begging the Question? (or circular reasoning)
This student has been an uncle since they were 2 years old.
Who is Gio?
This phenomenon, like seeing faces in inanimate objects, is used to illustrate our powerful and sometimes misleading evolutionary trait for pattern recognition.
What is pareidolia?
This highlights that individuals lacking expertise often fail to recognize their own incompetence, resulting in misplaced overconfidence (and stubbornness).
What is the Dunning-Kruger effect?
This free digital library allows fact-checkers to view archived versions of web pages to verify original context or find deleted content.
What is the Way-Back Machine? (What is the Internet Archive?)
"We should trust medical science on vaccines, but not when it tells us processed sugar is unhealthy."
What is the fallacy of inconsistency?
They are our two self-proclaimed art enthusiasts.
Who are LeAndrew and Noemi?
(Nakeo technically made a comment in a class and drew/wrote something in the attendance sheet but they are another answer in another question.)
The persistent belief that communism will eventually succeed despite historical failures, and that tax cuts will always spur growth despite contrary evidence, as examples of this cognitive error.
What is wishful thinking?
"A Nobel Prize-winning physicist questions the extent of human impact of automobiles on the environment, so the consensus isn't settled."
What is an Appeal to (Misleading) Authority?
Unlike "information bait" which creates curiosity, this specific type of sensational content relies on mockery and outrage cues to drive shares and comments, often exploiting political divides.
What is rage bait?
"Government surveillance of citizens is a tyrannical invasion of privacy that must be stopped immediately." In the very next breath, they propose, "We need to mandate that all social media companies provide the government with backdoor access to user data to catch criminals."
What is the fallacy of inconsistency, specifically a double standard (or what is the failure to apply the same standard)?
The most average person in the class.
Who is Nate?
When individuals convince themselves that minor personal actions like recycling are sufficient to solve climate change while continuing high-consumption lifestyles, they are engaging in this form of flawed reasoning.
What is self-deception?
The first tenet of fallacious reasoning; the opposite of the 1st tenet of cogent reasoning.
What is basing arguments on questionable/unreliable/flawed premises.
This is the opposite of questioning from a place of contrarianism (which seeks to disrupt or debate for its own sake).
What is to question with curiosity and desire for clarity, understanding, and perspective (or a genuine interest in the answers)?
In a debate about environmental policy, Person A argues, "We should gradually transition to renewable energy over the next two decades to protect both the economy and the planet." Person B then retorts, "So you want to shut down all fossil fuel industries tomorrow, throw millions of people out of work, and plunge our economy into darkness? That's reckless and unrealistic."
What is the straw man fallacy?
This person can move their bottom eyelids side to side.
Who is Nic?