There's a form of dishonesty that goes beyond lying. It discards the concepts of truth and falsehood in favor of advantage and disadvantage. It makes statements which no one could think were true, yet "believes" them because they give a feeling of virtue or power.
#sanityProject
There are thinkers. There are lazy thinkers. And then there are anti-thinkers. garymcgath.com/anti-thinkers/
#sanityProject
Overgeneralization is a very common fallacy. I was talking with someone who said "the Somalis" scammed people. I corrected him to "Somalis" scammed people. It may or may not have done any good. #sanityProject
When a controversial person is murdered, these ten things should be obvious.
garymcgath.com/should-be-ob...
#sanityProject
If you want to convince people to change their mind instead of "owning" them, read these six rules. garymcgath.com/wp/six-rules... #sanityProject
This video by SciManDan is nominally about answering Flat Earthers, but it's excellent advice for addressing any views you consider ridiculous. People constantly violate all six of his rules and think they're "owning" their opponents. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Dmu...
#sanityProject
Just saw a lovely instance of begging the question in a LinkedIn comment directed at me. The argument: People born in the US to non-citizens are "illegals." Therefore they are not citizens. Therefore the 14th Amendment vanishes in a puff of smoke. #sanityProject
People who believe awful things are more often motivated by the desire to fit in than by hatred and malice. It might actually be easier to change the minds of people who base their ideas on hatred. #sanityProject
People make posts that will only antagonize anyone who isn't already in full agreement with the point they're advocating. When they're told it's empty virtue signaling, they respond, "Are you saying I shouldn't let people know how virtuous I am?"
#sanityProject
Poster children and poster villains are effective because our brains are better at dealing with particulars than aggregates. Point out "An Elbonian committed a crime" and people will remember it. Say "Fewer Elbonians than the general population committed crimes" and they'll forget. #sanityProject
I got fooled by the claims that Colossal had brought back the dire wolf. I admit it. #sanityProject
Quote-posting dumb and nasty posts helps to publicize them. Better — for spreading good ideas as well as feeling better about life — is to help publicize good posts and articles. #sanityProject
In most cases, "A isn't technically B" can be shortened to "A isn't B" with no change in meaning. However, "A is technically B" more often means "A is B if you really fudge your definitions."
#sanityProject
People who know a lot about a subject will hedge their comments to take into account the exceptions and edge cases. People who know a little find it easier to make confident, sweeping pronouncements. #sanityProject
Is there a term for ascribing all bad things to a single cause? "Devil theory" means something different. #sanityProject
Count the number of times you've said something like "Have you been drinking the Kool-Aid?" or "You idiot!" and the person you addressed said, "Oh, right, now I see where I got it wrong!" If it's greater than zero, let me know.
#sanityProject
This video says so much that I've been trying to say. I don't know why she expresses such hesitancy about it; her followers must be an odd bunch of people.
#sanityProject
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqel...
If you post something with an error on social media, the odds of being corrected are usually low. This can lead to confirmation bias through silence. I've caught myself at that. #sanityProject
Bug Hotel
@gaspatient.bsky.social
My Bug Hotel
🐞🐛🦟🪲🪳🕷️
A work in progress, & not as pretty as the polished pics I see lol
Still waiting for more things to thaw out so I can add more rooms
This is therapeutic af & is helping save my sanity rn
#BugHotel
#SanityProject
#GardensAreLife 🌱
When reading an article on an important topic, pay attention not only to what it says but what it doesn't say. #sanityProject
Slippery slope, Mandela effect, excluded middle. It's valuable to know about these fallacies — and to avoid incorrectly invoking them. garymcgath.com/wp/misuse-of...
#philosophy #sanityProject
If bad people like what you do, it may help them to be less bad. Hostility is a necessary cost of being principled, but it's not something to seek out. #sanityProject
If a video making unlikely claims supports its thesis with five-second clips of people saying things, the odds are high it's trying to pull one over on you. #sanityProject
If you claim to be against hate while yelling "F___ you" at your audience, you don't come across as plausible. #sanityProject
Here's a trivia quiz from me on logical fallacies. I'm sure some of you can help raise the average score (appeal to flattery). www.funtrivia.com/quiz/humanit...
#sanityProject
People have evolved to be sensitive to danger warnings. It's better to mistakenly think five times there's a snake than to miss one venomous snake. This is why scare campaigns are so effective. #sanityProject
If you're convinced something is true, any new evidence for it will look very plausible, any evidence against it not so much. #sanityProject
There is no such thing as "your truth." Truth is not proprietary. #sanityProject
Occasionally defend someone who you don't like but is right in the current situation. #sanityProject
Accusing others of name-calling and then immediately engaging in it yourself generally is a bad plan. #sanityProject
Since terms have to be clear in discussions like these: by "name-calling" I mean using emotional or hyperbolic terms. Calling Hitler a Nazi isn't name-calling.
