There's a particular logical fallacy that I see people influenced by all the time but few people seem to recognize it or understand why it's a bad way of thinking.
It's called Misleading Vividness (http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/misleading-vividness.html) (aka the anecdote argument)
Here's how it works: someone tells a dramatic and gripping story, usually about something horrible happening to someone. The story is usually true. The audience fallaciously assumes this is more common than it really is, so the audience take-away is that this is a real problem and something must to be done about it! (for the children)
Politicians love stories. Preachers love stories. And the media especially loves stories. Every week, they run a piece very similar to the one I'm going to give you now.
Here's my example. This is completely fictional, just off the top of my head.
Fred was a kindly old man who regularly fed squirrels. The squirrels would follow him around all the time, eating the nuts he throws on the grass. One day, a particularly aggressive squirrel crawls on his hand and eats right from his hand. It eats and eats, nibbling more and more roughly. Then it bites him, drawing blood. Fred tries to shake the squirrel off, but it holds on tight. The other squirrels follow suit and Fred is overpowered in a swarm of squirrels frenzied by the taste of blood. The next day, a horrified jogger discovers Fred's skeleton. Think about that the next time you feed squirrels!
The problem with this story, even if it were true, is that this is not a common occurrence. It's not even an uncommon occurrence. It's rare af. If you feed the squirrels, they're very, very, very unlikely to harm you.
But the cautionary tale about Fred is still somewhat convincing. Why? Because you can picture it happening.
Because it introduces that sliver of doubt that something bad might happen. Because it likely has happened. You weigh the possibility of nothing happening and something terrible happening a lot more equally than they should be weighed because all you have to go on are your own experiences and tales of other people's experiences. And it's one of those tough arguments to defend against because to resist it you seemingly have to call Fred's widow a liar.
Now let me tell you about some teens who committed suicide because of a satanic rock album. Or the shark attack that happened right near the beach you're planning on going to. Or that teen who played video games 23 hours a day for weeks and died from a heart attack. Or that guy who got licked by a few dogs and ended up having his legs and hands amputated.
Can you imagine? You likely can and are.
Isn't the world so fraught with peril? Aren't you scared? Well, you shouldn't be. Because you're on Scare Tactics.
My amygdala isn't working overtime, so no, not scared. ;-)
This is a very common type of stories among the religious. Making up a story that is somewhat credible but only relates to one out of a billion and therefore suggests that it happens far more often if only you believed.
Quote from: aitm on August 29, 2018, 07:15:50 PM
This is a very common type of stories among the religious. Making up a story that is somewhat credible but only relates to one out of a billion and therefore suggests that it happens far more often if only you believed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTTxywB7b_U
Y'all are just Egyptians worshipping false gods ;-)
The real event ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErOitC7OyHk
Well, Hydra, I don't know................I mean, yeah, it is probably not true.....................but, well, I mean, I've seen that story, and several like it, on TV, on the net, twitter, and well, lots of other places. It could be true......................., I mean, squirrels are animals after all. And I've seen it so many places and it does have a ring of truth in it. And it does not hurt to be cautious and all. I'm just going to play it safe and kick all the squirrels I see from now on. That's getting kind of close--throw rocks instead I think.
Ha! Kicking a squirrel is like trying to catch a hummingbird with your bare hands - they're just too fast! Either that, or they'll chew your leg off...
Quote from: Unbeliever on August 30, 2018, 01:41:31 PM
Ha! Kicking a squirrel is like trying to catch a hummingbird with your bare hands - they're just too fast! Either that, or they'll chew your leg off...
It's the latter I'm worried about.
Quote from: Mike Cl on August 30, 2018, 01:36:56 PM
Well, Hydra, I don't know................I mean, yeah, it is probably not true.....................but, well, I mean, I've seen that story, and several like it, on TV, on the net, twitter, and well, lots of other places. It could be true......................., I mean, squirrels are animals after all. And I've seen it so many places and it does have a ring of truth in it. And it does not hurt to be cautious and all. I'm just going to play it safe and kick all the squirrels I see from now on. That's getting kind of close--throw rocks instead I think.
I watched a neighbor's cat chase a squirrel. A squirrel and cat are evenly matched in speed, it seems. They tore around another neighbor's house and out of sight at full speed. Then I heard the cat screaming. I don't know if it was a fear scream or an attack scream, but it sounded real bad for one of them.
Sharpest teeth I have encountered was from my mother's pet ferret. Like a furry piraña.
Stories, true or not once, have a way of becoming generally true and common among Really Stupid People. And they seem (to me) to be the generally religious sort. Simple of mind, easily bewildered, likely to believe anything told to them by GODLY fable-spinners, fearful of death and the Hell that surely awaits them if they so much as sneeze in church, watchful for demonic neighbors, etc, etc, etc...
I bet most church-goers don't really believe, but they feel they must be seen to believe or be ostracized from their community.
Quote from: Unbeliever on September 08, 2018, 03:27:56 PM
I bet most church-goers don't really believe, but they feel they must be seen to believe or be ostracized from their community.
That might actually be the very thing that disturbs my nightmares. That almost no one actually believes that crap and so few will admit it.
"The emperor has no clothes", the child shouted...,
Quote from: Unbeliever on September 08, 2018, 03:27:56 PM
I bet most church-goers don't really believe, but they feel they must be seen to believe or be ostracized from their community.
I've suspected the same thing, but that might be from my personal experience with religion. I would add that being ostracized was minimal in my case. I really did want to believe, and I could regurgitate the catechism, and make a good showing, but the big problem was that I couldn't believe. I said I did, but that was more because I didn't want to disappoint. Going with the flow just seemed right. I questioned things, even to my pastor, but the answers were always lacking. I found nothing definitive in them. Going with the flow might be a fear of being ostracized, but I was never obstinate enough to warrant that. It's a fine line between lying about my deeper ruminations and fudging, I suppose. But I couldn't get over the hump. I don't have faith in anything and that is the key. I don't even have faith in science. I believe much of that which has solid evidence, but some parts of quantum mechanics and theoretical physics, I'm not so sure about. I have a feeling the big science guys are on the right track, but that's not faith. At best, it's only the best bet.
Quote from: Cavebear on September 08, 2018, 03:58:05 PM
That might actually be the very thing that disturbs my nightmares. That almost no one actually believes that crap and so few will admit it.
"The emperor has no clothes", the child shouted...,
When I was little, that story was either read to me in class or was one of the stories in our reader. My first and lasting impression was that this story was about religion. To me it was the perfect metaphor, even though at the time, I had never heard of a metaphor. Just like the story, I thought religion was all about fooling ourselves. Now, I might concede that the metaphor was about the power of peer pressure. But it's the same thing.
Hey, you never know about squirrels (http://www.greysquirrel.net/fred.html)... I can personally vouch for this story, I well remember the local news coverage when it charged a Westerville police officer, who shot it three times. It kept coming after the first two shots. When a vet did a post-mortem on it, there was no trace of rabies or any other gross physical defect. The final diagnosis was "That was just one mean squirrel."
Quote from: SGOS on September 08, 2018, 04:09:14 PM
When I was little, that story was either read to me in class or was one of the stories in our reader. My first and lasting impression was that this story was about religion. To me it was the perfect metaphor, even though at the time, I had never heard of a metaphor. Just like the story, I thought religion was all about fooling ourselves. Now, I might concede that the metaphor was about the power of peer pressure. But it's the same thing.
In England, the King is the head of the Church. In that case, both a thing of religion and of politics.
Quote from: trdsf on September 08, 2018, 06:26:37 PM
Hey, you never know about squirrels (http://www.greysquirrel.net/fred.html)... I can personally vouch for this story, I well remember the local news coverage when it charged a Westerville police officer, who shot it three times. It kept coming after the first two shots. When a vet did a post-mortem on it, there was no trace of rabies or any other gross physical defect. The final diagnosis was "That was just one mean squirrel."
Female defending nest?
Quote from: SGOS on September 08, 2018, 04:09:14 PM
When I was little, that story was either read to me in class or was one of the stories in our reader. My first and lasting impression was that this story was about religion. To me it was the perfect metaphor, even though at the time, I had never heard of a metaphor. Just like the story, I thought religion was all about fooling ourselves. Now, I might concede that the metaphor was about the power of peer pressure. But it's the same thing.
When we are young, we don't have a well-developed concept of "others". So when they say things, we worry they might be right. And when some peers strongly state things about religion, we tend to go along with the confident ones.
Some of us don't to begin with, and some of us learn to think for ourselves, understanding slowly that "confidence" doesn't mean knowledge and that claims aren't always true.
And BTW, I bet atheists don't fall for advertisements the way most religious people do. I sometimes watch them to see where the trickery is, but other than that, I just ignore them. I'm pretty much immune.
Quote from: Cavebear on September 12, 2018, 05:32:13 AM
When we are young, we don't have a well-developed concept of "others". So when they say things, we worry they might be right. And when some peers strongly state things about religion, we tend to go along with the confident ones.
Some of us don't to begin with, and some of us learn to think for ourselves, understanding slowly that "confidence" doesn't mean knowledge and that claims aren't always true.
And BTW, I bet atheists don't fall for advertisements the way most religious people do. I sometimes watch them to see where the trickery is, but other than that, I just ignore them. I'm pretty much immune.
I have usually been immune to advertisements too. Freethinking ... not just atheism. Otherwise, a good description.
I never have to worry about advertisements, since I have no money with which to buy the crap they're selling anyway.
Quote from: Unbeliever on September 12, 2018, 01:39:14 PM
I never have to worry about advertisements, since I have no money with which to buy the crap they're selling anyway.
Nothing is too cheap for even the poor to buy (sugar calorie-wise). Otherwise, they wouldn't be sold. I remember penny candy. Really, candy sugar dots on paper strips. And pixie straws.
Quote from: Cavebear on September 12, 2018, 03:06:13 PM
Nothing is too cheap for even the poor to buy (sugar calorie-wise). Otherwise, they wouldn't be sold. I remember penny candy. Really, candy sugar dots on paper strips. And pixie straws.
I remember that too, but I had forgot about the sugar dots. They weren't my favorites, but it was fun to pick them of the strip of paper.
Quote from: SGOS on September 12, 2018, 03:10:49 PM
I remember that too, but I had forgot about the sugar dots. They weren't my favorites, but it was fun to pick them of the strip of paper.
Remember the necklace candies? You could walk around eating a day of sugar in one hour. No wonder we were skinny; we were hyper all day!
We only got that stuff when visiting the grandparents each Summer. And we had to walk past a horse manure barn (phew!) to get to the candy store with our nickle, so I guess we earned it.
Don't forget that the greatest quarterback who ever played the game was the holy man himself..Tim Tebow. He set every modern record for the position and single handedly saved football for generations of god fearing football players..
Don't believe it? Just ask any Tebow fanatic..
Quote from: AllPurposeAtheist on October 04, 2018, 01:37:37 AM
Don't forget that the greatest quarterback who ever played the game was the holy man himself..Tim Tebow. He set every modern record for the position and single handedly saved football for generations of god fearing football players..
Don't believe it? Just ask any Tebow fanatic..
Tim Who?