Sol's Culture Wars

Groupthink is an intensely personal, complicated bias everyone experiences, from playground to workplace to burial ground. We're always group beings. "No man is an island" John Donne writes, and the big movie, Ten Angry Men effectively examines dynamics in groups of compelling pressured outcomes. Independent thinking can be extremely stressful. Groups may affect good judgement, be wary.

Slippery Slope is a common fallacy that has its own momentum, often based on fear. Arguments that declare how if A happens, then Z will happen are self-defining, weak thru unproven assuming, and often articulating a dreaded result far from likely. For example since, oh, let's say always, many dopey backward men thought that recognizing women's rights would be a slippery slope towards female dominance. Of course, some slippery slopes may be true. 😎

Appeal to Emotion: this is a viscerally motivated fallacy, where an attempt is made to persuade opinion by stressing feelings over rational facts, or logical analysis. Emotion over reason can be a gripping ploy to distract away from critical details. The mainstream media at this 2021 moment in time is framing their coverage of the Israeli and Palestinian fighting to subtly suggest the suffering is all in Gaza. There is an appeal for mercy and empathy, but certain contextual facts are absent: IDF pre-announces and notifies its action to minimize civilian injury. And this warning is done after the Hamas staging of missile launchers from homes, hospitals, scools, and mosques. Be wary of appeals to emotion that purposefully omit big picture facts, this fallacy is used by all.

Halo Effect is another example of a nearly universal bias we all have in so many different situations, almost any time a likeable person influences us. Our judgment may be impaired if we like someone too much to be truly objective. This can be disastrous, if major decisions or choices aren't analyzed accurately. Agreement without exception may also be a time to reflect, perhaps reassess. Everyone likes a swindler, at first.