Skepsis Movement

🍒The most delicious logic error — cherry-picking.
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🧺Have you ever thought about the principle of harvesting cherries? When a person picks these berries, he chooses the best ones. Then he or she shows his friends a whole perfect basket of harvest. Further, they WRONGLY think that this year's cherry harvest is amazing. After all, they do not know how cherries are harvested, but they see only a beautiful result. This is where the expression “cherry-picking” comes from.
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🇫🇷The idea is to choose only those facts that support your point of view. Suppose a person does not like France. Then he will tell only negative facts about the country:
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💭⚡️“In France, trains and planes are delayed, the “yellow vests*” are protesting, flights are sometimes canceled. France is also a country of rats, which can be seen everywhere.”
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🤔In fact, the above statements about France are true. Transport is often delayed there, "yellow vests" show resentment through protests*, and rats can usually be found on the street.
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☝🏽But all these facts are negative, without considering the good characteristics. This is what “cherry-picking” looks like - choosing the most beautiful berries (arguments) for YOUR point of view.
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🦠Cherry picking is used by debate politicians, unscrupulous scientists, and the media.
The selective presentation of facts is not always intentional. Sometimes we want to believe in an idea, and we can unconsciously look for arguments confirming its value. To avoid cherry-picking in real life, slow down your argument formation. Think: “Perhaps I missed some facts in my story.”
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*[protest movement whose name comes from the workers' reflective vests]👷🏼‍♀️

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3 months ago

🖥 Information weapon: what is it?
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If you have never heard of it, get ready to find out. And if you have heard something, today we will tell you a little more.
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❕ An information weapon is a type of weapon used in information warfare. [Well, yes, — you say — now everything has definitely cleared up 🙃]
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📚 The fact is that war can be different. The one that is taught in history lessons is a traditional war, when both countries openly declare who the enemy is. During such a war, physical weapons are used to hit the enemy.
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🤯 In simple words, the struggle of an information war is not for the "body" of a person, but for the "mind". Information war is a war of meanings and ideologies. Bloodshed and destruction during such a war are not always present. The main goal is to manipulate and win over the opinion of the audience.
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📌 Therefore, a new "weapon" is used in such a war. It can be one of two types:
➖ technical [when, for example, in the parliament all the computers stop working at one moment due to a software virus];
➖ psychological [disorientation of people, intimidation of the masses].
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✉️ During the Second World War, information weapons were actively used to demoralize the enemy. The Germans sent letters of the following character to the soldiers of the French colonies:
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🖊 “Black soldiers! Lay down your weapons. They use you as cannon fodder. They take you to die outside your beautiful homeland. Your wives have remained under the rule of the oppressors. You shed your blood to keep them alive."
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💵 Besides the fact that information weapons are effective, they are also much cheaper than physical weapons, and they have no borders. You can write anything on the Internet, and it will be seen anywhere in the world.
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ℹ️ Fighting information weapons is difficult, but if you are studying critical thinking, then this is a clear plus. It is hard to influence a person who does not take everything at face value!
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If you are interested in this topic, leave a plus ➕ in the comments, and we will soon write a sequel.

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5 months ago

Ecology: From Catastrophic Action to Critical Thinking 🤔💚

Breaking myths about sustainable lifestyles 👇

Myth 1️⃣ "I have to be vegan!"
A plant-based diet has been proven to be one of the best ways to reduce your environmental impact. Therefore, it is not surprising that this misconception has arisen. However, there are many people who are unable to live a completely vegan lifestyle, whether for health, affordability, or a variety of other reasons — and that's okay.
But it's important to note that any reduction in meat and dairy consumption can help the environment. In fact, if you and tens of millions of other people cut their consumption of beef, pork and poultry by a quarter, it will save tens of millions of metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. Every action counts.

Myth 2️⃣ “I can't use plastic at all”
Reducing the amount of plastic waste is a great idea, the same as avoiding disposable items like plastic bottles. But should all plastic be avoided? No! The war on plastic can do more harm than good. Don't demonize plastic, but deliberately use it over and over again. Just try to avoid the extreme stages of recycling and disposal. The part of the plastic that is recycled often requires a lot of energy. This is necessary to melt the plastic and make it recyclable in new products. If you're worried about the effects of plastic pollution, you'd better get involved in beach cleaning and garbage collection rather than looking for alternatives to plastic.

Myth 3️⃣ "Sustainable living is expensive!"
Price plays a decisive role in our consumption. Yes, buying organic food and living a sustainable lifestyle comes with a lot of upfront costs. This is because the production of environmentally friendly quality products usually costs more. However, most of them should be bought only once and then reused or repurposed, giving them a second life. This will save you money in the long run. In addition, the lean towards zero waste means that you no longer pay a particular share for a package, which is often reflected in prices. Buying less is one of the rational principles of a sustainable lifestyle. What could be better for your wallet?

Myth 4️⃣ "Sustainable living is a waste of time!"
As you prepare to change your habits towards a sustainable lifestyle, you think it will take longer to complete your daily activities than before. Bringing lunch from home to the office does not take a lot of time. Anyway, you will go to buy a plastic-wrapped sandwich shortly before lunch. It's the same when you need to take an eco-bag, a reusable bottle, or a thermo-cup with you before going outside. You need to think about it in advance. And after a while, it will become a habit. If you feel like you're wasting a lot of time, don't panic! Get organized and plan your life. You will save money and time by avoiding stressful unplanned purchases that are bad for your finances.

Myth 5️⃣ "My one-time contribution does not matter!"
Realizing how much people have polluted our planet can make you feel hopeless and helpless. Don't complain about what others do wrong, and don't blame them for everything. Instead, take the initiative and realize that you are “capable of reacting” to your behavior. You have the ability to have a positive or negative impact on the environment. You can also have a positive or negative influence on others. Your contribution, however small it may be, is valuable!

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5 months ago

🦏 Why do we ignore obvious events?

🦢⚫️ You may have already heard about Nassim Taleb's Black Swan Theory. It describes events that are difficult to predict and have significant consequences. For example, the First World War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, or the 2008 World Crisis.

👀The black swan theory has received a lot of criticism lately. They say that in fact the situations are not so unpredictable, but quite obvious and probable. Everyone sees them, but we simply avoid them. Why? Because we are afraid to take the first steps towards their solution. This phenomenon has a name — The Theory of Gray Rhinoceroses.

❓At this point, you may already have at least two questions: "Why do all the names are related to animals?" and “Whatever is the name of the theory, why do I need all these metaphors?"

1. Animal associations are a telling example. It makes it easier to remember and parallel. The situation with the coronavirus today is called as visible and predictable as the gray rhinoceros attacking. China became the source of SARS back in the 2000s, but measures to prevent the situation in the future were not taken. The same is the situation with climate change. Therefore, the risks of rapid climate change, which can seriously affect our continued existence, are high.

2. The theory of gray rhinos can be applied in any area of life: both in politics and in everyday matters. Think about it: do you have visible problems that are being ignored?

☝🏽 Why do people avoid rhino problems?

✔️ We tend to pay more attention to positive news and skip negative news.

✔️ We are not serious about information that does not support our views.

✔️ We don't want to admit the problem because we don't like the steps to fix it.

🤔 In fact, when you start working with a problem, everything turns out to be not as scary as it seemed. It is just that imagination draws on the negative consequences and for us, they often exceed the positive ones.

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6 months ago