Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
I wanted to start by sharing a review that someone left in a comment on Facebook, and I apologize b/c I screenshot this comment but I seem to have cropped out the name of the person who said this! Here’s what they said: “Just so you know, listening to your podcast - and I’m not even through all the episodes - has already helped me be such a better debater. As I’ve been debating my friends on the recent topic of abortion, it has helped me see the fallacies in their arguments and respond accordingly. I’m not getting offended by ad hominems, but I recognize it as, “Wow, they have no good comeback so they are now attacking me!” Thank you so much for leaving a review and sharing how this podcast is helping you! I so appreciate hearing from my awesome listeners and how they’re becoming better thinkers as a result of learning these skills! If you haven’t left a review for this show yet, would you please do that real quick wherever you listen? I can’t tell you how much it helps me!
And a big thank you to this show’s sponsors, Classical Conversations. This is the homeschool program we’ve been using for over 10 years now, and it’s where I first learned about the Logical Fallacies! What we love is the emphasis on teaching students HOW to think, versus just focusing on WHAT to think. We love the community aspect & have met some of our best friends through CC! You can get two free downloadable e-books when you fill out the form at classicalconversations.com/gibbens that will give you more info about homeschooling, and about what on earth a classical education even is.
Alright, the new fallacy for today is a super simple one. It’s called the Alphabet Soup fallacy. Alphabet Soup is when someone uses lots of acronyms, technical language, buzzwords, figures & codes, or abbreviations in a conversation, or in a speech or in an argument… and they do it purposefully in order to confuse people or to make themselves feel & sound more knowledgeable and credible.
Here’s an example a politician might use: “I firmly support New Deal programs like CCC, TVA, NRA, FDIC, SSA, and WPA whereas my opponent openly doesn’t support programs that are designed to move our city into a new era of prosperity.”
Or how about this one: “We’ve got to leverage our synergy to make the paradigm really pop!” Really? What does that even mean?? It’s just a bunch of word salad that’s designed to sound like the person is up-to-date or knowledgeable, but doesn’t really mean anything. That’s the Alphabet Soup Fallacy.
The problem with this fallacy is probably pretty clear to you: just b/c someone uses fancy-sounding language doesn’t automatically make what they’re saying right. And it doesn’t automatically mean that they’re an expert and know what they’re talking about or should be trusted. They still need to make a valid argument for whatever it is they’re telling you. Sometimes people will weaponize language and jargon with the intent or puffing themselves up or creating confusion. This is what you have to be on guard against. When they’re resorting to this type of behavior, it’s usually b/c that’s all they got…they don’t have a good, solid argument for or against whatever they’re trying to convince you of.
Now, there is a caveat to this fallacy. Sometimes people do it innocently…they’re just not being mindful of their audience. When someone works in a jargon-heavy field, like the military, they get so used to using that specific language with those specific acronyms that it becomes second-nature. It’s almost like they’ve learned another language. Then, when they get around people who aren’t in the military or don’t know all the acronyms, they can forget that not everyone knows what they’re talking about! I know b/c my husband was in the Army and there is a TON of acronyms and technical language that they use. And when they use all those acronyms around other people in the military, it’s just how they communicate, and it’s even an efficient way to communicate, they’re not committing the Alphabet Soup fallacy.
It would be very common to hear him say something like this: “When is the HD TOT on the DZ? Have the PJ check with the DZSO for the G2” Ha! Did any of that make sense to you? Probably not, unless you were also in his particular branch of the Army. Well, what can happen is even when my husband is around people who aren’t and have never been in the military, it just comes out - not b/c he’s trying to impress or confuse them but because he’s just so used to using that language that it’s second nature. He usually catches himself and will use language that’s easier to understand. So I think a really important distinction in whether someone is really committing a fallacy is intent. Are they purposefully using Alphabet Soup to impress or give themselves credibility or was it just a mistake they made in not considering their audience?
So, the question to ask yourself when someone is using Alphabet Soup language is this: “Are they doing that to try to impress me or make themselves seem like an expert?” *repeat*
Remember: When you learn HOW to think, you will no longer fall prey to those who are trying to tell you what THEY want you to think and it all starts with asking one simple question: “Is that really true?”
