Hey what’s up Thinkers! Kathy Gibbens here…
I thought I’d start off today’s episode by sharing a review that a listener left for the podcast, which I really appreciate! This review is by MisterBMT. They say this: “This podcast is a thorough presentation of how to think and how to recognize bad thinking. I see bad thinking so much more at work than I used to see. I encourage everyone to listen because there is something in each of these podcasts for everyone to learn something new. And listen with your kids or grandkids. The next generation will benefit from this skill as well.” Thank you so much for leaving this review, thank you for listening, thank you for sharing it with the next generation and thank you for caring about good thinking! If you haven’t yet, would you take just a minute and leave a review wherever you listen? It means so much to me, and will help other people find this show!
Oh, and speaking of reviews, I’ve had two people reach out to me saying that I committed a fallacy in the show’s intro! Duh-duh-duh… And would you believe, they’re right about that…sort of. Do you want to pause real quick and go back and listen to the intro again and see if you figure out what it might be? So, in the intro, I do use hyperbole. Hyperbole is when someone makes an extravagant statement or uses a figure of speech for effect or added emphasis. We would normally not think that hyperbole statements are intended to be taken literally - and usually they aren’t - but sometimes they’re used with the hopes that they’ll be taken literally. In my intro I say “Everyone out there is trying to tell you WHAT to think…” and “This podcast will cause you to see bad thinking EVERYWHERE.” Ok, can you see how those statements can feel a little extravagant or extreme? Is it really true that EVERYONE is trying to tell you what to think or that bad thinking is EVERYWHERE? No, probably not. That is a good example of hyperbole!
Anyways,I talk about hyperbole in episode 192, so I’d encourage you to go back and listen to that episode. One of the things to be aware of with hyperbole is that it can be a fallacy, but it is also very commonly used in language & literature as a figure of speech…In episode 192 I give a list of examples of hyperbole which are so common in our everyday language that we hardly even notice them. Now, in my introduction, my intention was simply to use it as a figure of speech. What’s interesting is I recorded this introduction way back when I was just starting to teach the fallacies and I’ve learned so much researching for this podcast that now, after 200+ episodes, I would probably write that introduction differently! But what do you think? Did I commit a fallacy or did I just use a figure of speech? Send me an email and let me know! And by the way, I’m definitely not immune to committing fallacies - my daughter likes to call me out on them when she catches them! I’m actually thrilled that my awesome listeners heard that, picked up on it and let me know! That’s awesome! So it’s ok, the whole point is to continue learning & growing…and I’ll be sure I don’t have any when I record the new introduction for Season 2! In fact, I’m going to be doing a whole episode sometime soon titled “Do you have the critical thinking skills to admit when you’ve made a mistake?” Because, we’ve all done it and we’re all going to do it, nobody’s perfect, nor would I expect you to be. But we do need to be able to think about things as objectively as we can and admit when we may have made a mistake. It’s just part of being human.
I want to say a quick thank you to one of this show’s sponsors, CTC Math. Are you needing a clear, easy-to-follow math tutorial for your kids? CTC Math offers video tutorials that’s just like having a personal teacher. These videos ensure kids grasp concepts before they practice them. Interested in learning more? Just visit ctcmath.com. And see if this program can help make math learning more enjoyable and effective for your family.
Alright, let’s dive into today’s new fallacy, the Incomplete Comparison Fallacy. The Incomplete Comparison Fallacy happens when someone attempts to make a comparison between two things but leaves out some of the really important details. They’ll use words like ‘better’ or ‘worse’, or ‘more’ or ‘less’, but they don’t say what they’re comparing it to. We often hear this in advertisements.
Here’s a simple example of what this would sound like. You’re shopping in the grocery store and see a bag of chips that says, “50% less sodium!” Ok, can you see how they’re making a comparison….they’re saying this bag of chips has 50% less sodium, but they don’t say what it’s being compared to! Is it less sodium than how they used to make the chips? Than another brand? Than the industry average? Than a tomato? Than a salt lick? Now, most likely, if you looked closely at the bag of chips, you’d probably see a little asterisk and in some tiny lettering somewhere on the bag it would tell you what they’re comparing that to….but it’s hard to find and hard to read and they’re not making it easy to figure out what these chips have 50% less sodium than…they’re just trying to make the chips sound healthy.
The problem behind the Incomplete Comparison fallacy is that it makes the statement impossible to argue with. When someone says that this diet pill “makes people eat less” but doesn’t tell you what or who they ate less than, you have no way to refute that argument. For instance, if they said that the diet pill makes people eat less than chimpanzees, that’s not really saying much, is it? But if they said that the diet pill helped people eat less sugar than they were eating before, now you have a solid place to actually consider the comparison.
Another example of an Incomplete Comparison would be if I said, “Learning Russian is harder.” Well, that gives you no real information. To be an accurate comparison, I would have to say, “Learning Russian is harder than learning Spanish.”
So, the question to ask yourself if you think you’re facing an Incomplete Comparison is super simple: “Compared to what?”… *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?”
