This may or may not become a semi-regular feature on Fridays. It depends on how many fallacies I find interesting enough to write about.
I have been fascinated by the world of behavioral economics for several years now, and always enjoy learning something new, especially when it comes to our cognitive biases. Dan Ariely mentioned on is his most recent post – escalation of commitment – so I thought it would be fun to have a regular post that featured a different cognitive bias each week.
As I was searching for such a list (Wikipedia has quite a list), I came across a link to the concept of fallacies. According to Wikipedia, a fallacy is reasoning that is logically incorrect, undermines the logical validity of an argument, or is recognized as unsound.
So I started to scroll through the list and came across many fallacies that I found interesting. So I thought I would share some of those, perhaps on a periodic basis.
The first one I thought I would write about is known as “if by whiskey” – an argument that supports both sides of an issue by using terms that are emotionally sensitive and ambiguous.
The origin of the phrase is a classic example of doublespeak. Here is what Wikipedia offers:
The label if-by-whiskey refers to a 1952 speech by Noah S. “Soggy” Sweat, Jr., a young lawmaker from the U.S. state of Mississippi, on the subject of whether Mississippi should continue to prohibit (which it did until 1966) or finally legalize alcoholic beverages:[3]
My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey:
If when you say whiskey you mean the devil’s brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.
But, if when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman’s step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life’s great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.
This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.
Wow – this guy is good. I don’t know if I want to run to my closest bar and get a shot of whiskey, or to avoid the stuff at all cost.
He effectively appealed to both sides of the argument, it just depends what you mean by the word whiskey.
I’ll give it a shot here. If someone asked me how I feel about blogging every day, here’s how I might respond:
If by blogging you mean the opportunity to potentially share your thoughts with a larger audience than you would normally reach, or to virtually meet people from around the world, or to engage in thoughtful and entertaining dialogue with fellow bloggers from around the world and learn different points of view, or the opportunity to learn something new every day on a wide range of topics, then how could I not love blogging.
But, if by blogging you mean the pressure of having to come up with something new to write about every day, of the pressure to provide thoughtful, clever, and entertaining comments on other people’s posts as well as responding to comments on your own post, of the time devoted to blogging, sometimes amounting to 3-4 hours every day, of the sense of disappointment of pouring your heart and soul into a post only to have no one read or comment on it, then why would I bother blogging.
This is my stand on blogging. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.
Impressive stand. Now you have to come up with a handle better than Noah S. Soggy Sweat Jr
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that is quite the name, but at least he made it into Wikipedia!
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Don’t think it’s possible to top ol’ Soggy Sweat Jr 🤣
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that is a tough one to top… 🙂
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Probably not.
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Nice speech. I think you should run for President of the Blogosphere.
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I’ll need the support of your intergalactic followers….
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Oh sure, I’ll gladly endorse you and get them on your side. And what sort of cabinet post might you offer me?
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Pun Laureate…
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No, no, you’re not going to rope me into the Department of Puns, by calling me a Pun Lariate.
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Don’t string me along like this.
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I can’t help it. I’m Bad Noose.
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I’ll cut you some slack.
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Thanks. Just don’t leave me hanging.
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I would knot do that.
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How kind of you, just let me “roll my eyes ” 🙂
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still no head smack… I must try harder… 🙂
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I am too tired to smack my head today. LOL! Or it could be that I just am purposely not giving you the pleasure. 😛
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probably a little of both…
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Wouldn’t that be a ahame if he did!
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No, it would be very sad. Just thinking about it makes me choke up.
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That is true! LOL!
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Hmmm…..you could have an interesting idea for a Friday feature. 🙂
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hopefully, then it would be one less thing to think about on Friday 🙂
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And you can always use less to think about, right? Can’t strain those brain cells too much! 😄
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if I live to 150, I’ll need those brain cells…
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LOL! True!
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🙂
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I totally agree with your position on Blogging. You have the courage of your convictions and you are willing to stand up and be counted, no matter how many “likes” you might lose. Please like this comment and go to my site and pepper it with clever comments but not so clever that you upstage me.
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you’ll never have to worry about my comments upstaging anyone; they are more blathery than my posts…
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Not true, your comment on my Almost Never post this morning totally upstaged me. Everyone at my last Blathers Anonymous meeting felt that blathering is an underappreciated acquired taste.
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yes, blathering often gets misunderestimated. that’s why I started a blog to bring it the recognition it deserves…
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You are quite proficient at this. Have you considered a career in politics? So many politicians are good at taking both sides of an issue to the point that I wonder where they really stand.
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it’s no surprise that this saying is based on a politiican’s speech….
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Ha! But Jim everything in life has pros and cons. Whiskey can be good and useful in the hands of the majority, but becomes a vice in the hands of the minority [hopefully] who have no self discipline. Most abuses of things in life boil down to a lack of self discipline in my [esteemed – hehe] opinion.
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well said, Robbie. lack of self-discipline lies at the heart of many problems…
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If by whiskey seems like a clever way to cause confusion. I guess that works for politicians. Friday Fallacy sounds like fun.
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politicians are masters of If By Whiskey. Hopefully I can get a few more Friday Fallacies posted…
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I heartily agree with both sides of your argument Jim and look forward to you applying your skills to the motor car or air travel!
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those topics might be beyond my skill set 🙂
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I like this idea for a series. I have always enjoyed having a better understanding of our behavior. I love the political ambiguity of taking both sides of an argument. This is the pitfall of any educated discussion. The most important part is to first agree on the definition of the subject you are speaking to. Hope to see future post in this series!
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I think lawyers have to have this ability as well; to argue for whatever side is paying them…
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I am all for this and I think this would be a fun read and make a rollicking series and a mood-lifter, inspiring others to create their own blog series if you choose to continue it, however if you choose not to continue it I am all for that, as who needs to read a rollicking series that makes one’s own posts look lame?
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now I’m so confused 🙂
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maybe I didn’t do it right?)
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you did it quite well – they should rename the phrase after you 🙂
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You’ve already converted one follower, Jim. Beth is as good at doublespeak as you are.🤣
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I’m not sure I’m so good at it. Jim told me it left him confused)
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and that’s the goal of doublespeak. so now you are officially a member of the Doublespeakers Club of America, one of the few non-politicians in the group… 🙂
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Yes!!! Or no!!!’
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my thoughts exactly…
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yes, I was quite impressed, and confused. Which is the goal…
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This sounds like a good idea for a regular series, Jim. I’d never heard the phrase ‘if by Whisky’ before but old Soggy had a point. Typical of a politician to not answer a straight question, though.
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not surprising that the saying originated from a politican’s speech…
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Masters of the art of talking a lot but saying nothing…
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sounds like my blog…
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Mine too 😂
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🙂
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Dang. Three cheers for Soggy Sweat! Now that’s politics.
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Soggy had the gift…
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Brilliant, Jim..looking forward to the next post :)…could also be an idea for Saturday Snippets 🙂 x
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thanks, Carol! snip away… 🙂
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Haha, I may do..quite a lot of variety connected to the name whiskey/whisky …:) x
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indeed there is…
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Hello jim! Not been around for a while. Glad to come back and read this delicious wee post. And i agree about blogging. Cheers laddie!
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good to see you back, Peter! glad you enjoyed the post. Cheers!
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Excellent Jim as they say “One man’s meat is another man’s poison” both of you very eloquent on the subject of both whisky and blogging and you can advocate for my right to chocolate, ice-cream and tequila anytime.. xx
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thanks, Sally. Have you ever combined the chocolate, ice cream, and tequila? 🙂
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Oh yes you end up with an ice-cream headache, eased by the tequila and the chocolate leaves you with a smile on your face…x
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sounds like it would all be worth it…
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lol..x
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👍
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Ah, logical fallacy, the kissing cousin of the specious argument. I work in higher education, so I know them both well.
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as do I! 🙂
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😀
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Brilliant arguments Jim. Just shows there’s two sides to every coin. 🙂
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and politicians are masters at talking out of both sides of their mouth… 🙂
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Lol, I could think of a better terminology, but we’ll leave it at both side of mouth LOL 🙂
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yes, we could 🙂
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🙂
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Reblogged this on Die Erste Eslarner Zeitung – Aus und über Eslarn, sowie die bayerisch-tschechische Region!.
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Another interesting effect. Really well-explained, Will definitely add this to the list of fallacies to watch out for
Also hope you can make this a regular series, it’s really interesting to know about these different mental models, since they really can be useful in everyday life. I’ve also made some posts on fallacies and psychological effects as well, that I learned from a book called ‘Super Thinking’, which I really, highly recommend if you find this kind of stuff interesting
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thanks for the book recommendation; I will check it out. sounds right up my alley…
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