Rational Crank

Have you ever sat and listened to a person drone on about a subject they know nothing about? This week’s Fallacy is so easy, it’s stupid. It’s also the one that is the hardest to accept in ourselves. It’s called THE DUNNING KRUGER EFFECT. It’s based on research done at Cornell University that showed that the less competent  someone is on a subject,  the worse they are at assessing their level of  in competence  in that subject.   The reverse is also true.  The more competent a person is, in a subject, the less competent they tend to judge themselves to be. Author, Charles Bukowski   puts it best, “ The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.”  With that in mind, I would like to state, here and now, for the record, that I never know what I am talking about (wait  a second, is that a humblebrag?)

ME-It’s time for Fallacy Friday FACEBOOK- Oh great! Another lecture from less-cool-Urkel.  ME- Today’s fallacy is the “Ad Hominem” attack. FACEBOOK- ad hominem? Is that Latin for “you didn't date in high school?” ME-No, It refers to the practice of attacking the person making an argument, rather than attacking that person's argument itself. FACEBOOK-I saw you attacking a box of donuts this morning. ME-The attacks could be a crude, like the ones above, or they could be something more subtle. FACEBOOK-You weren’t subtle with those donuts. ME-attacking the way someone dresses or passing on an unflattering pictures of a person, can also be considered an ad hominem attack and should be avoided. The problem is, we all do this, all the time. Take a look at the FaceBook posts on this page. I guarantee that most of the political posts contain at least one ad hominem.  I understand that it is sometimes satisfying to call your opponent naive or stupid but really that kin...

 Why would anyone be in favor of a drug that leads to violence, murder and debauchery? Ok so maybe the debauchery isn’t so bad…BUT THE REST! This Friday’s Logical Fallacy is the Straw Man. This is when a person argues against a warped or distorted version of your argument instead of addressing your true argument itself. They do this because it’s easier to argue against a false or oversimplified version of your point or to disregard your strong points in favor of attacking some minor throwaway line that you made. Don’t you just hate it when they do that! THOSE BASTARDS! Now here’s the sucky part of this lesson. How many times do you think you have done this to another person? When you find yourself in a h̶e̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶d̶e̶b̶a̶t̶e̶ friendly discussion try arguing against that persons STRONGEST POINT. If you can take on their strongest point, and still be successful it’s a better indicator that you yourself are on the correct side of the argument. Since arguing against your oppon...

FALLACY FRIDAY- Many times we debate with people, not to change THEIR minds, but to hopefully plant a seed of rationalism in the minds of the other people listening in on the conversation. We hope that some day that seed of rationalism will grow into a tall logic tree, which will, in turn, lead to a mighty forest of critical thinking. To that end, today we are going to talk about The GISH GALLOP . The term comes from a tactic frequently used by Duane Gish, a creationist who, during debates, would rattles off a laundry list of assertions, most of which were half truths and lies. He knew it was impossible to address all of his lies in the time allotted, so many of his claims would go unchallenged in the minds of the audience.   I fall for this debate trick at parties all the time. Faced with a long list of assertions I’ll take time meticulously deconstruct the first couple of claims. Meanwhile my opponent and everyone else listening, have moved on to the buffet table, leaving...

HI TO ALL MY FRIENDS! I’m going to try something new. I’m calling it FALLACY FRIDAY.    Every Friday for the next few weeks, I’m going to pick one logical fallacy and try to explain it. A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning that makes a particular line of an argument invalid. To start off, let’s talk about a fallacy called the Slippery Slope Logic Fallacy (SSLP).    We have all heard it. If we allow some small event (A) then it’s a slippery slope to some horrible future dystopia (D). To break it down a little more what the person doing all the talking is actually arguing is that, if we allow event A to occur, it will lead to B, which will lead to C which will lead to dystopia D. For a Slippery Slope argument to actually be valid, the person making the argument must prove that A will INEVITABLY lead to B, which will INEVITABLY lead to B and so on. You see I capitalized "INEVITABLE" it doesn't mean I'm yelling. It just means that part is important. If they can’t ...

In this episode The Conspiracy Game takes on the pinnacle of photo journalism ... the Weekly World News. Plus, were we all flim-flamed by the movie Lincoln. MP3 File Dawn Roa http://www.dawnroephotography.com/DawnRoe/Links.html Window http://windowcontemporary.org/WINDOW/HOME.html Click on the break to see the Conspiracy Game's Weekly World News Headlines.

This episode we talk about photography, touching dead civil war soldiers and how you can become a holy relic.   MP3 File Dawn Roa http://www.dawnroephotography.com/DawnRoe/Links.html Window http://windowcontemporary.org/WINDOW/HOME.html

  Is Iron Man a Humanist? Who does the Joker Pray to? Are the Wonder Twins members of the Church of Latter Day Saints? In this episode we talk about the religious beliefs of superheros. MP3 File Julian Chambliss: http://myweb.rollins.edu/jchambliss/Julian_C._Chambliss/Homepage.html Rachel Simmons: http://rachelsimmons.net/

You can be a Super Hero. Today we talk to Julian Chanbliss, History Professor at Rollins College about caped crusaders and their role in society.... WONDER TWIN POWERS ACTIVATE MP3 File Julian Chambliss: http://myweb.rollins.edu/jchambliss/Julian_C._Chambliss/Homepage.html Rachel Simmons: http://rachelsimmons.net/

  Remember when Princes Diana was going to marry President Clinton? No, then listen to this episode of the conspiracy game - also, the Jeopardy computer and burning documents for your job. MP3 File

  Not quite an episode, here is an update of the Earth Day Project we were talking about in the last episode. A new episode is coming out Saturday. Stay tuned. MP3 File

This episode the conspiracy game is all about aliens. And we talk about the art scene in Orlando and finish with a warehouse full of miniature shampoo bottles. MP3 File Brendan O'Connor and The Sit Project: http://www.thesitproject.com/ Clean The World: http://www.cleantheworld.org/ Urban ReThink: http://urbanrethink.com/ Paper Mushrooms: http://blogs.orlandoweekly.com/index.php/2013/03/doug-rhodehamel-creates-his-50000th-paper-bag-mushroom/

Our recent trip of New Orleans naturally leads to a discussion of vomitoriums...plus The Conspiracy Game MP3 File

This episode we talk about the duality of mankind, sleeping with Angela Merkel, and findings eyes in your yogurt. That's a scary picture. MP3 File

Happy holidays everyone.

This week we talk about ten MORE commandments, x rated candid camera, and the national security threat that is Yarn Bombing. Plus the conspiracy game takes a trip to the most evil place on the planet, the Denver International Airport. MP3 File

The Rational Cranks is in the middle of the holiday rush.   Another episode of T he Late Night Snack is on its way, I promise.   Until then, ladies and gentlemen I present to you, my Sketchup model of the Alpha 7, from Barbarella .   This is my nomination for the WORSE spaceship ever designed for film.   It’s so bad that, it is unclear, in the move, as to which end is the front of the ship. It is so bad that when the ship is preparing to take off, those white spheres, on what I assume are the engines, begin to inflate and deflate in a pulsating rhythm like balloons, RUBBER BALLONS! It made me feel dirty to watch it.   It’s a good thing Jane Fonda was in the movie or else I don’t think I could have gotten through it.   Ironically, with wall to wall shag carpet, a mural of Seurat's Grande Jatte and Circus and a kinetic art computer named Alfie, this abomination contained the BEST spaceship cockpit ever designed for film.

What does rising sea levels mean to Miami Beach? Will the taxpayer have to pay more to save million dollar hotels or do we all get to go door to door in motor boats? The World is coming to an end, or is it?   MP3 File

This episode we discuss, James Bond, the Ten Commandments, and Francis the talking Highlander. We also have an exciting new conspiracy game - can you guess who is the Antichrist? And to our tens of listeners we need your help. Can anyone tell us what is in the breast pocket on the mummified body of Bertrand Russell? MP3 File

Piss Christ, Hagar the Horrible, and Candid Camera - this time the Late Night Snack talks about Art and Religion.   And what would prompt Rachel to say “You had me at glow-in-the-dark leotards?” MP3 File