Internet: Serious Business

I request that a sticky be made in the Serious Discussion forum; a copy of the following article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacies

This isn't a joke. People need to read this.

Add links for the following words, too:

Normative.
Empirical.
Value.
Objectivity.
Bias.
Fact.
Socratic Method.
Scientific Method.
Practical Wisdom.
Opinion.
Conformity.
Groupthink.
1984.

Thx.

People won't read that.

Many stickies are bad, we're having trouble getting people to read the ones that are as it is.

And even if they read it, they might not bother about it or understand it.

Half-a-bee, I find it ironic you are making a logical fallacy in a thread about logical fallacies.

The point is, it won't help everyone, but if a few people read it, there's a benefit. One sticky isn't going to clutter up the forum to unuseability.

The point is, Nyu, that somewhere around 99.9% of ZU's population won't bother to read it. If there was a sticky that contained a link to a lengthy article about someting I'm not interested in, I know I certainly wouldn't. And, as h-a-b pointed out, those whodo bother reading it probably won't understand.

I'm all for that being stickied everywhere. >_>

Originally Posted by Tiroth

The point is, Nyu, that somewhere around 99.9% of ZU's population won't bother to read it. If there was a sticky that contained a link to a lengthy article about someting I'm not interested in, I know I certainly wouldn't. And, as h-a-b pointed out, those whodo bother reading it probably won't understand.

Then let them bathe in ignorance. Why even have such a subforum if you are resigned to the statistic that "99.9%" of people in the forum are too stupid and anti-intellectual to read a relatively small article?

Originally Posted by Nyu

Half-a-bee, I find it ironic you are making a logical fallacy in a thread about logical fallacies.

The point is, it won't help everyone, but if a few people read it, there's a benefit. One sticky isn't going to clutter up the forum to unuseability.

Ooook.. According to that definition I am making a logical falicy.. But that definition can be used in all for/against arguments like this.

My point is: The disadvantages outweight the advantages.
Advantages: Out of the few people who bother to read it, a few people will understand it, and a few of those people will change their ways. I still am very confident that very few will bother to read it, and of those who do, most will know about that sort of thing beforehand.

Disadvantages: It clutters up the board. This may seem like a small disadvantage, but I am rather sure it weighs up.

The Serious Discussion forum has one stickied thread. I can't see the harm in adding one that has the possibility of greatly decreasing some of the stupidity in that forum.

Linking to fallacies isn't all that helpful.

As the discussion between HAB & Nyu shows, it leads to nothing constructive. Pointing out fallacies can be seen as an ad hominem fallacy in itelf. Gotta love things like that.

Would someone like to tell me how it will improve anything?

Originally Posted by Nyu

Half-a-bee, I find it ironic you are making a logical fallacy in a thread about logical fallacies.

The point is, it won't help everyone, but if a few people read it, there's a benefit. One sticky isn't going to clutter up the forum to unuseability.

I don't think Hab was committing that fallacy.

The perfect solution fallacy is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes that a perfect solution exists and/or that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem would still exist after it was implemented.

His argument wasn't that "some part of the problem" would still exist, he argued that "people won't read that," and that those who do "might not bother," or "won't understand."

He isn't rejecting it because it is 99% effective, but because it is almost wholly ineffective--that is, unlikely to make any difference. Not because it is unlikely to make a complete difference. HAB's second post shows it quite well enough.

I'm not sure what to say, though, as the SD mod. It gets kind of brutal in there sometimes.

i dont totally understand. it doesnt get very detailed as to what a fallacy actually is. i know it is found in many arguments, and it has something to do with the actual point of an argument. and finding it. but it had me a little lost.oh well. i'll re-read it.

Well, that was definately a lengthy article and after much re-reading I understood it. In theory it would be a good idea to post it but I highly doubt that anyone would read it. (Didn't make a logical fallacy there! enh? enh? ) If I had enough people on my forum to sticky a topic like that in the serious discussion, I would, and I wouldn't lock it, and then see how many responses I get. If it doesn't work, well... I would unsticky it. If it did, well... hurrah! But that is just my suggestion.

Originally Posted by Scott

As the discussion between HAB & Nyu shows, it leads to nothing constructive. Pointing out fallacies can be seen as an ad hominem fallacy in itelf. Gotta love things like that.

This is true, but you can't really have a good debate with one side using fallacies(On this site its usually both sides). I understand why it is neccisary to point them out.

I highly doubt making a sticky will help anything. I mean, people don't even read the rules here.

i dont totally understand. it doesnt get very detailed as to what a fallacy actually is.

What? The whole first paragraph is nothing but an explanation of what a fallacy is.

Whatever. I was just fed up with a lot of the ridicule that was in the forum, and was like - splah. So whatever. I just think people should use logic.

Originally Posted by Neko

Whatever. I was just fed up with a lot of the ridicule that was in the forum, and was like - splah. So whatever. I just think people should use logic.

The average forum user's age is something like thirteen. There's bound to be a lack of logic and an abundance of obnoxiousness. The only thing you can really do is combat it through your own logic.

Originally Posted by Neko

Whatever. I was just fed up with a lot of the ridicule that was in the forum, and was like - splah. So whatever. I just think people should use logic.

Fleeting dreams? The forum is by far not mature enough to neither read nor comprehend that page, so all attempt to teach about fallacy are instantly lost. And in come Sear's point; no one has that kind of logic here, save the select few older people, so you just have to assume that some people have it, and some people don't. At the same time, also assume that if it is stickied, the only people who will read it will be the people who already possess logic and knowledge of fallacy.