ORLY-EP0113A - Conspiracy Bias Epistemology & The Breakfast of Champions
Welcome to ORLYRADIO #113A recorded Friday JUNE 10th, 2016 - where we dismantle the current events for your edutainment through mostly rational conversations that make you go ‘Oh Really’! I’m your host Andy Cowen, with my usual suspect, Daniel Atherton.
Audience Feedback From Previous Shows:
We make mistakes. Please, if you find one, pause the podcast, and send us a note. orlyradiopodcast@gmail.com or phone it in 470-222-6759
Errata: From the mailbag:
Andy, I loved the coverage of the gunshot wound caulk gun. I had an insight that I think it's accurate. The conversation seemed to overlook a key element: clotting factor. See, my nephew has a mild bleeding disorder. He's not of royal lineage or anything, but it takes him about 20% longer than normal for a cut to seal up.
See, his specific condition is a lowered amount of a clotting factor that forms a web or lattice type structure around a wound, which catches the platelets. Once it catches enough to clog the lattice, it is sealed. I imagine this technology would work the same way. So it's not just the sponges swelling to fit the wound. It's also them catching the platelets to make a hemostatic seal.
Typically, this clotting factor will start forming around the edges of a wound, and build upon itself. That's why you want to pinch a wound closed until the bleeding stops, and you have to be so careful about it not reopening. This technology is perfect for large, deep wounds that aren't likely to seal up. It makes me ridiculously happy orlyish.
All the love,
Daniel Bible Pants Duncan
From one of our Patreon Supporters. Did Google manipulate search for Hillary? https://www.facebook.com/SourceFedNews/videos/1199514293432055/
Potpourri: Guests/Rants/Etc:
Confirmation Bias (http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases)
the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.Herd mentality, or mob mentality, describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors, follow trends, and/or purchase items. Examples of the herd mentality include stock market trends, superstition and home décor.
Bandwagon effect — the tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, crowd psychology, herd behaviour, and manias.
Illusion of control — the tendency for human beings to believe they can control or at least influence outcomes that they clearly cannot.
Reactance — the urge to do the opposite of what someone wants you to do out of a need to resist a perceived attempt to constrain your freedom of choice.
A conspiracy is a secret plan to achieve some goal. Its members are known as conspirators. A conspiracy theory originally meant the theory pre-formed conclusion that an event or phenomenon was the result of conspiracy; however, from the mid-1960s onward, it is often used to denote ridiculous, misconceived, paranoid, unfounded, outlandish or irrational theories. One of the worst things about conspiracy theories is the fact they are almost airtight. Every debunking or piece of evidence against it will be viewed as an attempt to "misinform the public", and the lack of evidence for it is viewed as a government cover-up. Not everyone involved in a conspiracy necessarily knows all the details; in fact, sometimes none do.
This Week in History:
Canned from Fred
Logical Fallacy
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/presumption/complex-question/
Complex Question Fallacy
Explanation
The complex question fallacy is committed when a question is asked (a) that rests on a questionable assumption, and (b) to which all answers appear to endorse that assumption.
Examples
“Have you stopped beating your wife?”
This is a complex question because it presupposes that you used to beat your wife, a presupposition that either answer to the question appears to endorse.
“Are you going to admit that you’re wrong?”
Answering yes to this question is an admission of guilt. Answering no to the question implies that the accused accepts that he is in the wrong, but will not admit it. No room is left to protest one’s innocence. This is therefore a complex question, and a subtle false dilemma.