{"id":968,"date":"2018-01-15T00:01:36","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T07:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/?p=968"},"modified":"2020-02-15T19:17:33","modified_gmt":"2020-02-16T02:17:33","slug":"how-to-convince-people-the-earths-flat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/2018\/01\/15\/how-to-convince-people-the-earths-flat\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Convince People the Earth’s Flat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apparently, we can be blinded by \u201cscience\u201d if \u201cscience\u201d throws some diagrams, graphs or charts in with the information being peddled.<\/p>\n

This probably isn\u2019t surprising, if you stop to think about it. In fact, the degree of surprise decreases with the amount of time you think about it, as shown in this graph.<\/p>\n

\"Bogus<\/p>\n

This really is a thing, according to<\/a> researchers at Cornell University.<\/p>\n

In fact, the item that originally brought this to my attention touted the phenomenon as something that that could potentially sway people, no matter how ridiculous the claim or theory was.<\/p>\n

This may help to explain many things; for example, how and why so many people think the Earth is flat<\/a>\u2014they\u2019ve been shown pictures that prove it, such as this one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This phenomenon could be dangerous though. It could, for example, be used to influence voting intentions.<\/p>\n

Alberta Poised to Elect Hung Legislature<\/h2>\n

The latest opinion polls out today show four parties running neck-and-neck in the race to form the next government.<\/p>\n

Only five percentage points separate the lowest and highest of these parties.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Would this chart precipitate a larger turnout, since no party seems likely to win a majority? Or would it cause tactical voting\u2014voting for a party you wouldn\u2019t normally vote for in order to keep a party you hate from winning?<\/p>\n

What would the effect be if the article and supporting chart looked more like this?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just a stab in the dark, but I\u2019d guess that most of the \u201ctraditional\u201d residents of Alberta would be seeking martial law.<\/p>\n

The thing is, if I\u2019d written something like, \u201cAlbertans intend to vote in a Green Party government\u2014eighty-two percent of voters plan to vote Green\u2026\u201d people would be less inclined to believe me. But show them the chart, and watch out for the tanks on the streets!<\/p>\n

Alberta voting in a Green government is surely among the more ridiculous claims one could dream up (with or without the assistance of recreational pharmaceuticals), yet apparently, people are more likely to believe it if the chart\u2019s there to \u201cprove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Your Own Benefit<\/h2>\n

So now that you know this dirty little secret, how are you going to benefit from it? Leave diagrams around the house showing what a great spouse\/parent\/kid you are? Create some \u201cApproval Ratings\u201d charts that show what a great worker you are, and post them on the coffee room walls?<\/p>\n

Me\u2014I wouldn\u2019t dream of using this secret to my advantage. I don\u2019t need to. Look at how my readership ratings have trended over the last six months.<\/p>\n

\"Bogus<\/p>\n

Lucrative syndication deals await!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apparently, we can be blinded by \u201cscience\u201d if \u201cscience\u201d throws some diagrams, graphs or charts in with the information being peddled. This probably isn\u2019t surprising, if you stop to think about it. In fact, the degree of surprise decreases with the amount of time you think about it, as shown in this graph. This really is a thing, according to… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[664,507,506,477],"class_list":["post-968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fake","tag-500words","tag-credibility","tag-fake-news","tag-flat-earth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=968"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1535,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/968\/revisions\/1535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reggothard.com\/kelvin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}