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Illusory Truth Effect

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21–30 of 59 posts

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#21
post #20

I have a friend who is a lawyer. He seems to believe that rhetoric and logic are the same thing. Links like this bring me bad memories.

There is just the book for him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Being_Right

Thanks. But I don’t that’s fixable in my friends case. It’s a long story :P

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#23
post #13

It's particularly effective when combined with "Big Lie". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie

I don't follow. The "Big Lie" is a conspiracy theory devised (or at least advocated) by Hitler in order to justify antisemitism. It's not a true phenomenon -- like the Illusory Truth Effect -- but something Hitler falsely asserted the Jews did.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#24
post #17
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lawyer’s job is not to actually find out the truth, like a scientist. A lawyer’s conclusion will not be tested by a harsh reality with which you can experiment. A lawyer’s job is entirely to convince other people of things. If people are convinced, the job is done; there are no further repercussions if the truth turns out to differ. Therefore, your lawyer friend likely has never thought about what logic is, or what…

There is also a distinction between logical and quantitative thinking. Some people operate mainly out of a "whether or not" mindset, and they are not inclined to think in terms of "how much", "to what degree", or "how likely". Scientists tend to be quantitative thinkers, although computer scientists are quite often logical thinkers.

Agree in principle, but I have an issue with your use of the terms "logical/quantitative". A pedantic nitpick to be sure, but the "logical" mindset you describe is one of the most prevalent logical fallacies, that of the "false dilemma" [0]. Maybe there are even better ways to describe it than as a logical fallacy, but calling it "logical thinking" leads down the wrong track IMO.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#25
post #23
post #13

It's particularly effective when combined with "Big Lie". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie

I don't follow. The "Big Lie" is a conspiracy theory devised (or at least advocated) by Hitler in order to justify antisemitism. It's not a true phenomenon -- like the Illusory Truth Effect -- but something Hitler falsely asserted the Jews did.

The “Big Lie” was the lie itself — it could not be publicly disproven under the Nazi propaganda machine, and therefore provides a cover story. Nobody really believed the cover story, but they were also too afraid to find out the truth because they knew it would get buried (along with them and probably their family). Such is the power of the “big lie”.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#26
post #23
post #13

It's particularly effective when combined with "Big Lie". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie

I don't follow. The "Big Lie" is a conspiracy theory devised (or at least advocated) by Hitler in order to justify antisemitism. It's not a true phenomenon -- like the Illusory Truth Effect -- but something Hitler falsely asserted the Jews did.

Today's "Big Lie" is simply less overt than that spread by the Nazis, and most people simply don't hear the dog-whistle of anti-semitism behind phrases like "New York liberals" or "cultural Marxism." But the modern day belief in a conspiracy of "globalist, left-wing elites" controlling society, academia and the media is just another, softer iteration on "the Jews" doing the same.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#27
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't follow. The "Big Lie" is a conspiracy theory devised (or at least advocated) by Hitler in order to justify antisemitism. It's not a true phenomenon -- like the Illusory Truth Effect -- but something Hitler falsely asserted the Jews did.

The “Big Lie” was the lie itself — it could not be publicly disproven under the Nazi propaganda machine, and therefore provides a cover story. Nobody really believed the cover story, but they were also too afraid to find out the truth because they knew it would get buried (along with them and probably their family). Such is the power of the “big lie”.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say. The "Big Lie" is not a cognitive bias, it's itself a lie. It's a myth Hitler either invented or popularized. So I don't follow how it relates to the topic under discussion.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#28
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The “Big Lie” was the lie itself — it could not be publicly disproven under the Nazi propaganda machine, and therefore provides a cover story. Nobody really believed the cover story, but they were also too afraid to find out the truth because they knew it would get buried (along with them and probably their family). Such is the power of the “big lie”.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say. The "Big Lie" is not a cognitive bias, it's itself a lie. It's a myth Hitler either invented or popularized. So I don't follow how it relates to the topic under discussion.

I think it’s because Goebbels said something along the lines of “a lie repeated often enough becomes the truth” in reference to the Big Lie.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#29
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is also a distinction between logical and quantitative thinking. Some people operate mainly out of a "whether or not" mindset, and they are not inclined to think in terms of "how much", "to what degree", or "how likely". Scientists tend to be quantitative thinkers, although computer scientists are quite often logical thinkers.

Agree in principle, but I have an issue with your use of the terms "logical/quantitative". A pedantic nitpick to be sure, but the "logical" mindset you describe is one of the most prevalent logical fallacies, that of the "false dilemma" [0]. Maybe there are even better ways to describe it than as a logical fallacy, but calling it "logical thinking" leads down the wrong track IMO. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fal…

He did not claim they were exclusive.

Your comment is an example of the fallacy fallacy.

Re: Illusory Truth Effect

#30
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The “Big Lie” was the lie itself — it could not be publicly disproven under the Nazi propaganda machine, and therefore provides a cover story. Nobody really believed the cover story, but they were also too afraid to find out the truth because they knew it would get buried (along with them and probably their family). Such is the power of the “big lie”.

Yes, that's what I was trying to say. The "Big Lie" is not a cognitive bias, it's itself a lie. It's a myth Hitler either invented or popularized. So I don't follow how it relates to the topic under discussion.

The cognitive bias is the effect of the big lie. Anti-semitism was already prevalent throughout Western culture at that time, and so the lie was easier to believe because of pre-existing cultural prejudice, and later because the propaganda was simply inescapable.
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