From Pine View Farm

Influencer Idiocy in Dis Coarse Discourse 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Alexander Danvers explains why you can’t trust many “internet influencers.” The short version is that they try to use what they claim is logical reasoning, while ignoring actual evidence. Here’s a bit (emphasis added):

No long-form podcast or YouTube video essay can replace science, however, because none of them adhere to the Iron Law of Science: evidence over all else. In the arena of science, destroying someone in a debate doesn’t matter–unless you’ve done it with new data.

A caveat: It’s not the best piece of writing I’ve seen; there are a few times when his wording could have been a bit clearer. For instance, he uses the term “logic,” when what he means in context is “logic based on false premises” or “reasoning unsupported by evidence.” (A fitting synonym might be “sales pitch.”) Nevertheless, in this age in which uncredentialed and unqualified yahoos seem capable of attracting many ears and turning many heads, methinks it a worthwhile read.

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