Comments on: More logical fallacies http://www.complich8.net/archives/219 complacence is the enemy Mon, 25 Oct 2010 13:22:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Abby Rouse http://www.complich8.net/archives/219/comment-page-1#comment-1192 Abby Rouse Fri, 17 Nov 2006 04:15:02 +0000 /blog/archives/219#comment-1192 Yes, I google my name on occasion. Do you want to know why? I have published a book and have been trying to promote it and I google to the name to see if it is paired with the book title. But even if I didn't have an excuse, I think everyone's googled their own name at least once. So I've done it again and I'm surprised this is still here, on page 1 in fact! Okay, I see your point with most of the stuff, but 1.) it is an opinion column which thankfully does not require all the masterful debating actual fact-based articles need, and 2.) abstinence and contraception can be used in the same sentence because they both provide ways to avoid pregnancy. It just depends on the route one chooses, and both are still often-talked-about topics in schools, so I thought that was valid. Anyway, you seem like a decent person and I appreciate the time you took to comment back on my defensive comment. Enjoy your blog and please visit my website. Yes, I google my name on occasion. Do you want to know why? I have published a book and have been trying to promote it and I google to the name to see if it is paired with the book title. But even if I didn’t have an excuse, I think everyone’s googled their own name at least once.
So I’ve done it again and I’m surprised this is still here, on page 1 in fact! Okay, I see your point with most of the stuff, but 1.) it is an opinion column which thankfully does not require all the masterful debating actual fact-based articles need, and 2.) abstinence and contraception can be used in the same sentence because they both provide ways to avoid pregnancy. It just depends on the route one chooses, and both are still often-talked-about topics in schools, so I thought that was valid.

Anyway, you seem like a decent person and I appreciate the time you took to comment back on my defensive comment. Enjoy your blog and please visit my website.

]]> By: complich8 http://www.complich8.net/archives/219/comment-page-1#comment-690 complich8 Wed, 14 Jun 2006 06:50:12 +0000 /blog/archives/219#comment-690 Wow ... that was ages ago! Googled yourself and found that? You're right, both that I'm horrible at writing concisely and that your opinions are perfectly valid. I never meant to imply they weren't. Heck, I even started out by casting you in the light of "taking the highroad" ... you pointed out the logical flaw in Christine's argument. What I was trying to express was that both sides of the debate resorted to logical fallacies (both formal and informal) very early on. I believe that the use of what amounts to illogical argument on any side of a discussion renders the entire discussion pointless (or at least endless), because there's no way to use logic to fight illogic. It's like bringing a gun to a knife-fight... the person who does it can walk away feeling like they won, but they won by rewriting the rules in their favor. Which isn't to say that you or Christine even don't have perfectly reasonable (ie: logically valid) justifications for your positions, just that when you (or anyone else) resort to fallacy or simply unreasonable assumption as an argumentative strategy, you ultimately undermine the reasonableness of your own position. It's sort of natural, though, to counter blatant illogical statements with the same sort of thing ... people try to match the level of the discourse, whether that means bandying sophistries or hurling feces. As for the actual position you express ... I don't (and didn't) have a big problem with it. I just found it funny to see abstinence and contraception in the same sentence, because the abstinence-only sex-ed crowd (aka neo-conservatives, aka "The Christian Right") would immediately decry that as completely incompatible -- that is, they would say (over and over again, if necessary) that contraception isn't a valid option and shouldn't be taught or made available. I certainly understand the problem with space limitations... for a wordy guy like me the 300-word threshold is pretty insufficient. It can be really hard to cut down a thought to that sort of length! Even here, I'm already about 50 over! I probably could have put the last paragraph of that post (among other things) quite a bit better, it sort of seems to imply that I think you're being deceptive about your beliefs. You're not, you seemed to be pretty straightforward about them. The duplicity is from the neo-cons who try to equate the grisly, horrible thing that abortion is with sex, in order to put a stop to both. At least, that's what I was trying to say. Wow … that was ages ago! Googled yourself and found that?

You’re right, both that I’m horrible at writing concisely and that your opinions are perfectly valid. I never meant to imply they weren’t. Heck, I even started out by casting you in the light of “taking the highroad” … you pointed out the logical flaw in Christine’s argument.

What I was trying to express was that both sides of the debate resorted to logical fallacies (both formal and informal) very early on. I believe that the use of what amounts to illogical argument on any side of a discussion renders the entire discussion pointless (or at least endless), because there’s no way to use logic to fight illogic. It’s like bringing a gun to a knife-fight… the person who does it can walk away feeling like they won, but they won by rewriting the rules in their favor.

Which isn’t to say that you or Christine even don’t have perfectly reasonable (ie: logically valid) justifications for your positions, just that when you (or anyone else) resort to fallacy or simply unreasonable assumption as an argumentative strategy, you ultimately undermine the reasonableness of your own position. It’s sort of natural, though, to counter blatant illogical statements with the same sort of thing … people try to match the level of the discourse, whether that means bandying sophistries or hurling feces.

As for the actual position you express … I don’t (and didn’t) have a big problem with it. I just found it funny to see abstinence and contraception in the same sentence, because the abstinence-only sex-ed crowd (aka neo-conservatives, aka “The Christian Right”) would immediately decry that as completely incompatible — that is, they would say (over and over again, if necessary) that contraception isn’t a valid option and shouldn’t be taught or made available.

I certainly understand the problem with space limitations… for a wordy guy like me the 300-word threshold is pretty insufficient. It can be really hard to cut down a thought to that sort of length! Even here, I’m already about 50 over!

I probably could have put the last paragraph of that post (among other things) quite a bit better, it sort of seems to imply that I think you’re being deceptive about your beliefs. You’re not, you seemed to be pretty straightforward about them. The duplicity is from the neo-cons who try to equate the grisly, horrible thing that abortion is with sex, in order to put a stop to both. At least, that’s what I was trying to say.

]]> By: Abby Rouse http://www.complich8.net/archives/219/comment-page-1#comment-682 Abby Rouse Wed, 14 Jun 2006 02:11:11 +0000 /blog/archives/219#comment-682 Hey, I'm happy to see you were amused enough by my writing to put it in your blog. I think if you had read it more in depth, you would have realized I made some credible points and maybe they weren't worded in the best way, but the paper only gives you 300 words with which to work. Maybe you should consider how to frame your own opinions clearly, scientifically, and concisely before disecting someone else's valid opinion. Hey,
I’m happy to see you were amused enough by my writing to put it in your blog. I think if you had read it more in depth, you would have realized I made some credible points and maybe they weren’t worded in the best way, but the paper only gives you 300 words with which to work. Maybe you should consider how to frame your own opinions clearly, scientifically, and concisely before disecting someone else’s valid opinion.

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