Misinformation tools - Thinking Paths
I wanted to catalogue and explain in simple terms the tools and mechanisms used to manipulate our thinking. Here is one.
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf-paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun,
To do what other men have done.
The calf-paths of mind
The calf-path by Sam Foss is a great poem. It talks about a path made by a wandering calf and how it becomes a road in the metropolis and remains along the crooked trail the calf took. It is somewhat the same for thinking paths.
Thinking paths are a set of logical deductions based on certain rules. While robust by themselves, they are used to mislead people to wrong conclusions. Here is an old video of a prank you may have seen that uses thinking paths to trick the person.
Innocuous beginning and robust logic
The thinking path has an innocuous beginning. The one above begins with broad rules of pronunciation and leads the target down the path to a conclusion that is not correct. To do this, it relies on the human propensity to identify and stick with patterns. In a way, I think the path is more like a tunnel. I was wondering whether to call it thinking tunnels.
The framing is important.
The way the target's mind is directed towards the path is critical. Further, once you know this prank, you will not fall for it again; your pattern recognition powers will alert you to it.
Debating inside the path is useless.
Once the target enters the path, there are no logical inconsistencies they can challenge.
Now imagine that Trump supporters have their own path, Biden supporters have theirs. They entered their thinking tunnels at different places with different mindsets and were led into these paths. Inside their thinking tunnels, they are right and logically robust.
How to get over this?
Here are a few ways to broaden your thinking when caught within one of these tunnels:
Think about your entry points: Think about Why did you start at that point? What if you start somewhere else? For instance, where did you start your thought process about abortion?
Extend your exit points: Misinformation peddlers always want you to stop thinking at the point of their choice. People often call it out when they see “slippery slopes”. But it is a good practice to check on other implications.
Bird’s eye perspective: It is also called a 30,000-foot view of the problem. It helps in certain cases to zoom out to the big picture, and suddenly, many things become clearer.
Motivation analysis: Many times we do know how and where we got onto these thinking paths. Here, motivation analysis helps. Ask the question Why am I seeing this? And why am I seeing this NOW? Thoughtful answers to these questions will almost always help clarify our thinking.
What other methods can we use to step out of our thinking paths?
Note: This is not going to be a sequential series i.e. next week, you will not find the next tool.