A READER RESPONSE TO A CHAPTER FROM UNSPUN

BY: BRAD SAUNDERS AND COLE ROSENBAUM

“The Great Crow Fallacy”

It’s Clinically Proven!!!

This presentation is clinically proven to raise grades on tests in AP Lang. Take notes!

Overview

The ArticleConnection to 1984Connection to Weasel WordsContemporary ExamplesMLA Citation

The Article

Story ≠ Data Don’t confuse anecdotes with data

Anecdote: a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident (Marriam-Webster)

Crows Want repeated results through experimentation

The Article (cont.)

Perspectives don’t always show the whole picture Personal experiences are very narrow Impact of media and government

What you’re not told can be more important

The Article (cont.)

Emotions can cloud an argument. Dramatic stories yield attention Football players and fertilizer

The Article (cont.)

Some studies are more accurate than others. Who stands behind the information? Does the source have motivation? What data collecting methods were used? Age of data? Any assumptions? Any guesswork? Want “convergent evidence”

The Article (cont.)

Repetition ≠ Truth Groups repeat ideas, especially involving fear Causes people to believe claim is true Crippling death tax bills

Only 1.17% of estates taxed

The Article (cont.)

A huge claim requires huge evidence. Groups exaggerate data to make extraordinary claims In order for extraordinary claims to have substance,

must be proportionally supported

The Article (cont.)

The myth of “Clinically Proven” Replicated results needed Quality of the test Cold-Eeze

The Article (cont.)

Expertise is non-transferable. Just because you’re a doctor on TV does not make you

knowledgeable in the field of medicine Analyze what background endorsers actually have

The Article (cont.)

Appeals to popularity Why…

“top-selling” “number one” “preferred over…”

Large marketing budget, supply…

Connection to 1984

Don’t always see whole picture Party limits what citizens of Oceania see Leads to incorrect conclusions Example from unSpun

Gulf War and smart bombs

Seeing vs. Believing

Connection to 1984 (cont.)

Use of dramatic stories Constant drama and triumph of wars Keeps citizens caught up in commotion and keeps

them enthusiastic

Connection to 1984 (cont.)

Saying it doesn’t make it true Repetition throughout Oceania

Big Brother War is Peace Freedom is Slavery Ignorance is Strenght

Connection to Weasel Words

Main Ideas Groups with motivation will manipulate evidence Claims/evidence are falsified lead audience to draw

conclusions As the audience, we must analyze sources A world without analyzing sources is Oceania

Contemporary Example #1

President Obama’s State of the Union speech Number of Americans currently working

Obama: 2 million Americans currently have jobs

Obama’s Economic Advisers: 1.5 million CBO: between 800,000 and 2.4 million IHS: 1.25 million Macroeconomic Advisers: 1.1 million Moody’s economy.com: 1.6 million

Contemporary Example #1 (cont.)

Bringing down health care deficit Obama claimed CBO could bring deficit down to $1

trillion over the next 20 years CBO reported that it could be as little as half of Obama’s

number for the same 20 A very rough estimate: CBO generally projects for a 10

year max Projected deficit

Obama claimed a $3 trillion deficit when he took office + a total deficit of $8 trillion in 10 years

CBO projected a deficit of $1.2 trillion by the end of the year + a total deficit of $3.1 trillion in 10 years

Contemporary Examples (cont.)

John Kerry’s exaggerated cost of the Iraq War. Kerry claimed the cost to be above $200 billion CBO: cost of the military operations alone was $93.7

billion OMB: military operations + rebuilding Iraq +

supporting coalitions = $119 billion Kerry’s estimate included cost of the next year +

protecting U.S. cities + operations in Afghanistan Not mentioned in his speech

Wrap Up

Studies aren’t always accurateSources aren’t always honest

TOP SELLING

PREFERRED OVER…

CLINICALLY

TESTED

MLA Citation

Eschholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. “Weasel Words: The Art of Saying Nothing at All.”

Language Awareness. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2005. 442-452. Print. Excerpt from

Doublespeak. By William Lutz. N.p.: n.p., n.d.

Jackson, Brooks, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “The Great Crow Fallacy.” Unspun: Finding Facts in a World

of Disinformation. Illus. Signe Wilkinson. New York: Random , 2007. 105-125. Print.

"Kerry Exaggerates Cost of War in Iraq." FactCheck.org. Ed. Lori Robertson. Anneberg Political Fact Check.

Web. 09 Feb. 2010. <http://www.factcheck.org/kerry_exaggerates_cost_of_war_in_iraq.html>.

"Obama's State of the Union Address." FactCheck.org. Ed. Lori Robertson. Anneberg Political Fact Check.

Web. 09 Feb. 2010. <http://factcheck.org/2010/01/obamas-state-of-the-union-address/>.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Signet Classics, 1977. Print.