A Sense of Doubt blog post #1314 - THIS IS A THINK PIECE
I have subscribed to Dan Hon's newsletter for a while now ever since Warren Ellis shared it with people in his newsletter or via Twitter or some such. Thanks Warren. Really.
In reading Dan Hon's newsletters lately, I discovered that he, like many awesome people, lives here in Portland, OR.
Portlandia is blessed.
He was hanging at a con recently, so I could have met him, but it was the same weekend as comic con, so I couldn't do both. I wasn't even at RCCC all three days, so hardly time for another con besides.
Dan shared this piece, which I think is brilliant.
In fact, I am going to share it with my students when we do definition writing.
heh.
http://sensedoubt.blogspot.com/2016/07/hey-mom-talking-to-my-mother-374.html
To be clear on how this sharing works, I am sharing Dan's piece from Medium, here. Here's the link. And then the content. And following that some other things he's written.
Be sure to click the update link for the the think piece at the end of it. Heh.
UPDATE NOTE 1809.29 - Grading robot can't count.
FROM - https://medium.com/s/story/this-is-a-think-piece-78618692b9b9
MEMBER FEATURE STORY
This Is a Think Piece
Something happened. Here’s what you think about it.
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| This illustration was chosen because it looks meaningful and is aesthetically pleasing. Photo: Ben Chun via flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 |
The thing that happened really matters. Or doesn’t. The only way to learn whether it does or not is to read this think piece.
By reading this think piece, you’ll learn that what you thought happened didn’t actually happen. Only people who aren’t smart will think that what they thought happened, happened. While it is true that on some level, yes, that thing happened, what actually happened was something a lot more important. Only smart people — the kind who read this think piece — will understand what actually happened and realize its true importance.
The reason why what happened is important is because of this number:
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| Photo: NASA |
In this paragraph, you should start to feel confirmed in your belief of how smart and informed you are. There will be a reference to the Peter Principle. You know people to whom the Peter Principle applies, and you also like to read articles that know when to use the word “whom.”
You are not a Peter.
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This is the middle part of the think piece
This part includes a reference to something else that is very important, something about which you care.
At first glance, the other thing that is important, the thing that you care about, might seem unrelated. But because this is a think piece, you know that this paragraph will connect the thing that actually happened (which only smart people, like you, truly comprehend) to this other thing, the important thing (which only smart people, like you, know to treat as important).
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| This is also very important. Photo: Guillaume Carta via flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 |
It doesn’t matter how these two concepts are connected. It doesn’t even matter whether the connection is valid. They’re connected merely by virtue of being mentioned in the prior paragraph. You like the phrase “merely by virtue” and make a note to use it in your next meeting with Amanda.
What matters most is that you feel smart for knowing about the connection, because you know other people won’t know. This means you’re smarter than them. You knew that already, but the think piece helps confirm that belief about yourself. You’re especially convinced of this belief when you get to the section about the dangers of confirmation bias — which you already knew about. There are statistics. You know to be careful when it comes to statistics, so you are cautious. P-values can be hacked. You feel secure knowing about the replication crisis.
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| I am not a scientist but if I were a scientist and I were correct about scientists are correct about this data, then something is definitely happening. Image: Libertas Academica via flickr/CC BY 2.0 |
In this paragraph, you will be nodding at least twice per sentence. You are already thinking about sharing the think piece on Twitter because it will make you look smart to people you want to impress. You will share it on Facebook to infuriate the people you don’t need to impress. The think piece describes this phenomenon as social signaling — which you already knew.
You are definitely smart and well-informed.
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Now, the think piece eases into its final section
There is no pivot here. You see this coming. Barreling toward its conclusion, the think piece raises more issues about which you care. While terrible things are indeed happening, the situation is not completely dismal because some good things are happening, too.
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| Good things are happening. Photo: Land Rover Our Planet via Flickr/CC BY-ND 2.0 |
The think piece points out — accurately, you note — that the terrible things could be stopped if only everyone else were as smart as you. Or, at the very least, if they read think pieces like this.
Everyone is not as smart as you. You think about the people you know who don’t vaccinate and resolve to try harder to make sure everyone else is nearly as smart as you — but no smarter.
This think piece was very important. You learned things you didn’t know. You would have already known them if you had the time to spare, but you don’t, because you are not a Peter. You are glad; reading this think piece was an efficient use of your precious time.
Now you need to let other people know how smart you were to read it. Most importantly, you need to let them know you read it before they did.
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Update
New information has come to light since this think piece was published. You should read “An Important Update To Yesterday’s Think Piece.”
WRITTEN BY
Dan Hon
I come from the internet and I can type.
MORE BY DAN HON -
The Top Three Things All-Seeing Fathers Do To Raise Successful Heirs
(More) Latency Numbers Every Programmer Should Know
Everything was connected, and I was fucked.
I was late paying the water bill, so the parking meter refused service until I coughed up.
You have the right to remain silent
Here’s a story about how subtly things that seem “good” can also be harmful.
The Demands of Masculinity Nearly Broke My Family
I was so worried about showing weakness that we almost fell apart
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 1809.26 - 10:10
- Days ago = 1180 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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