Reading

Entry tags:

education

Logic and Persuasion vs. Logic and Persuasion

This meme makes me remember how I first read ENDER'S GAME as a teenager, and even then I noticed a huge plot hole. Ender's brother and sister anonymously create a series of dialogues on public chat boards. The dialogues were carefully, scientifically designed to push the right buttons of any given reader. They answered all arguments and carefully refuted all disputes. Anyone who read the dialogues would immediately throw in their support for what Ender was doing.

I knew even as a teen that this wouldn't work. First, no argument will win over everyone, or even a big majority. Second, there's no way to get the entire world (or even a big fraction of it) to read these dialogues. We have language and cultural barriers, people who don't have access to the computers, people who can't read, people who DON'T read. There's no way to win over an entire population with the written word. Or any word, for that matter.

Later, when this book was up for being added to the English curriculum where I teach, I argued vehemently against it, partly because of the thinly-veiled pedophilia and partly because of this plot hole. The book was dropped.

So ironically, I successfully used logic and persuasion to get a group of people to take my side against a story that shows logic and persuasion as a way to get what you want.

Entry tags:

media

The CSR Good-Bye

I joke about the Midwestern Good-Bye, where the phrase, "Well, I guess we better be going," doesn't actually mean you're leaving. It means you still have to work your way through two or three more conversations before you finally walk out the door. This can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.

I've noticed that another group of folks do the exact same thing. I suppose we should call it the Customer Service Representative Good-Bye. It goes like this:

ME: Great! That's everything I need. Thanks.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: You're welcome. Would you say that we have resolved your problem today?

ME: Yes. That's all I need.

CSR: Great! Is there anything else I can help you with?

ME: (wanting to say, "What part of THAT'S ALL I NEED did you misunderstand?"): Nope. That's everything.

CSR: If you would like to take a survey detailing the kind of service you got today, just stay on the line.

ME: No thank you.

CSR: Is there anything else I can help you with today?

ME (wanting to say, "Change the cat box"): Definitely not.

CSR: Okay, well, thank you for calling Beelzebub Life Insurance. I hope you have a good day.

ME: Thank. Bye.

CSR: Don't forget the survey!

ME: Right. Bye!

CSR: Again, thank you for calling Beelzebub Life Insurance. Have a good day.

ME (wanting to say, "How many good days are you going to wish me?"): Thanks. Bye!

(click)

It's gotten so bad that I've taken to shortening the script to this:

ME: Great! That's everything I need. Thanks.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE: You're welcome. Would you say that we have resolved your problem today?

ME: Yes. Bye!

(click)

Sheesh.

Entry tags:

Ghosts and Cookies

So I'm reading this YA novel about some teens who are hunting a ghost. The book is clearly supposed to be eerie and spooky. The ghost in question is evil and malicious. The problem is, the ghost, an old woman, keeps fading in and offering people cookies.

Yeah, you read that right. The spooky, evil spirit shows up with a plate piled high and says, "Cookies!" And everyone yells in fright and runs away.

It's unintentionally funny. I wonder what on earth the author was thinking. Cookies are about the least scary thing a ghost could offer you. Even the word "cookies" sounds cute. It keeps yanking me out of the story. We don't know yet why the evil ghost offers cookies, but I have the feeling the cookies were involved in someone's death. How horrifying. Except ... COOKIES!