WTF? Fallacy of The Red Herring? What is that?
cited from AP English website
Let's talk about the Red Herring, not the elephant in the room. Back in the day, when fox hunting was a thing they used to train the fox hounds with a dead red herring. The fish smelled so bad that the dogs sticked to it like glue. The dog trainers would drag a dead red herring along the path to train them. This became a logical fallacy. A fallacy is considered an unsound argument.
Now, let's learn what it is... This is all about switching the argument to a different direction. How is this done? Well, it happens all the time in politics, and also in the media. When you argue it is difficult to stay on topic for someone to throw a dead red herring out (distraction) so, whenever we introduce something irrelevant to the argument, we are avoiding the question.
How can we spot this? How can we spot the red herring? Understand that it is classified as a irrelevant topic.
Here is some dialogue.
Son: Why can't I go see the Avengers this week?
Mom: Can't you see another movie? (Red herring) She did not answer the question. She diverted it trying to make something else more relevant.
Let's look at truthful dialogue:
Son, Why can't I go see the Avengers this week?
Mom: You told me you had no money. (Not a red herring)
The Son told the truth as he had no money in the scenario. It was not a redirection.
Let's look at some more and how it can be manipulative:
Denta toothpaste is amazing for cleaning your teeth and reducing cavities. Dentists talk about how this is the biggest dental problem in the United States.
No where did it say in the above advertisement as to how Denta will solve the problem. It quickly diverted to a bigger large scale red herring problem. It was a diversion. This happens all the time and I am just using Denta as an example, and I'm sure it is a great product.
It is like saying Alligators make awesome pets! Pets make children happy in America. It does not prove the point at all.
Image cited from Bloomboard
It is cleverly missing the point in order to avoid argument.
Every brand wants to sell, targets must be made, thats all they care about.. These days in some countries, you'll have to check for expiration date before usage or consumption.. Could you imagine? Things have changed since decade ago, no hardly notice
Nice content, thanks for sharing
The present era brings us to the new biggest personal commodity which is our very human attention.
Instantly i thought about chemtrails...
I do not dream in black and white.
Not everything is a conspiracy, and we have to understand what is called locus of control. I suggest you look it up.