Here's a conversation you may have overheard ...

This is an archetypal model of conversation.

The topic and the bias are interchangeable.

But it's problematic for many reasons.

First, just because Dave questions Al Gore doesn't mean he's against him.

Next, even if he is against Al Gore it doesn't mean he's "for Global Warming."

Bar Rat lives in the crazy for/against world of "false dichotomies."

I had a very similar experience with my uncle recently.  He may be one of the smartest men on the planet (a real "rocket scientist" in fact), but he fell for the same trap.

He thinks global warming is a "fraud."  I asked him to explain to me the evidence.

Later he said I had "jumped on the global warming bandwagon."

(The reality is that I don't know which side to believe on this one.  I haven't examined the data enough.)

The point is that there doesn't seem to be any correlation between intelligence and fallacious thinking.

More about this in "Book II" of the 4 tasty bite-size "books" you'll find inside my upcoming print book.

You might even get a sneak peak tomorrow.