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I chose to create a Critical Thinking Analysis of the topic covered in my fifth post: confusing correlation with causation. The example image in this post is a graph, determining the relationship between Nicholas Cage movie releases and deaths in swimming pool in a given population.
Define Problem:
Is Nicholas Cage movies related to the death via drowning of people in swimming pools in a given population?
Gather Information:
This graph's statistical information is derived from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (deaths by drowning), and the Internet Movie Database (Nicholas Cage Movies).
Evaluate Evidence:
Nicholas Cage is a very famous actor known for taking many, and sometimes odd, roles in movies. However, it is impossible his movies have anything to do with drowning in swimming pools. The only possible effect could be if he was in a movie that involved him holding his breath for a long time, which perhaps influenced some at home to try it out to disastrous effects, but that is a generous reach to find a relationship.
Recognize Assumptions, Emotions, Biases:
Nicholas Cage is in fact a large meme on the internet, and this graph was likely created in spirit of that. Given the points of his line represent the number of movie's he is in, the number is reliable and easy to track. Due to the simplicity of Nicholas Cage's graph points, almost any data set could be manipulated to fit this graph. This is done by controlling the intervals on the parallel Y axis; the left Y axis starts at 80 deaths and goes up by 20 per interval, while the right starts at 0 and goes up only two per interval. Playing with the axis intervals for other sets of data could easily yield the same results.
Synthesize Evidence, Identify Alternatives:
Alternative Solution 1: Nicholas Cage movies are related to the deaths of people by drowning in a sample population.
Alternative Solution 2: The graph uses faulty methods such as adjusting the intervals to reach their conclusion.
Select Best Alternative:
I conclude that the graph is inaccurate, albeit quite funny.

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Definition:
A system of belief that helps form one's outlook on the world, often in the form of political or religious ideology.
Connection
This image is a photo of the "Communist Party," with some of its more prominent historical figures of the ideology having a great time. I'm sure living in Stalinist Russia or Maoist China was not as great a time as pictured below, but many that hold favorable views towards communism may believe it was, and thus find this an enjoyable meme.

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Definition:
This is the belief that the world is controlled by outside forces, and there is little to control what your destiny is.
Connection
In this image we have a man that appears to be a regular 9-5 type of guy. However, he is controlled by the marionette strings of some unseen agent. This is powerful because it captures the idea of a person doing what is "Sociably acceptable," all the while being controlled by outside forces that he has no influence over.

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Post #9: Reason for Belief- Patternicity

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Post #9: Reason for Belief- Patternicity

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Definition:
Patterns are naturally observed by human as part of our evolutionary history. The topic of Patternicity is the natural inclination of humans to find meaningful patterns in shapes, images, and sounds that are in fact random and meaningless.
Connection
In this photo, it is immeditaely clear that the cloud has taken on the shape of a side-profile of a human face. While this is a completely natural occurance, it could be interpreted by some as being meaningful.

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Definition:
All natural encompasses the line of thinking that anything "holistic" or "from-nature" is by definition good for humans to consume or use to improve their lives.
Connection
The attached image is actually a pretty concise refutation of the argument that everything natural is innately better for human consumption than things tampered with or made by humans. This is obviously untrue, as there are many natural substances and toxins, or food if undercooked, that could lead to sickness and death. Meanwhile many man-made things like penicillin have saved countless lives.

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Definition:
Proof by Verbosity, which can be related to the phrases "Word Salad" or "Verbal Diarrhea," can be accomplished making a complicated argument that involves large or rarely used words where more common ones would suffice. This is done to confuse or make refutations of the Verbose individual difficult or impossible.
Connection
In this image we see a man with his mouth open and letters falling out. It is meant to signify a man, in this image appearing particularly unhappy, belching out a bunch of words. This image could be a caricature of a politician or intellectual employing such a tactic on a debate stage (view the way Michael Eric Dyson speaks in his Munk debate with Jordan Peterson for further examples of Proof by Verbosity, available on YouTube).

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Post #5: Red Flag- Confusion of Correlation with Causation

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Post #5: Red Flag- Confusion of Correlation with Causation

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Definition:
Confusing or mixing together correlation and causation is a common Red Flag which explains that just because two things seem to happen at the same time or right after one-another, does not mean that those two variables have a cause-and-effect relationship.
Connection
In this graph we see, rather suspiciously, that whatever amount of Nicholas Cage films release in a given year, there appears to be a correlation with amount of drownings in swimming pools. However it should be noted it is unlikely Nicholas Cage's movies drowned all these people. Additionally the graph only looks like this because the scale and starting point of the Y-axis at 80 drownings. This is a great example of Confirmation Bias using faulty methods.

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Definition:
Confirmation Bias is done when a person favors certain information over other available information in order to reaffirm their own beliefs or bias on a subject matter.
Connection
The image below features multiple cartoons that have humorous takes on different forms of Confirmation Bias. Each does well explaining this Red Flag in its own ways. Also there are images of two news cast stations that are well known for their right and left wing bias'.

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Definition:
The Red Flag "Appeal to Authority" involves celebrities or other well-known figures, or people that may be perceived as having authority on a subject. Usually fame is more the reason why they are seen as "Authoritative," rather than any real qualifications.
Connection
The image attached shows Oprah advertising for Weightwatchers. Oprah is one of the biggest celebrities in the world and her endorsement really helped Weightwatchers accomplish more sales. However, Oprah has no training as a dietitian or anything else related to personal care. All she has is personal experiences that could help her reach a conclusion that Weightwatchers truly works over a long term (which in her case it hasn't).

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By: Andrew Costello, working individually