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Definition:
The Appeal to Authority red flag is commonly used in most marketing campaigns and with celebrity endorsements. The idea around it is when a person with status and/ or a fanbase influences a group of people into believing something without it proving to be true. It distracts the viewer from the truth by influencing them with something (or someone) they believe in.

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A strong example of the Appeal to Authority red flag was back in 2006 when billionaire Donald Trump launched an alcohol brand called Trump Vodka and promoted it as a high-end liquor to the public. This product did not last long and shut down production in 2011 after failing to sell. The problem with this product is that Trump has claimed numerous times that he has never drank any alcohol in his life, so how would he know how good his product really is? By endorsing this to his fans, they all believed it was going to be great because Trump was behind it but in reality, nobody really enjoyed the vodka as they labeled it as a cheap liquor which is what led to the company folding.

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Definition:

The idea of Simplicity is to have a straightforward explanation of a phenomenon or occurrence rather than overcomplicating it. simplicity is not necessarily bad just because it is the simple way. It is just that it makes it more understandable and easier to believe.

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In this image, we can see an example of simplicity, which shows the more difficult way to get to the other side of the dot compared to the simpler and easy way, which is just a straight line instead of taking a lot of turns that are unnecessary

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Definition:

The Ancient Wisdom red flag is based on the idea of myths and often old religious beliefs. Ancient wisdom is believing in or doing something that was invented in the long past that has not been proven scientifically to be true. People use this red flag to persuade something to be true just because it has been around for a long time.

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A common example of the Ancient Wisdom red flag would be people sleeping with Dream Catchers above their bed to protect them from negative dreams or thoughts while sleeping. This idea around this item comes from the Ojibwa culture and has been used often since the 1800s. The dream catcher seeks to filter dreams while you are asleep, trapping all negative thoughts and only letting the positive ones through. Still to this day, many people sleep with these over their beds all around the world.

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The Red Herring red flag is a tactic that uses irrelevant information to distract the viewer from hearing facts. It is commonly a piece of information that is intended to be misleading to the viewer so they don't hear the main facts but get distracted instead. Typically it diverts an argument away from a proper solution.

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An interesting example of the Red Herring red flag would be in the film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino). This film is set back in 1960’s Hollywood and explores the fall of Famous movie star Rick Dalton and his stunt double, best friend, Cliff Booth careers. Although the majority of the film is about Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, there is a third character who has her own story going on throughout the film. Sharon Tate’s character and story are played around her famous Hollywood career and leaves the audience wondering if the ending is going to relate to the Manson murders. (Sharon Tate was the victim of the tragic and well-known Manson Murders). This is a Red Herring because Tarantino ends up misleading the viewer by not ending Sharon Tate’s story in a gruesome way, but instead, Rick Dalton is the victim when he is attacked in his home. Tarantino uses this character to mislead the viewer with a different plot that never correlates with the main plot.

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Patternicity is defined as a habit of finding meaningful patterns in mostly sounds or images. One example is looking up at the stars to spot, repeating shapes in the sky. There is a common belief when you see recurring patterns You are able to make an educated prediction based on those patterns. A lot of psychics are able to make predictions based on this such as repeating patterns of behavior or speech.

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In this picture, we see an example of patternicity in the tree, because there are shapes in this tree that make the tree look like it has a face on it.

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Definition:

The Proof by Verbosity red flag is a tactic that creates an illusion of comprehensiveness and knowledge while not addressing the main facts. It is giving quantity over quality and making the viewer think you know everything there is without actually addressing what is important. It is often used in arguments or when someone does not know the answer to a question but makes the viewer think they know what they are talking about by speaking a lot on the topic.

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This is a prime example of the red flag Proof of Verbosity being displayed in the famous TV show, Breaking Bad (Vince Gilligan). This show follows brilliant high school chemistry teacher Walter White’s life after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. With his remaining time left, he uses his chemistry skills to cook methamphetamine and leave money behind for his family when he dies by becoming a ruthless drug kingpin. In this scene, his wife Skyler is worried about his safety as he is involved with the cartel. After asking Walter if he is safe, instead of answering the question simply, he lashes out at her by throwing as much information as he can at her. He does this to persuade her into believing that he is safe without simply answering her question.

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Breaking Bad - I Am the One Who Knocks Scene (S4E6) | Rotten Tomatoes TV

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The Unexplained reason for belief comes when there is an idea or phenomenon that is unable to be explained, because of a lack of scientific proof to make clear judgements of the phenomenon

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In this article, a person talks about feeling a ghost's presence and seeing a ghost. ghosts are commonly associated with unexplained mysteries, because there is a lot of scientific proof behind them, which makes a lot of people believe in them, and a lot of people do not believe in them, but for the people that do believe in them, there is usually no scientific proof that someone’s soul could wander around after death.

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Quarantining With a Ghost? It’s Scary (Published 2020)

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For those who believe they’re locked down with spectral roommates, the pandemic has been less isolating than they bargained for.

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Definition:

The Ideological Support Red Flag is the idea of using campaigns or marketing to enforce ideologies over science. This is often used to persuade people into something because it resides with an opinion or belief of the subject rather than getting into the scientific research around it, which is often false news.

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A great example of society using the red flag Ideological Support would be the Black Lives Matter Movement. This campaign was started as a hashtag and has risen to become one of, if not the most successful campaign known all around the world. This movement has even made a lot of society afraid of their own government and police force and has changed how people with power act now. The people are what keep this movement going and it is something that will be around forever based on an ideology that got the support from society to become what it is today.

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Post #1 - Assignment 1 - Dylan Irving, Jayden Reis, and Max Carter

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Post #1 - Assignment 1 - Dylan Irving, Jayden Reis, and Max Carter

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Post #2 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Use of Scientific sounding language that is meaningless. 

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Post #2 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Use of Scientific sounding language that is meaningless. 

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Definition:
Using big, scientific sounding words to make people who aren't experts believe things that might not actually be true or important. When you throw in fancy words that others don't understand, they might just go along with it because they can't really figure out if it's true or not. This is because they assume that if something sounds too complicated, it must be correct, even if it's not.

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The term "healing modalities" is a common example of this pseudoscience watchlist criteria. It is taking advantage of the fact that most people would hear that term and assume it means something very medical and revolutionary but in reality are not as medically proven and scientifically accurate as you may believe.

The use of fancy scientific language to persuade non-experts into accepting questionable or insignificant claims can be seen as a clever tactic. It takes advantage of a common human tendency: when people encounter complicated terminology or words that they don't understand, they sometimes default to trusting the speaker. The reasoning behind this is that if something sounds so complex and mysterious, it must be valid or important, right?

This reliance on impressive-sounding words can be especially effective in fields where people don't have the necessary knowledge to understand what is being said. When individuals encounter confusing scientific terminology, they often feel hesitant to question or challenge what is being said. They may believe that they simply lack the expertise to add to the discussion, assuming that the person using these terms must know what they're talking about.

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Post #3 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Money is Often Involved 

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Post #3 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Money is Often Involved 

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Definition:
Manipulating by promising money and fame/success. Capitalizing on money being the motive of the victim. This can cause vulnerable people to lose a lot of money due to being eager to pursue a big break financially.

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A very typical promise in this trick would be the promise of fame and fortune. If someone is told they will become famous or wealthy, suddenly they will be eager to hear more because many people (especially vulnerable ones) are desperate for an elevated lifestyle.

This happens because a lot of people, especially those who might be feeling vulnerable or going through a tough time, would really wish for a better life. So, when they hear someone say that they can make them famous or wealthy, it sounds like a dream come true. They're eager to learn more and see how this can change their life for the better.

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Post #4 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Does Not progress

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Post #4 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Does Not progress

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Definition:

Something that's been around for a really long time, and it hasn't really evolved or improved since it first started. It's like a thing that got its beginning way back when, and it's pretty much stayed the same ever since. There haven't been any new ideas or better ways of doing it.

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A prime example of this is ancient pyramids. They have been around for an extremely long time, and have never been improved upon since. This is a perfect example because this pseudoscience watchlist criteria can be thought of as something like a piece of technology that was created ages ago, but nobody's come up with any updates or improvements for it. So, it's stuck in the past and hasn't learned anything new or found better methods to get things done. The ancient pyramids are almost like a time capsule of how things used to be, frozen in history without moving forward.

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Post #5 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Often Appeals to Emotion

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Post #5 Pseudoscience Watchlist: Often Appeals to Emotion

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Sometimes, people get convinced when others use emotional tricks. This happens when someone tugs at your heartstrings, making you feel a strong emotional connection. They might share personal stories that relate to your own experiences or tell tales about themselves to make you feel closer to them or feel more sympathy for their cause. This strategy is often used on people who are in a vulnerable spot because emotions can be super powerful. When you're feeling a lot of emotions, like sadness or excitement, it can cause irrational thinking. That means you might not think as clearly or carefully, and you're more likely to go along with what the person is saying, even if it doesn't make a lot of sense.

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A classic example of playing on emotions is when psychics say they can communicate with people who've passed away, like family members or loved ones. When you hear this, it can really stir up a lot of feelings. You might feel super emotional, or maybe even excited because the idea of talking to someone you miss can be incredibly appealing.

But the problem is that sometimes these psychics might not actually be doing what they claim. They might just be saying things to get you all caught up in your emotions. And when you're in that emotional whirlwind, it can be challenging to step back and think critically.

So, some people might end up believing these psychics and even paying them a bunch of money, all because they got swept away in their feelings. That's why it's so important to stay grounded and think carefully, especially when someone's making big claims that tug at your heartstrings.