Melanie C.

futurejournalismproject:

Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies

The Internet: where arguments know no bounds.

As technology writer Mike Elgan writes:

Most people who argue and debate online… commit standard, well-understood logical fallacies.

The problem with this is that debates never go anywhere, and they take forever to get there.

By calling people on their logical fallacies, you can shorten arguments, and everyone can learn from debate.

So enter Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies, a site that teaches us about flaws in reasoning. In particular, the logical fallacy:

A logical fallacy is usually what has happened when someone is wrong about something. It’s a flaw in reasoning. They’re like tricks or illusions of thought, and they’re often very sneakily used by politicians and the media to fool people.

In an argument? Simply hit the site and mouse over an icon to see what logical fallacy you’re butting up against. They range from the Slippery Slope to the Texas Sharp Shooter.

Pro Tip: Works for offline arguments as well. Just download the free poster from the site.

Image: Screenshot of a Slippery Slope. Via Thou shalt not commit logical fallacies

An informative opinion piece on what Editorials have lost in the evolution of media.

Although I was ecstatic to hear that the Huffington Post finally received the recognition they deserve with their Pulitzer Prize, I was shocked to discover that no one will receive the prize in the Fiction category this year.

None of the authors pieces met the Boards expectation. *eye roll*

I find it very uplifting to see a Christian politician seek the teachings of other religions not only to better themselves as people but to also become more rounded to serve U.S. citizens. What a breath of fresh air in such a chaotic time.

10 points to Ohio.

futurejournalismproject:

WordPress Dominates Top 100 Blogs

Via Pingdom:

We just completed a study and found that WordPress is in use by 48% of the top 100 blogs in the world. This is an increase from the 32% we recorded three years ago.

Other developments since then include that custom blog publishing platforms are more common now, TypePad has all but disappeared from the top 100, Tumblr has made an entrance, and some companies really don’t want to spill the beans about what solutions they use.

Nice to see Tumblr is in the top 100.

This interview really opened my eyes to the importance of criticism. It describes why it is so important for you to write about what truly inspires you in your own style regardless of what others say.

futurejournalismproject:

Top 10 Broadcast Media Websites (by US Market Share of Visits). March 2012.

Via.

futurejournalismproject:

News Orgs: their Fans and Followers, March 2012

The Onion, holding its own.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, this is US-based. H/T: Ben Piven.

An excerpt from The Mindful Writer by Dinty W. Moore featured in the Spring 2012 issue of Buddhadharma:

The Four Noble Truths for Writers

-The writing life is difficult, full of disappointment and dissatisfaction.

-Much of this dissatisfaction comes from the ego, from our insistence on controlling both the process of writing and how the world reacts to what we have written.

-There is a way to lessen the disappointment and the dissatisfaction and to live a more fruitful writing life.

-The way to accomplish this is to make both the practice of writing and the work itself less about ourselves. To thrive, we must be mindful of our motives and our attachment to desired outcomes.

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Although this is Buddhist in nature, I think it holds something that all writers can benefit from.