Comments on: Narrative Fallacy and “Why?” Questions http://fs.pkheavy.com/2009/11/narrative-fallacy-and-why-questions/ Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:00:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.1 By: olimay http://fs.pkheavy.com/2009/11/narrative-fallacy-and-why-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-136 olimay Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:29:13 +0000 http://fs.pkheavy.com/?p=380#comment-136 The problem is the mistakenly given importance to some factors over others because those factors are important to the telling of the story. Taleb loves narratives and fiction, as a way to talk about deeper truths, but not as a tool to analyze facts. Narratives, actually, are anti-analytic by nature. The problem is the mistakenly given importance to some factors over others because those factors are important to the telling of the story. Taleb loves narratives and fiction, as a way to talk about deeper truths, but not as a tool to analyze facts. Narratives, actually, are anti-analytic by nature.

]]> By: zach http://fs.pkheavy.com/2009/11/narrative-fallacy-and-why-questions/comment-page-1/#comment-135 zach Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:25:24 +0000 http://fs.pkheavy.com/?p=380#comment-135 yet, when I bring up to people that narrative fallacies are committed by every history textbook, I get very skeptical responses. "Of course the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand caused WWI. Of course the attack at Pearl Harbor instigated American entrance into WWII. Of course the rise of contraceptive use during the late colonial period led to the decrease in birth rate in census data." I think the problem, of course, is not that narratives are untrue, just that we are not nearly skeptical enough about them. Especially in history studies, the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy reigns supreme. yet, when I bring up to people that narrative fallacies are committed by every history textbook, I get very skeptical responses.

“Of course the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand caused WWI. Of course the attack at Pearl Harbor instigated American entrance into WWII. Of course the rise of contraceptive use during the late colonial period led to the decrease in birth rate in census data.”

I think the problem, of course, is not that narratives are untrue, just that we are not nearly skeptical enough about them. Especially in history studies, the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy reigns supreme.

]]>