Upon occasion, something that is happening will irritate me to the point I write a letter to the editor. Since I go online to read people’s responses to my letters, and hate being wrong about my stated facts, I spend time fact-checking my information.
In my last letter, asking when we were the “moral nation” so many people believe we once were, I made several points and fact-checked all but one. That one point I was sure of, so why check? After all, everyone knows the good people of Salem burned witches at the stake in the 1600s. Only it turns out they didn’t. The good people of Salem hanged their witches, and the whole burning thing is a common misconception.
I blame Mrs. Williams, my third-grade teacher. I didn’t think I learned anything from her, but if I had, it could well turn out to have been wrong.
So what’s my point? It is not what you don’t know. It is not what you think you know. It is what you’re sure you know that can most easily cause you to believe a fallacy.
