"Please understand that I am not fighting this proposal merely for the benefit of Trump International Golf Links. Instead I am fighting for the benefit of Scotland"Trump's effort to shield Scotland from the apocalyptic scourge of electrical energy captured from atmospheric movement has drawn him to place an ad comparing wind farms to terrorism, and (allegedly) place another ad offering to pay people $20 USD to “stand next to or behind the... elected officials/celebrities that will be speaking at the [anti-wind] rally”.
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| Donald's hair, which has a 73% stake in all his decisions, also hates wind |
A few days ago, Trump trumped the selflessness of these acts by tweeting an infographic demonstrating the dangers of exposure to wind turbines, to his 2,444,053 followers:
"@DanScavino: @realDonaldTrump ✔️"Wind Turbine Syndrome" ✔️#FACTS ✔️#Health pic.twitter.com/QJhZAfyWzx" @aberdeenshire @AlexSalmond
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 30, 2013
(Tweet preserved here for posterity)
If that infographic looks familiar, it's because I made it, and posted it a few months ago. The reason I made it was to demonstrate the outcomes of over-reliance on anecdotal evidence. Click here for a large version. I even included the following quote, to make the purpose of the graphic utterly unambiguous:
"Thinking anecdotally comes naturally; whereas thinking scientifically does not"So how did Trump get fooled by small print? He was tweeted the picture by a guy called Dan Scavino Junior, General Manager of 'Trump Golf":
- Michael Shermer
@realDonaldTrump
✔️"Wind Turbine Syndrome"
✔️#FACTS
✔️#Health pic.twitter.com/IPdildFp5G
— Dan Scavino Jr. (@DanScavino) November 30, 2013
Turns out the GM of Trump Golf cares as much about infrasonic emissions as Trump does. It's genuinely fascinating to see my infographic, originally intended to demonstrate the logical fallacy of relying too heavily on personal testimony, used as evidence by Trump, and the GM of his golf enterprise. It demonstrates perfectly Trump's desire to find surrogate causes to stuff the blatant, gaping holes that stem from the fact his hatred of wind energy comes not from a genuine concern for Scottish welfare, but from a single specific development, barely visible from his planned luxury golf course.
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| The offshore wind farm has broad support - picture via this |
This happens a lot on Twitter. People furiously working to build the foundations for an idea they've already hoisted higher than it deserves don't notice detail or nuance; they retweet and share with starry dreams of virulence, and a quiet, nervous hope that no one pays too much attention. In this case, Trump tweeting my infographic shows, quite beautifully and comically, that he'll even quote evidence that directly demonstrates the fallacy he's adopting. I'm a little proud to be the originator of this ironic morsel of accidental accuracy.
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| A pro-wind protestor brings The Donald the closest he's ever come to understanding electricity, via this |
Touche Ketan or should I say toupe Donald
ReplyDeleteNext time you can include my favorite quote, "The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'"
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