Difference between revisions of "Acorn tossing"

From Issuepedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (moved Throwing acorns to Acorn tossing: catchier and shorter)
(post-move tidying)
Line 6: Line 6:
 
</hide>
 
</hide>
 
==About==
 
==About==
[[Throwing acorns]] is a form of [[rhetorical manipulation]] in which an irrelevant attack is used as a distraction to throw the discussion onto ground where the attacker is more able to defend their position. It is typically used in situation where one party has a very solid point and the other party wishes that point to appear much weaker, typically by making its supporter look foolish.
+
[[Acorn tossing]] ([[throwing acorns]], [[tossing acorns]]) is a form of [[rhetorical manipulation]] in which an irrelevant attack is used as a distraction to throw the discussion onto ground where the attacker is more able to defend their position. It is typically used in situation where one party has a very solid point and the other party wishes that point to appear much weaker, typically by making its supporter look foolish.
  
 
This technique is often used in [[discussion trolling]].
 
This technique is often used in [[discussion trolling]].
Line 22: Line 22:
 
* '''A''' tries to start serious discussion.
 
* '''A''' tries to start serious discussion.
 
* '''B''' throws acorn at A.
 
* '''B''' throws acorn at A.
* '''A''': "Stop throwing acorns at me!"
+
* '''A''': "Stop tossing acorns at me!"
 
* '''B''': "Why? It's just an acorn. It's not like I'm hurting you or anything. Is your thinking so unfocused that you can't continue speaking just because an acorn drops on you? What if it just fell from a tree? Would you blame the tree and refuse to continue our discussion? Does this discussion matter so little to you?"
 
* '''B''': "Why? It's just an acorn. It's not like I'm hurting you or anything. Is your thinking so unfocused that you can't continue speaking just because an acorn drops on you? What if it just fell from a tree? Would you blame the tree and refuse to continue our discussion? Does this discussion matter so little to you?"
* '''A''' is forced to either spend time convincing B to stop throwing acorns, to put up with the annoyance and distraction, or abandon the discussion
+
* '''A''' is forced to either spend time convincing B to stop tossing acorns, to put up with the annoyance and distraction, or abandon the discussion
 
==Examples==
 
==Examples==
 
* If you aren't bothered by the idea of a [[Muslim]] [[President of the United States|president]], then why do you care if Obama is a [[Barack Obama/Muslim smear|Muslim]] or not?
 
* If you aren't bothered by the idea of a [[Muslim]] [[President of the United States|president]], then why do you care if Obama is a [[Barack Obama/Muslim smear|Muslim]] or not?

Revision as of 01:24, 21 June 2012

About

Acorn tossing (throwing acorns, tossing acorns) is a form of rhetorical manipulation in which an irrelevant attack is used as a distraction to throw the discussion onto ground where the attacker is more able to defend their position. It is typically used in situation where one party has a very solid point and the other party wishes that point to appear much weaker, typically by making its supporter look foolish.

This technique is often used in discussion trolling.

Form

It most often takes the form of a "why do you care" question, thus shifting the topic to the question of why the defender cares about the irrelevant attack, though other forms are presumably possible.

The technique usually follows a pattern like this:

  • A advocates a particular point
  • B attacks the point with an irrelevant but false claim
  • A states that claim is false but irrelevant (attempts to get back on track)
  • B: "Why do you care if [false claim] is false, if it's irrelevant?"
  • A is forced to either explain the irrelevancy of the claim, refute it, or abandon the discussion

This is much like the following situation:

  • A tries to start serious discussion.
  • B throws acorn at A.
  • A: "Stop tossing acorns at me!"
  • B: "Why? It's just an acorn. It's not like I'm hurting you or anything. Is your thinking so unfocused that you can't continue speaking just because an acorn drops on you? What if it just fell from a tree? Would you blame the tree and refuse to continue our discussion? Does this discussion matter so little to you?"
  • A is forced to either spend time convincing B to stop tossing acorns, to put up with the annoyance and distraction, or abandon the discussion

Examples

Notes

This topic was inspired by a discussion on Blag Hag.