By Hannah Lynch, ’30

Staff Writer

As someone who is an avid reader and appreciates the ability to read whatever books I want, the banning or censorship of books is a major concern. “Banned Books Week” is sponsored by the American Library Association and held every October. It is a week that highlights the importance of the freedom to read, efforts to remove books from schools and libraries, and the harms of book censorship.

Why do people try to ban books?

The banning of books has been going on for centuries. The earliest book banning in the United States dates back to 1637 when the Puritan government prohibited Thomas Morton’s “New English Canaan,” which criticized Puritan beliefs. In modern society, books are typically challenged with the best intentions: to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information. Challengers argue that the book can still be read, just not in school or the public library. Opponents of the bans, though, say that while parents have the right to choose appropriate books for their own child, they should not be able to keep the book from all students. A significant reason why many people oppose the idea of banning or censoring books is the belief that if everyone had the same ideas, there would be no improvement or development in the world. Silencing opinions is something that will not help society but rather harm it, critics of book banning argue. When groups or organizations try to ban books, their goal is to remove that book from schools, libraries, and public circulation. There are many motives for why people seek to ban books. Among some of the most common, according to the American Library Association, are political, racial, or religious concerns.

What types of books are being banned?

Books in the U.S. that are most commonly challenged or successfully banned are Young Adult (YA) fiction, titles that contain LGBTQ+ or identity themes, classics, and dystopian literature. Among other often-challenged topics are race or political/religious themes. For example, dystopian novels such as “1984” and “Fahrenheit 451” are commonly banned due to the fact that their main themes follow ideas that challenge authority, break social norms, and expose truths about power and control. Racial and religious books such as “The Hate You Give” or “The Handmaid’s Tale” are often targeted because critics feel a certain race or religion is being condemned. Books like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Last Night at the Telegraph Club” are called anti-Christian or obscene because of their focus on gay characters.

Who is banning books?

Generally in the United States, books are censored or banned by school boards, state legislatures, and government officials. School boards and administrators argue that they ban books to protect kids from harmful content. This can include sexual content, LGBTQ+ themes, or if they perceive it to not be age appropriate. In censoring these books, school officials are often overriding the librarians and teachers who have selected them for readers. In state legislatures such as Texas and Florida, book banning can occur for many different reasons including personal beliefs and ideological agendas. Lawmakers can also be responding to political pressure from their party or the public. Restrictive laws lead to preemptive compliance, with schools and towns pulling hundreds of books out of fear of state sanctions.

How can you fight book bans?

Right here in Hanover, we have bookstore owners that are raising awareness for Banned Books Week. Janet Bibeau, who owns Storybook Cove on Washington Street, set up a section of the store with large bins containing multiple books often targeted by bans. The purpose of this display is not only to advertise these books, but is also to help fight against the banning of literature. There are countless ways you can individually help fight against the banning of books too. First, you can start by reading anything you want! Reading is so vital to society because it allows you to read other opinions and experience different worlds just within your head. Reading a book from an author who may have a different perspective gives us the ability to look outside of what we believe in and learn about the different standpoints of others. It is crucial to the fight against a uniformity of opinions and beliefs. The whole world should be able to broaden their horizons and learn about different cultures and religions. One final way you can help advocate and stop book banning is to support your local library and get a library card. The more people reading, the more opportunities for different viewpoints and opinions to be read.

By Charlize Coviello, ’29

Opinions Editor

How many hours in a day do you spend looking at screens: your phone, a computer, a TV? The average person spends about 10-12 hours in a day looking at digital screens; that is almost half of an entire day. Ask yourself this question: What am I looking at on a digital screen? Am I doing school work, researching, studying — or am I mindlessly scrolling social media?

Digital screens have been around for decades, and since the 1960s attention spans have decreased by 96.8 percent, going from 2.5 minutes to only 8 seconds. The constant interruption of focus over the years while using social media and technology have allowed the brain to switch tasks constantly. Ads, popups, and notifications make multiple ideas available to the brain when online constantly throughout the day. This makes the brain used to switching topics, further disabling the ability to focus on just one topic for an extended period of time. TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram – all platforms that provide short-form videos – have a combination of almost 6 billion users. The ability to endlessly scroll, being provided with a new idea every video, provides rapid dopamine rewards. These constant boosts of dopamine make your brain want more, as well as make slow or deep tasks feel monotonous and boring when they aren’t providing steady entertainment. Continuously processing multiple streams of digital information wears out the brain’s executive functions, especially the parts responsible for planning and concentration. Furthermore, people are relying on devices to store easy information, rather than practicing active retention, weakening sustained mental effort.

Growing children and teens are heavily effected by social media through changes in mental health, brain development, and daily habits. The average teen who uses social media gets an average of 6-7 hours of sleep per night, falling significantly short from the 8-10 recommended hours. Blue light and late-night scrolling interfere with natural rest cycles, which directly contributes to worsening depressive symptoms over time. The constant exposure of a specialized feed fuels the fear of missing out (FOMO), low self esteem, body dissatisfaction, and feelings of social isolation. The exposure to dopamine rushes gives teens a desire to be constantly entertained not only by social media, but by their friends as well. They constantly compare the life they have, causing them to want that unrealistic, fake, and unattainable lifestyle that influencers lead.

Attention spans and mental health of users can be potentially saved by shifting from content that exploits attention to curating digital use into a non-addictive activity. Regulating online use is a choice, one that everyone needs to make. Teens and children should have a daily screen time limit. Society as a whole needs to stop normalizing extended electronic usage. Eight hours of screen time a day is not normal, and certainly not healthy.

Works cited

https://www.reviews.org/tv-service/americans-spend-12-hours-a-day-on-screens

https://www.azumotech.com/resource-center/display-tech-evolution-history

https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/attention-spans

https://www.printful.com/blog/tiktok-statistics

https://www.statista.com/statistics/545967/snapchat-app-dau

https://www.statista.com/topics/1882/instagram

https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK594763

https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sleep-disorder-center/sleep-in-adolescents

https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/yale-study-probes-connection-between-excessive-screen-media-activity-and-mental-health-problems-in-youth

By Sophie Bunar, ’27

Staff Writer

“You must always have faith in people. And, most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.” – Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

Dr. Clary, AKA @thatastrogirlie, is an astrophysicist and content creator, commonly known by her fans as “the Elle Woods of astrophysics.” For those of you who haven’t watched the movie Legally Blonde, Elle Woods is the iconic, fashion-forward protagonist in pink. Originally a fashion merchandising student and sorority president at UCLA, Elle decides to attend Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend, Warner. Once at Harvard, she defies the expectations of her peers and proves her immense intelligence, succeeding as a brilliant lawyer while staying true to her feminine style.

Her real-life counterpart, Dr. Clarissa Rizzo Credidio Do Ó (Dr. Clary), grew up in São Paulo, Brazil, where she fell in love with astronomy after visiting the Ibirapuera Planetarium as a child. As stated on her personal site, her research includes “exoplanet orbital dynamics, coronagraphy, and wavefront sensing and control.” She received her Ph.D. in physics from UC San Diego, where her doctoral research was recognized with a Dean’s Award and the Carol and George Lattimer Award for Graduate Excellence, and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. Along with this, she works on observation planning for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Coronagraph Instrument, which launched August 30, and on technologies for NASA’s future Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is being designed to image and characterize potentially Earth-like planets around nearby stars.

While doing all of this, Dr. Clary still finds time to embrace her femininity, and the way she dresses doesn’t undermine any of her accomplishments. She enjoys Pilates, figure skating, content creation, and shopping, making her an icon for women and showing that they can enjoy these things while succeeding in fields traditionally dominated by men. In a post on LinkedIn, she shared, “My social media platform has given me the opportunity to highlight the daily life of a scientist, share insights into research careers, and discuss discoveries in my research field that I find fascinating (HR 8799, I am still thinking of you!), while also embracing interests that are not traditionally associated with science, such as fashion and the color pink.”

So, why is this so important? Well, according to an article from the Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU), research indicates that many young people may be discouraged from pursuing STEM degrees due to prominent stereotypes regarding who “belongs” in those fields. “Being able to see a scientist who’s like you can be incredibly important for young students, an indication that they can pursue and succeed in the fields that fascinate them.” However, representation is only the first step. In order to counter STEM stereotypes, changing inherent biases and barriers within institutions is also fundamental. As noted by doctor Angela Byars-Winston, “there are more people from underrepresented groups, particularly from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, around now compared to the 1980s, but that doesn’t mean we have achieved equity or inclusivity; just more faces from underrepresented groups, which is known as symbolic diversity.”

In another article from NMHU, they shared that programs like Girls Who Code, STEM and Gender Advancement, and Women in Engineering Proactive Network have been working to open doors for women in science and change this culture. Still, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics reports that “women make up less than 30 percent of the world’s scientific researchers.” This is partially because girls and women in college are often told not to pursue science due to stereotypes about who scientists are, as well as the low permanent employment rates for women who do earn degrees in their field of study. Women are constantly belittled in STEM fields, and it doesn’t just start with their careers. In college, “even in majority women science classes, men do more talking and take up more air time” (NHMU Curator of Learning Sciences Lynne Zummo).

Despite this, some of our greatest advancements in science couldn’t have been achieved without women. As mentioned in that same article, “Lynn Margulis forever changed biology by suggesting that mitochondria were once free-living cells that became enclosed within other cells through symbiosis. Mary Dawson opened up a whole near world of paleontology in the Arctic. Astronauts wouldn’t have gotten very far without the engineering brilliance of Mary G. Ross and Mary Jackson. Rosalind Franklin discovered the structure of DNA. Lynn Conway revolutionized the computer industry.” One of my favorite icons in computer science is Ada Lovelace, who is widely recognized as the world’s first computer programmer. As a woman in STEM myself, these luminaries have upheld my passion for the sciences despite backlash from closed-minded individuals. After years of hiding my femininity to fit into traditionally male-dominated fields, I’ve decided it’s time to embrace the lace, the sparkles, and everything in between.

“I suppose that is the main point: scientists are people, and thanks to that, they can look like anyone!” – Dr. Clary

By Maren Freeman, ’29, and Azure Chiasson, ’29

Staff Writers

With the state of global affairs in disarray, many wonder what will bring the end of humanity. Nuclear war? The Hantavirus? Aliens? Though these issues are pressing, one threat to humanity that is becoming hard to ignore is global warming. Due to its recognition by world governments, despite many deniers, global warming is one of the most talked about topics today. Defined as the increase in Earth’s average air and ocean temperatures over the last couple hundred years, it is at the forefront of international discussion.

Activists have most commonly cited the significant changes in Earth’s climate as the biggest cause for alarm. The greenhouse effect is a natural process where atmospheric gases (CO2, methane, water vapor) trap heat radiating from Earth. This phenomenon keeps the planet warm enough to sustain life. But human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, have intensified this process, leading to an increase in the Earth’s average temperature. The year 2024 was the warmest recorded by a wide margin, according to scientists. This has led to the melting of large polar ice sheets as well as the thermal expansion of water, which is the increase in volume and decrease in density that occurs when water temperature rises. Taken together, these have directly caused a rise in sea levels across the globe.

The consequences of global warming can be detrimental to our environment as a whole. Global warming doesn’t just affect animals and plants; it can have devastating effects on human life as well. Rising sea levels and an increase in extreme weather lead to more frequent natural disasters including storms, droughts and wildfires. Rising sea levels can cause flooding and erosion which threatens many coastal areas. Damage to buildings and businesses force the people affected to rebuild their homes and buildings with their own money, which can be costly. Additionally, local animals lose habitats, making them more vulnerable to predation, competition and possibly extinction.

To satisfy needs for monetary gain and convenience, humans have ignored the environmental impacts of industrialization and expansion, and thus have created the current problem we call global warming. Many advocacy groups and political leaders, fearful of Earth’s uncertain future, actively seek strategies to prevent or delay this threat They recommend reducing our carbon footprint — and the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel it — by switching to renewable energy like wind and solar, shifting toward the use of electric vehicles over gas-powered cars, and reducing waste sent to landfills.

Of course, these changes can’t be made in a day, and one person choosing to ride a bike rather than drive a car to work may not seem to make much of a difference. But if the human race can collectively adopt more climate-friendly lifestyle changes, we can preserve the wonderful planet that we all know. Global warming is one of the most important issues of the modern era. Our willingness to act now — or our failure to act — will determine life on Earth for generations to come. By taking steps to combat global warming, we can at least delay the impact of the problem that our ancestors created and many of us continue to ignore.

By Emma Hersey, ’29

Staff Writer

What makes people want to get good grades? What makes people not care about their grades? These two questions are ones that teachers and students ask themselves all the time. Why do students put so much importance on some random letters? Of course it’s natural to want to succeed, but is it really healthy to let these letters have so much influence on our happiness?  I, like many of my peers, believe that all students who wish to keep their peace of mind during their high school journey need to have a balance between school life and social life. Students who fail to find this balance often find themselves feeling “burnt out” and unable to match the productivity they were able to achieve before. Even more troubling is that without this balance, students often tend to prioritize academics over friendships. As a result, their social life often suffers, which causes them to become isolated from their friends.

The idea of a grading system has been around for about three or four centuries, originating from groupings based on oral exams in ancient times. Now, educators utilize a mix of written exams, oral exams, and homework to help determine numerical and letter grades. As time has passed and the world has progressed, the grading system has evolved with it. The origin of the grading system we use today came from Ezera Stiles, an educator and president of Yale from 1778-1797. For exams at the prestigious university beginning in 1785, he split people up into four different groups ranging from best to worst: Optimi, meaning best; Second Optimi; Inferiores, and finally Pejores, being the worst. In 1792 this system was later adapted to a numerical grading system by William Farish, a professor at Cambridge University. The idea of using letters to represent grades didn’t come into practice until 1897, with letters ranging from A-E. Later, near the 20th century, the E was removed because it was continually confused with the meaning “excellent” instead of its true meaning, which was failure. That’s when the F came in to take its place.  

Mental health issues have a big impact on the young and old alike and can carry a lot of weight when making decisions. Mental health is the emotional state that influences a person’s thinking, behavior, and emotions. Your psyche and social well-being are also factors that help people determine their mental health. Lots of students suffer declines in their mental state because of stress that originates in academic settings. Whether through the stress of preparing for AP exams, finals, unit tests, or projects, students dealing with that kind of constant pressure are bound to find themselves mentally unhealthy.

Why do students become stressed with their school work? Why do students want to produce a “good score”? What are the guidelines and qualifications of a “good score”? Is it above average? Highest in the class? These so-called qualifications for achievement are set by your peers, teachers, parents, but most importantly yourself. Many students forget that they have the ability to determine what they deem as excellent. As a result, they continue to needlessly stack on the pressure from others. Students should not feel pressured to produce scores that are above their capacity and should, instead, set reasonable goals for themselves. These days, it often feels like society expects everyone to have straight As, disregarding the fact that many students show real learning and hard work when earning Bs or even Cs. In some cases, an extra push to success is beneficial, but more often it can lead students to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Parents are one of the main reasons that children feel pressured to produce good grades. Some parents view their children as a reflection of themselves and want only the best from them, when in fact children are not copies of their parents and the scores that they receive have no correlation to the parents at all. Creating a good learning environment is crucial to the success of students. Overbearing parents most often create an atmosphere that is not only intolerant of failure, but unaccepting of anything below perfection. This attitude toward achievement, along with the constant pressure to achieve, causes students’ mental health to decline.

Getting good grades is not all that matters when getting into college. Of course, it is something that they consider important, but there are always other deciding factors to get that letter of acceptance. Admissions officers don’t want working machines at their colleges; they want students who will become well-rounded people, and who will better the school’s reputation. Having a social life, extracurriculars, jobs, and hobbies are important to colleges too. Balancing your school work and social life shows that you have good time management and varied interests as well as an understanding of your classes. Ultimately, what colleges are looking for is a well-rounded student. Lots of students can get “good grades,” but what sets your application apart from others is your extracurriculars, interests, and personality.

Life is a competition. This popular mantra is repeated again and again by teachers, principals, parents, and relatives. Most of us tend to scoff at this message, but, in truth, the statement does carry some weight. In life, there are only a few people that you are not in competition with, even if only subconsciously. All of your peers are competing against you to see who can get the best grades, who can get the better test score, or who can just do better in life. And that competition doesn’t just stop after college. Even adults, however outlandish this may seem, compete with each other over trivial matters like what private school their kids might be attending or how neat their yard is compared to their neighbors. These are all ways that people compare themselves to others. Making comparisons is a natural part of life, and it happens in every setting; however, excessive competition can become unhealthy. The main cause of comparison is the need for validation from oneself and others. High schoolers are at the age where image matters;  sometimes, that drives people to be better than others, but it also makes people act as if they don’t care. An obsession with being better than others often does more harm than good. It might make you a more determined person who puts time and effort into their education, but it can also lead to over confidence, unbridled egotism, and an unhealthy focus on grades.

While getting good grades can be a sign of success, focusing solely on the points you earn can cause immense stress. It is also not a true reflection of the whole person you are. People tend to forget that their grades do not define them. The most important thing in life is to be able to set reasonable goals and work hard to reach them. Having straight As is great, but not at the expense of your mental health.

featured image: https://www.aacp.org/article/are-grades-failing-students

By Siena Oliver, ’27

Opinions Editor

With exams on the horizon, many AP Literature and Composition students struggle to define ‘literary merit.’

The AP Lit test has several components: a multiple choice section, two essays analyzing a given excerpt of text, and a final essay where students are allowed to choose a work of ‘literary merit’ to analyze based on a given prompt. It is this last essay which often sparks debate on which literary works ‘have merit,’ what that means and who gets to decide.

The College Board, the company which creates and administers AP exams, never directly defines ‘literary merit.’ The AP Lit syllabus encourages teachers to “select works of literary merit culled from a variety of genres and periods from the late 16th century to the present” as material for their classes, and emphasizes that students “get to know several works of literary merit in depth.” Because of the lack of formal definition for the term, teachers and students are forced to speculate and come up with their own standards.

There are some books which are immediately discarded as not having ‘literary merit,’ like many children’s or young adult novels, simply due to the fact that they are written for younger audiences. The basic standard seems to be that if a book is not at a college reading level, it does not have sufficient ‘literary merit’ to be used on the AP exam. Contradictory to this idea, however, is the fact that Alice in Wonderland, a children’s literature classic, has appeared on the official College Board list of recommended books for AP Literature in past years.

Additionally, despite the fact that many books which apparently have ‘literary merit’ were written long ago, the age of a book is not a strictly defining factor. The College Board list of recommended books has novels written in the 1800s, but also works published as recently as 2016.

One example of a book that is not considered suitable for use on the AP Lit exam is Harry Potter, an extremely popular children’s/young adult book series that holds personal importance for many readers. These books, although lauded for their rich world-building, complex themes and character development, are not considered to have ‘literary merit.’ Critics say the writing is not sophisticated and relies on well-worn tropes such as the battle of good versus evil. Others say its commercial success, seven books followed by a wildly popular movie franchise, mean it cannot be taken seriously as ‘literature.’

So, without an official definition, how can someone determine a work’s ‘literary merit’? In terms of every day life, ‘literary merit’ can refer to a host of qualities about a work of literature, but mainly is qualified by a work’s ability to meaningfully impact readers and remain relevant over time. In contrast, for English scholars, and students taking the AP Lit exam, the best practice is to assume that a work of ‘literary merit’ is one that is complex enough to support in-depth analysis, has layered themed, nuanced characters, and uses advanced literary elements and techniques throughout.

By Sophie Bunar, ’27

Staff Writer

“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”

These are the words of Romanian-born activist Elie Wiesel, a noted Holocaust survivor who has dedicated his life to advocating for human rights and fighting intolerance. He is most commonly known within school systems for his memoir Night, which described his life as an adolescent when he survived the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.

Wiesel’s speech “The Perils of Indifference” delivers a profound warning about the dangers of apathy in the face of human suffering. Delivered at the White House in 1999, the speech emphasizes that indifference (an absence of concern or empathy) is more harmful than hatred because it enables oppression and tyranny to persist unchallenged. Wiesel recounts how, during the Holocaust, the world’s indifference allowed atrocities to unfold. He stresses that indifference dehumanizes both the victim and the bystander. “In denying their humanity, we betray our own,” Wiesel says.

Wiesel warns that indifference allows injustice to flourish, creating a dangerous silence that enables violence and oppression. When people choose not to speak out or act against wrongdoing, they become complicit in the suffering of others. This message resonates deeply today, as many witness the ICE raids and the notably tragic losses of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, yet remain silent. Although many in Minneapolis, as well as across the nation, have stood up against this outrage, those who refuse to protest or even acknowledge these events perpetuate a cycle of harm, making indifference a form of passive acceptance.

In standing up against oppression, protest becomes more than just an act of defiance; it is a vital expression of dignity, compassion, and solidarity. Additionally, it honors the humanity of those affected and challenges systems that devalue human lives. As Wiesel’s life and words remind us, the fight against intolerance and violence requires courage from all of us—not just to confront hatred, but to resist the quiet force of indifference.

In this era, in this moment, choosing to raise our voices, join protests, or simply bear witness is a way to ensure that history does not repeat its darkest chapters. As Wiesel states in his speech, “Together we walk towards a new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope.”

Works Cited

Stuart, Tessa. “Minneapolis ICE Shooting Protests: Photos from Vigils across the U.S.” Rolling Stone, 8 Jan. 2026, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-pictures/minneapolis-ice-shooting-protests-photos-1235496024/renee-nicole-good-killing-protest/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.

White House Archived. ““In the Face of Evil, We Must Summon Our Capacity for Good.” — @POTUS on Elie Wiesel: Http://Go.wh.gov/C9asbs.” X (Formerly Twitter), 2026, x.com/ObamaWhiteHouse/status/749389707650314240. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.

Wiesel, Elie. “The Perils of Indifference.” Americanrhetoric.com, 12 Apr. 1999, http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/ewieselperilsofindifference.html.

By Makenna Larson, ’29

Staff Writer

Beauty is one of those words everyone thinks they understand, but no one can fully define. In today’s society, beauty is usually shown to us through social media, magazines, and celebrities. Women, specifically, are constantly told what is considered pretty and what is not. Whether it’s clear skin, a certain body type, or a new hairstyle you “have to try,” these ideas turn into what people call “beauty standards.” Even though they are everywhere and are considered normal, they end up making girls feel less — a problem society needs to address.

Society often treats beauty like a checklist. If you are pretty enough to meet the expectations, you are considered attractive. The problem is that this checklist keeps changing. What is trendy one year is “out” the next, which makes it impossible for anyone to ever meet the standards in place. Instead of feeling proud of who they are, many girls feel pressured to constantly fix themselves.

Beauty standards especially affect women because they are taught from a young age that how they look matters more than who they are. Compliments are often about appearance first, not personality, kindness, or intelligence. Over time, this can make girls believe their value depends on meeting these standards, which can end up making them focus on how they look instead of how they act.

The reason beauty standards will never make women feel fulfilled is because they are based on comparison. There will always be someone who looks different, taller, smaller, clearer, or more “perfect” according to society. Fulfillment doesn’t come from trying to look like someone else. It comes from feeling accepted and confident as yourself, which standards don’t allow.

True beauty is personal and different for everyone. It includes confidence, uniqueness, and being comfortable in your own skin. Until society stops treating beauty like a rulebook and starts treating it like something individual, many women will continue to feel like they are chasing something they can never reach. Maybe the real problem isn’t how women look, but how narrowly society defines beauty in the first place.

featured image: https://www.betimeful.com/blogs/effects-of-social-media-on-body-image

By Emma Hersey, ’29

Staff Writer

Whether debating the best holiday movie or an important social issue, it’s important to support our arguments with sound reasoning. However, logical fallacies – an error in reasoning that has plagued debaters since the days of Aristotle – can stymie the best of us. How do we ensure we avoid logical fallacies, which lead to unreliable conclusions, emotional manipulation and deviations from the truth due to false assumptions? Let’s start by diving into the two types of fallacies: material and verbal.

Material fallacies are when the main point or assumptions in a sentence are flawed instead of the structure of the sentence. Verbal fallacies are sentences that use ambiguity to trick people with the double meanings of the stressed words.These two fallacies are important to be aware of because they can cause weakened arguments and lead to misconceptions. To test your understanding of these two types of fallacies, you can take this quiz. Once you submit your answers, you can check to see what you got right. 

Through these logical fallacies, many people are tricked into formulating shaky arguments, and making incorrect conclusions about the situation at hand. An unsound argument is when you make a claim that fails in its logical structure, or has a piece of information that is questionable to be true. Two types of arguments that fall under logical fallacies are the loaded question fallacy and the ad hominem fallacy. The loaded question fallacy puts the responder in a situation where the answers of “yes” or “no” are both wrong or contradictory. The question “are you always this disrespectful?” is one example; if you answer “yes,” then it proves that you are aware that you are disrespectful, but if you answer “no,” then you are admitting that you usually are disrespectful but you just aren’t as bad at this given moment. These questions lead to unreliable conclusions.

The ad hominem fallacy judges people based on what they do instead of the information they offer. Attacking the person because of their past actions and not the argument at hand creates distorted conclusions. If you do not believe in the actions of the person, then what is it that will push you to believe the words coming out of their mouth? People often have the tendency to judge people based on their clothing, with a negative response to poorly dressed individuals and a positive response to people who are decked out in luxurious brands. Sadly, someone can be speaking complete lies and the audience will take to heart everything they say just because they believe they are competent due to the clothes on their body.

There are several other kinds of fallacies too:

Appeal to Emotion –  Have your parents ever said to you, “You have to finish your dinner because there are starving children in the world that could use that food?” That’s an appeal to emotion, which manipulates a person’s feelings and coerces the receiver to accept this formulated conclusion. Through this fallacy, people are misled and manipulated by their emotional response and thus change their actions based on it. When your parents deliver the line about “staving kids,” it makes you want to sit back down and finish your food because of the human response of empathy. Even if you argue about the food at first, your body will respond to a change in emotion and will cause you to finish the food out of guilt for the other children out there. 

Slippery Slope – An example of this is when an adult says, “If you don’t do your homework, you’ll fail the class. If you fail the class, you won’t graduate. If you don’t graduate, you won’t get into college or a good job, and you’ll end up poor and homeless.” This fallacy supposes that if you do A, it will cause a chain reaction that not only causes B, but causes C and D too. Many parents use this fallacy to control their children because they believe that it will coerce their children into obeying their instructions. Once children hear how bad life can get if they don’t do a certain thing, parents might believe, they will steer away from the action. But sometimes this can have the opposite effect and make children even more rebellious.

Bandwagon – This fallacy implies that who is making the statement is crucial for its believability. Many stores use the bandwagon effect when marketing products. By paying influencers to positively review the products, the store makes the product seem popular, and that entices shoppers to try it for themselves. When someone uses the bandwagon fallacy, they are putting the claim of a good product on an item just because of its growing popularity, not its actual performance. 

Appeal to Nature – This fallacy tricks your brain into believing something is better because it is natural, rather than unnatural. The word “natural” has positive connotations, while “unnatural” is associated with poisons and pesticides. A common marketing tool is to put the words “all natural” on the package because people will believe that anything “natural,” or from the earth, is automatically healthy. When grocery items are labeled organic, it makes many people more inclined to buy them, even though it’s not clear what definition of “organic” the store is using. 

Logical fallacies are a big part of our world, leading to unreliable conclusions, emotional manipulation, and deviations from the truth because of false assumptions. It is easy to be swayed by other people and what they are voicing, but being aware of logical fallacies will help you avoid being manipulated. If you want to know more about logical fallacies, check out this link.