Welcome and thanks for exploring KoalaTruth.com. I hope you enjoyed your time here and read both pages for and against Koalas.
If you’re wonder just why the heck I made the site, it’s actually quite simple. The rant about how awful Koalas are is 574 words, carries a strong/emotional punch, and is quite memorable. However, the response is 1022 words, nearly double the length of the rant, includes an actual citation to data, and carries way less emotion. It’s boring even.
The same is true in the real world. Emotionally charged arguments quickly grab our attention and stay in our minds even if they are incomplete or ignore important context. Also, notice that it takes nearly twice as much time and work to debunk a poorly constructed argument. And even when the new argument is good and strong, it’s a lot less memorable.
So when you find yourself emotionally drawn to an argument and feel yourself getting upset, angry, happy, excited, or any other strong emotion, remember to pause and see if the thing that is inspiring that emotion is backed up by evidence. If it isn’t, you’re probably better off moving on and letting the evidence inform your thoughts and actions.
Best,
–Ben