How To Avoid Scams and Hoaxes: Blinding

A video with slides and info from my course.
You can find it here on Youtube
https://youtu.be/uciyl3h-2FI

Like-farming problems

Beware of like-farming content on social media like this one supposedly about Haiti, but is actually from the Tsunami in Japan a few years ago. 
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/like-farming-facebook-scams-look-before-you-like-042215.html

"Many like-farmers rely on appeals to emotion: anytime you're urged to “like” or “share” a post that pulls at your heartstrings or pushes your buttons, there's likely a like-farmer behind it. “This poor little girl with cancer lost her hair to chemotherapy — 'like' this post to let her know she's still beautiful!” “This new government policy is outrageous — 'like' this post if you're outraged, too!”"

Need a tissue? Hillary or Trump ad bashing brings a tear to my eyes

Really? I'm almost at a loss for words at the level of stupidity with this. Some people are calling this ad offensive and sexist. One person I know felt deeply offended that Scotties would put Hillary on an even level with Trump. Do these people have such boring insufferable lives that they are offended by any little thing? Why do they read so much into so little? I mean this really is as safe and clean as a comedic ad could be.

Also check out the Tissue for Any Issue previous ad campaign (second pic) and someone's reaction to it (third pic...note* in this pic the dark-haired female has the words "cutting an onion" and "cutting your finger" ). I think a special snowflake award is needed for these people. Or maybe just a tissue

Marijuana and the legality of it all.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2985082/4000-illegal-marijuana-plants-seized-from-health-canada-licensed-grow-op-in-ontario/

My response to the post in the photo: 

Legalization doesn't mean a free-for-all. If it was an illegal grow-op then yes they should go after them (at least lay big fines). And yes, illegal activity can attract violent criminals, especially when lots of potential money is involved. Who would of thunk that? To be ignorant of that is just silly and childish. Your logic is flawed as you equate policing illegal business dealings with a bad social ideal. I wouldn't say that you shouldn't own nice things, but if you owned a high end sport car it would be prudent to protect it. Anyone who stole it from you would be in the wrong. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if someone stole your Porshe instead of your Toyota Echo. I wouldn't say that you shouldn't dress provocatively (and anyone who would harass you would be hugely in the wrong), but it would be naive to think that everyone in society thinks and behaves the same way as you, so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise if one was harassed at some point. These are just the sad realities we currently live with. Just as society wouldn't want a free-for-all on alcohol and the medicinal industry, here one would want it controlled in the same manner as well. C'mon man, you're smarter than this. Don't let an emotional appeal get in the way of your thinking.

Also see:  http://scambusting101.blogspot.ca/2016/04/to-cheech-his-own.html
and           http://scambusting101.blogspot.ca/2016/01/can-cannabis-cancel-cancer.html

Fallist fail: Lighting. How do you explain that?

This is funny but also sad that someone actually thinks like this.

Forget Bill O'Reilly (Tide goes in Tide goes out)
Here you have (paraphrasing a bit) "They believe that through black magic that you are able to send lighting to strike someone. Can you explain that scientifically because it is something that happens?"

https://youtu.be/C9SiRNibD14?t=48s

Yes I can. Places with ferric (high iron content) or red soil provide the positive charge required by lightning. Thus with the heavy storms that come after heat waves that chances of getting hit by lighting increases. Add in a lack of knowledge in how to protect oneself from lighting and that increases even more. South Africa has annually anywhere between 100-300 deaths a year from lightning with many more presumed unreported due to cultural traditions of quickly burying the dead due to fear of witchcraft. Confirmation bias and confusion of correlation and causation would play heavily in reinforcing the idea of being able to jinx someone to being struck by lightning. Of course they would only remember the hits and never the misses.