Venn Diagrams

This mini podcast is about what we have in common based on factual information.

Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

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Transcript

Venn Diagrams

I didn’t learn about Venn Diagrams until high school. For whatever reason, they fascinated me then and continue to do so.

The thing I find most intriguing about them is the “melting pot” in the middle where divergent things come together.

To me, that section represents what we have in common. It’s actually very little if we look at it from the angle of being a special club that divides us. (more on that in a moment).

I now switch subjects to Greek syllogisms. They’re comprised of 2 assumptions (whether valid or not) that come to a 3rd conclusion. For example:

All Americans have blood. 

All Americans have red blood. 

Therefore All Americans are red blooded Americans.

You can come to an absurd conclusion if you wind up in the middle section of a Venn Diagram with corrupted data vs. factual information.

So, based on faulty information, you may not really belong in the middle but on the fringe. People on the fringe don’t have much in common with the universe of accurately sampled people.

The following type of “fun house mirror” logic is spewed every day to prop up fringe opinions and represent them as facts.

Radio host Bob Blowhard is a Bigot.

Joe Public is a family man and applauds and supports Bob’s positions.

Family men are not bigots.

What do we really have in common? That’s worth exploring because it’ ll be the glue that unites us. Passing off our opinions as facts divides us.

I’m reminded of the example of a drunk leaning on a lamppost. Is he using it to support his impaired position or is it shining a light on his condition?

I guess my message is this: Inspect your opinions before you pass them on as facts. 

I’m a parent and a grandparent and one of the most divisive things I can do is pass on my prejudice. It’s productive for me to either inspect my opinions in the light of day or just shut up.

All the best,

John