Media, influencers, politicians and even your friends and family use the jump in thinking to bring you to a conclusion of their choice.
They’ll state something most people can broadly agree with so you’re nodding your head in agreement. Then they add in words like, “that means”, “what will happen next is” or “obviously…”, to name a few.
They then jump to their point and how they think, or want you to think, things will play out next. If they say it with confidence and certainty, you are more likely to make the jump with them and adopt their point of view.
Harmless enough over minor things like who the best drummer in the world is but less so when discussing more impactful issues.
Some people are very good at bringing you along with them without you stopping to think. However, with all “this then that” commentary and any future guessing, you certainly should stop and think about the statement. Ask questions like, “Is that the only possible outcome?”, “Has this person been right on all of their other guesses about how the future will unfold or why a person is like that?” or, “has this happened frequently or rarely in history?”.
It’s easy to simply go with the thought on offer. However, once you let others influence how you think, they have more control over your life than you’d imagine. If you think the Russian media might be overly biased or misleading in their coverage, have you considered that the media you consume could be similar?
