Dopass.com

I was cruising the web for a few minutes between bouts of writing for my current project, when I hit Gamepolitics and came across a reprint of some of Dr. Phil's comments from his Larry King appearance, recently. The article where they were mentioned was in relation to Dr. Phil's recent efforts to approach people like Jack Thompson and "parents of teens addicted to Second Life" in relation to an upcoming show, which many believe will air next week.

We know from Dr. Phil's totally inappropriate and misplaced comments about the VT shootings that his stance is certainly not one for freedom of expression, nor is it a recognition of any sort of merit (of any kind, not just artistic) to be found in the works of the games industry, so many people (myself included) are expecting Dr. Phil to lambaste video games.

That irritates me, I won't lie, but he has the right to do so... However, I can't help but wonder why he chooses video games specifically, it's obvious that violent media is his bitch - not games specifically, so why pick on just us?

How do I know what Phil's bitch is? Easy, he told Larry King, check it out yourself:

DR. PHIL: …the problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me - common sense tells you that if these kids are playing video games, where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high.

I bolded that for emphasis. That's an interesting quote because, in addition to begging the question "Why are you pointing your barb at what you already admit is only part of what you perceive to be a problem?" it also highlights that he's made a logical leap in his reason that, as they say in critical thinking classes, "Does not follow."

Let's focus for a moment on the second half of that quote:
...You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath or someone suffering from mental illness and add in a dose of rage, the suggestibility is too high.

The suggestibility of the media, Dr. Phil? Or the suggestibility inherent in anyone suffering from the problems of your obvious;y insane examples? Are you sure it's not the uninhibiting effect of the rage? Or the lack of operable knowledge of right and wrong that being a psychopath or sociopath gives you?

At best, you can say that the media's suggestibility (something yet to be proven by any scientist, to be clear) plays a part, but as the vast majority of sane people don't go off and kill folks, access to violent media or not, I find even that claim to be suspect and certainly not a common sense thing.

Always be wary of people who use the phrase "common sense tells us..." - As the old saying goes, "Common sense is anything but." It doesn't help that it's also a tried and true debating tactic designed to cow your listener into agreeing with you, even if they don't otherwise. ("Whoah, common sense says that? Am I the idiot?!")

Speaking of debating tactics and propaganda devices, the term suggestibility is an interesting one for him to use, I feel. Because I think it is "suggestive" without actually saying "anything." Media doesn't suggest anything - it portrays. It's never aimed at a specific person and everyone is suggestible in different ways. That's just it... using the phrase suggestibility without being specific as to what he means has the effect of implying that the words, the expression or the media has some inherent power, but to reiterate - that has never been proven. Surely a doctor should know that, right? Besides, surely anyone educated at a college would know that "suggestibility" actually means:

Responsiveness or susceptibility to suggestion.

The word he would want to use is suggestability, but of course, that's not actually a word. Go look it up.

I have to assume that Dr. Phil knows that, which in turn indicates to me that he's deliberately misusing the word... which in turn implies that he knows he's got no scientific basis for his opinion, but wants to push it on you, anyway...

But that can't be true, can it? He's a Doctor!

I mean, common sense tells us that our doctors are smart, learned masters of scientific method and fact who exist only to selflessly help others, right?

- Snipehunter