Deconstructing Dichotomy
If the word "or" was perceived the way logical people interpreted it, the nation or society would not be as divided as it was today.
If the word "or" was perceived the way logical people interpreted it, the nation or society would not be as divided as it was today.
On 22 November 2020, Chris Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the United States linked an interesting image to his tweet on Twitter.
On the e-poster bearing the CISA logo, the top person to guarantee cybersecurity, including elections in the US, and was recently sacked by President Trump, shows how trivial matters like pineapple on pizza or not has managed to trigger heated debate and divide American society. Similar issues also occur in cyberspace in Indonesia, such as whether chicken porridge is stirred or not. The public is divided into polar opposites: those who like their chicken porridge stirred and those who don’t.
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The e-poster also mentions that trivial debates like the war on pineapple was created by foreign influencers, not for the purpose of winning the argument over whether a pizza should use or not to use the best pineapple, but simply to see the American public divided. Of course, the statement that this debate was created by foreign influencers needs to be proven, but social divisions do occur and are real.
The debate over wearing masks is not a laughing matter In general, the recipe to create (public) division requires two main components: the "or" idea and the black-and-white dichotomy way of thinking.
In this superpower country, the choice to wear or not wear a face mask (during Covid-19 pandemic) has now become a political expression or statement. As a result, the public was divided again into two opposing camps, which this time was certainly dangerous. The debate over wearing masks is not a laughing matter In general, the recipe to create (public) division requires two main components: the "or" idea and the black-and-white dichotomy way of thinking.
Or
The idea of "or" is needed to realize the division of the population into two groups. However, the common meaning of "or" is different from the meaning of "or" in the logical sense. Logical people, as well as mathematicians, constantly perceive the word "or" as "or" which is inclusive, not exclusive. That is, if "A or B" happens, then there can be three possibilities. First, just A happens. Second, just B happens. Third, A and B both happen. This is the definition of "or" that is strictly followed in logic, mathematics and scientific derivatives.
In this March 24, 2020, file photo, a man sits outside a closed wholesale market in Mumbai, India. The International Monetary Fund has sharply lowered its forecast for global growth this year because it envisions far more severe economic damage from the coronavirus than it did just two months ago.
There is "or" which is exclusive and only provides two possibilities. First, A happens. Second, B happens. However, in this excusive "or" type, A and B never happen together.
On the menu of a Padang restaurant, it reads "Package A: rice with beef rendang or chicken curry". We understand what the restaurant means, customers are asked to choose one of the two options. So, the restaurant uses "or" exclusive. This is the meaning of "or" which is commonly understood in everyday use. However, it would be funny to imagine, if the seller at the restaurant were a logician, who used the "or" inclusive. It could be that the customer occasionally gets rice filled with beef rendang and chicken curry altogether.
As a result, if someone tries to interpret "or" in everyday conversation with "or" the inclusive, often it will bring up an absurdity and funny.
Then, even funnier, if a logician visited the restaurant and was asked by the waiter, "Do you want rice with beef rendang or chicken curry?" The customer is allowed and valid if he answers, "Yes!" Readers may occasionally experiment and give such answer. From this illustration, it can be seen that the word "or" in everyday speech is generally interpreted exclusively. As a result, if someone tries to interpret "or" in everyday conversation with "or" the inclusive, often it will bring up an absurdity and funny.
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To successfully divide a population into two groups that are in absolute conflict, it is necessary to use "or" the exclusive. The case of wearing a face mask or not and pineapple on pizza or not, both types are exclusive. This is what smoothly produces the opposition between the two polars. On the other hand, "or" inclusive is difficult to create division with binary polarization.
In today\'s society, it seems that people used to it and often slip into the abyss of dichotomous thinking like the one above. At the beginning of facing the crisis of the Covid-19 outbreak, dichotomous thinking had also been popularized by several policy makers, namely choosing to prioritize the safety of citizens or economic sustainability. Both are considered to be contradicting each other. Not to mention the dichotomy between the confidentiality of personal data or the handling the outbreak, which is often debated. The term "or" as used therein is generally considered to be exclusive.
In fact, the most recent data collected to date as revealed by (Smithson, 2020) shows that the two options above are not separated from each other, let alone contradictory. That\'s an example of a wrong dichotomy. Seeing the strategy in the mitigation effort for this outbreak as a zero-sum game – that is, if one comes first, the other must be defeated – lacks data support.
In fact, the latest data shows the opposite. Some countries that are strict in imposing social restricting in order to avoid virus transmissions are still economically advanced. On the other hand, there are countries that initially prioritized the economy and left social restrictions behind, but their economies were not that bright either.
A protective services officer walks past a sculpture of three businessmen in Melbourne\'s central business district on September 2, 2020. - Australia has entered its first recession since 1991 after the economy shrank 7 percent in the second quarter, official figures showed on September 2, as the country reels from the coronavirus pandemic.
Because of the dichotomy thinking trap, often the alternative choice between the two extremes is not explored. This misleading dichotomy will put its followers into a cage with poor choices. Moreover, many serious personal (social and career) problems and conflicts in society can be fueled by this black-and-white dichotomy.
Black-and-white dichotomy
In the paper “Dichotomous Thinking and Cognitive Ability” (Mieda et al, 2020) it is said that dichotomous thinking is generally associated with low educational achievement. This implies that the quality of educational practice has contributed to the epidemic of polar apostasy today. For the record, this black-and-white dichotomy phenomenon is not a just the monopoly of the developing countries, but also spreads in the developed countries.
Therefore, dichotomy thinking in education is in question and has been challenged by the growth mindset approach, which has become increasingly popular lately.
In the world of health and psychology it is known that this dichotomy of thinking can lead someone to misjudge others. Of course, this situation will interfere with personal social relationships and career. This two-pole dichotomy error also often causes someone to label himself as talented or not talented, succeed or fail, and so on. As a result, such a narrow frame of mind has the opportunity to extinguish one\'s desire to learn. By considering oneself as not talented, let alone stupid, a person becomes reluctant and afraid to learn new things. Therefore, dichotomy thinking in education is in question and has been challenged by the growth mindset approach, which has become increasingly popular lately.
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In addition, the ability to think creatively is also directly hampered by the black-and-white dichotomy trap. However, the most dangerous part of our dichotomy is the threat of racism and hatred against others. The fallacy of the “they-us” dichotomy will indirectly undermine the value of “the other” in the idea of a nation.
Like the metaphor, the nation is a plate of rujak (fruit platters), the dichotomy of "mango or non-mango" will undermine the value and role of other fruits kedondong, guava and other fruits on the plate.
However, this fallacy can be cured. As psychology professor Ellyn Kaschak (Kaschak, 2015) has said that the cultural thinking error manifested in black-and-white dichotomy can be cured by dismantling the various dichotomies, namely by adding complexity. In order to be able to think creatively and analyze critically, people need to have the courage to escape from the trap of dichotomy that has been overlooked and becomes trivial.
Iwan Pranoto
Thus, to overcome the threat of national division, education needs to free itself from the shackles of satisfying speeches in beautiful jargon and preaching empty optimism, but should immediately design a strategy to dismantle the dichotomous thinking in every learning class.
IWAN PRANOTO, Professor at the Bandung Institute of Technology
