Editing Cherry picking (section)

==One-sided argument<!--'One-sided argument' redirects here-->==
A '''one-sided argument''' (also known as '''card stacking''', '''stacking the deck''', '''ignoring the counterevidence''', '''slanting''', and '''suppressed evidence''')<ref name=stacking>{{cite web|title=One-Sidedness - The Fallacy Files|url=http://www.fallacyfiles.org/onesided.html|access-date=14 October 2014}}</ref> is an [[informal fallacy]] that occurs when only the reasons supporting a proposition are supplied, while all reasons opposing it are omitted.

Philosophy professor [[Peter Suber]] has written:<blockquote>The one-sidedness fallacy does not make an argument invalid. It may not even make the argument unsound. The fallacy consists in persuading readers, and perhaps ourselves, that we have said enough to tilt the scale of evidence and therefore enough to justify a judgment. If we have been one-sided, though, then we haven't yet said enough to justify a judgment. The arguments on the other side may be stronger than our own. We won't know until we examine them. 

So the one-sidedness fallacy doesn't mean that your premises are false or irrelevant, only that they are incomplete.

[…] You might think that one-sidedness is actually desirable when your goal is winning rather than discovering a complex and nuanced truth. If this is true, then it's true of every fallacy. If winning is persuading a decision-maker, then any kind of manipulation or deception that actually works is desirable. But in fact, while winning may sometimes be served by one-sidedness, it is usually better served by two-sidedness. If your argument (say) in court is one-sided, then you are likely to be surprised by a strong counter-argument for which you are unprepared. The lesson is to cultivate two-sidedness in your thinking about any issue. Beware of any job that requires you to truncate your own understanding.<ref name="Suber">{{cite web |url=http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/courses/inflogic/onesided.htm |title=The One-Sidedness Fallacy |author=Peter Suber |access-date=25 September 2012}}</ref></blockquote>

'''Card stacking''' is a [[propaganda]] technique that seeks to manipulate audience perception of an issue by emphasizing one side and repressing another.<ref>{{cite book |title=The fine art of propaganda: a study of Father Coughlin's s=Institute for Propaganda Analysis |year=1939 |publisher=Harcourt Brace and Company |pages=95–101 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EzVMAAAAIAAJ&q=%22card+stacking%22 |access-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref> Such emphasis may be achieved through [[media bias]] or the use of [[One-sided argument|one-sided]] testimonials, or by simply [[Censorship|censoring]] the voices of critics. The technique is commonly used in persuasive speeches by political candidates to discredit their opponents and to make themselves seem more worthy.<ref>{{cite book |title=The art of creative critical thinking |last=C. S. Kim |first=John |year=1993 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn= 9780819188472|pages=317–318 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PXWAAAAMAAJ&q=%22card+stacking%22 |access-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref>

The term originates from the [[Magic (illusion)|magician]]'s gimmick of "[[Glossary of poker terms#cold deck|stacking the deck]]", which involves presenting a [[Playing card|deck of cards]] that appears to have been randomly shuffled but which is, in fact, 'stacked' in a specific order. The magician knows the order and is able to control the outcome of the trick. In poker, cards can be stacked so that certain hands are dealt to certain players.<ref>{{cite book |title=Clear thinking: a practical introduction |last=Ruchlis |first=Hyman |author2=Sandra Oddo |year=1990 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn= 9780879755942|pages=195–196 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=04JqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22card+stacking%22 |access-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref>

The phenomenon can be applied to any subject and has wide applications. Whenever a broad spectrum of information exists, appearances can be rigged by highlighting some facts and ignoring others. Card stacking can be a tool of advocacy groups or of those groups with specific agendas.<ref>{{cite book |title=Immunization: the reality behind the myth, Volume 3 |last=James |first=Walene |year=1995 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn= 9780897893596|pages=193–194 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQHPoGs6CvIC&q=%22card+stacking%22&pg=PA193 |access-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref> For example, an enlistment poster might focus upon an impressive picture, with words such as "travel" and "adventure", while placing the words, "enlist for two to four years" at the bottom in a smaller and less noticeable point size.<ref>{{cite book |title=Techniques of Propaganda and Persuasion |last=Shabo |first=Magedah |year=2008 |publisher=Prestwick House Inc |isbn= 9781580498746|pages=24–29 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sDIbJUAZeuwC&q=%22card+stacking%22&pg=PA28 |access-date=November 24, 2010}}</ref>