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epeck's picture

I agree that charisma can

I agree that charisma can overpower facts and if you don't know much about something it's easy to be swayed by a charismatic argument.  It is scary how we'll believe anything if the speaker/presenter makes it sound good enough - however, since this is how we seem to take in everyday information (choosing the more appealing presentation over a less attractive option) we have to work within those boundaries.  If we more eagerly accept information delivered charismatically and with an emotional pull, we have to make sure that we teach kids (and adults) to double check their facts and really think about their sources and why they accept certain facts over others.  In order to work the charisma edge to an educational advantage we might want to find more charismatic teachers (in my opinion charisma is the x-factor that makes defining a good teacher so difficult) so that kids will be more eager to learn.  Hopefully by thinking critically about why we are so accepting of certain information - this probably also goes back to whatever is stored in our cog. unconsciousness that gets primed by certain stimulants - we can sort through the information we take in and separate the good information from good presentation.

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