The 'Motte & Bailey' meme reveals what's wrong with political arguments in 2020
This medieval-themed meme highlights a shady yet all too common rhetorical move people make in arguments.
04 September, 2020
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes/Big Think
- The "Motte and Bailey Doctrine" was developed by philosopher Nicholas Shackel.
- It describes a rhetorical move in which an arguer advances an indefensible opinion, but when challenged falls back upon a similar yet easier-to-defend opinion.
- Motte-and-baileys have become a weapon of choice in political and culture-war arguments.
<p>For the past couple of years, a medieval-themed meme has been popping up more in certain online circles. </p><p>The meme shows a 10th-century castle system called a motte-and-bailey, which consists of a courtyard next to a fortified tower on a hill. Above each is text outlining two arguments.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYzNjAxNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNTM1ODAzM30.kvA8LiJv-yx6LcKWEbYObssnLL7KyrJBOh1fVeuqIo4/img.png?width=980" id="15ab5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2d52dace1aff06b1cdb394a5ac4325e1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Motte-and-bailey meme" />
Motte-and-bailey meme
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes
<p>The "Motte and Bailey" meme is sort of confusing at first glance. But once understood, it provides a good way to visualize bad arguments by highlighting a shady rhetorical move that seems especially common in political discourse. </p><p>Here's an example in a hypothetical argument about homeopathic medicine:</p><p><strong>A: Homeopathic medicine can cure cancer.<br>B: There's no evidence showing homeopathy is effective.<br>A: Actually there are many ways for people to be healthy besides taking doctor-prescribed drugs.</strong></p><p><em></em>Spot it? Person A started with a bold and controversial opinion that's hard to defend (homeopathic medicine cures cancer). But when challenged, they retreated to an uncontroversial argument that's much easier to defend (prescription drugs aren't the only route to good health).</p><p>Person B would probably agree: Sure, there are many ways to be healthy besides drugs. But then, having deflected the first attack, Person A could go right back to arguing for homeopathic medicine as a cancer treatment.</p><div id="778a4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="94dbb3a4485071e57cf5e0bb97eca312"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1100474128539119616" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Motte-and-Bailey blank meme template, plus an explainer of how to use it, and an example. https://t.co/d7yT8HbjAf</div> — Noah Smith 🐇 (@Noah Smith 🐇)<a href="https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/statuses/1100474128539119616">1551208452.0</a></blockquote></div><p>In 2005, philosopher Nicholas Shackel coined this move as the <a href="https://philpapers.org/archive/SHATVO-2.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"Motte and Bailey Doctrine."</a> (People often call it a fallacy, but Shackel wrote a <a href="http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2014/09/motte-and-bailey-doctrines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">blog post</a> in 2014 explaining why he calls it a doctrine, and how "a myriad of persuasive fallacies" can be snuck into a motte-and-bailey.)</p><p>The name comes from a castle-defense system developed in the 10th century in northern Europe. One part was a courtyard area, called a bailey, where people would trade, eat, and work. On a nearby hill was a fortified tower called a motte. The motte was a boring place to hang out, but it was safe. So, during attacks, residents would flee the bailey for the motte, where they could ward off enemies.</p><p>In rhetorical terms, the bailey is the desired but hard-to-defend controversial opinion. The motte is the less desired yet defensible opinion that nearly everyone agrees with, and which the arguer retreats to if unable to defend the bailey.</p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYzNTk3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MDc3ODAyMX0.YbSzLxliXDE7i7A7DqRfVhw_ekDU8UGKVd_0iSxluhk/img.png?width=980" id="1ba41" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="82a71d8b18f7a48e6a0a44a6ab9eea29" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200bMotte-and-bailey meme" />
Motte-and-bailey meme
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes
<p>In 2014, the psychiatrist Scott Alexander <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_Star_Codex" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">(not his real name)</a> helped popularize the motte-and-bailey doctrine after writing about it on his blog <a href="https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/03/all-in-all-another-brick-in-the-motte/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Slate Star Codex</a>, a popular rationalist hub. Alexander wrote:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"[The doctrine] draws its strength from people's usual failure to debate specific propositions rather than vague clouds of ideas. If I'm debating "does quackery cure cancer?", it might be easy to view that as a general case of the problem of "is quackery okay?" or "should quackery be illegal?", and from there it's easy to bring up the motte objection."</p><p>Overlapping with the Slate Star Codex community is a subreddit named after the doctrine called <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/TheMotte/" target="_blank">r/TheMotte</a>, which describes itself as a place for people to "test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases." The subreddit calls on users to "always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed."<br></p><p>And then there are the memes. It's unclear who created the first one, or when, but since at least 2018 people have been posting motte-and-bailey memes to critique the often-shoddy ways in which people argue about issues ranging from immigration, to the problems of capitalism, to ideas about truth.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYzNjExMy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTc5MDQxNH0.xhQ52VMkCNkaNwaiwTwK-tLizCmqMgqb0xBSXxwhyPQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="dd45b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dff7f7eb91acd29ec1de9a0afb6419c2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="Motte-and-bailey meme" />
Motte-and-bailey meme
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes
<p>Motte-and-baileys aren't a new phenomenon. But it does seem like they're becoming a rhetorical weapon of choice in political and culture-war arguments.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"I think [the motte-and-bailey doctrine] is a very useful concept to have in my arsenal of concepts to analyze what's going on," Kenny Easwaran, philosophy professor at Texas A&M University and co-editor of the Journal of Philosophical Logic, told <a href="https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/06/19/the_motte__bailey_political_joustings_deceptive_new_weapon_from_the_middle_ages_124084.html" target="_blank">Real Clear Investigations</a><em>. </em>"It's behavior we've seen, but we see so much more of it now."</p><p>It's hard to say why. You could blame the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-08-13/nuance-memes-protests-ideas" target="_blank">fall of nuance</a>, <a href="https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/268982/impact-increased-political-polarization.aspx" target="_blank">increasing political polarization</a> and the <a href="https://www.valleycenter.com/articles/the-year-of-motte-bailey-arguments/" target="_blank">absence of a middle ground</a>, and the <a href="https://www.openpolitics.com/tag/social-media-incentives/" target="_blank">tendency of social media to incentivize tribalism</a>, to name a few. </p><p>It's also worth considering how motte-and-baileys change when they include moral claims. For example, it's one thing to pull a motte-and-bailey to advance an argument about, say, 18th-century economic theory. But hot-button issues change the game. Take debates <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/30/sports/track-gender-rules.html" target="_blank">about transgender and intersex athletes</a> as an example. </p><p>An argument might unfold like:</p><p><strong>A: Every transgender athlete should be able to compete in whichever gender category they identify with.<br>B: Wouldn't that give some athletes an unfair or even dangerous physical advantage?<br>A: Transgender people have been discriminated against for too long, it has to stop.</strong></p><p>Everyone agrees with the motte: transgender discrimination should stop. But notice how it becomes much easier to advance the bailey when the motte is a sensitive moral claim that's (rightfully) taboo to disagree with? </p><p>You might have good arguments against the bailey. But if it's tied to a sensitive motte, you might decide it's not even worth challenging. After all, it can be costly to your reputation to even look like you're challenging a sensitive motte, even if you're actually questioning the bailey in good faith.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYzNTk3NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTM2NTg0M30.2O2U4EGgqgo1tcELh_9y6wJ0FEkUZ5bKIziQwWVz1-M/img.jpg?width=980" id="e7924" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6f3251b3acd907c211e8049995b8e21f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200bMotte-and-bailey meme" />
Motte-and-bailey meme
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes
<p><br>You can see this play out in political arguments. For example, a Trump supporter might argue for unprecedentedly harsh immigration policies at the U.S./Mexico border. (That's the bailey). If someone challenges that position, the Trump supporter could shame them for being unpatriotic, considering immigration reform is part of the Make America Great Again platform, and who doesn't want to make America great (motte)?</p><p>Similarly, someone might question Black Lives Matter's goal of disrupting "the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement" (bailey). They might get a reply like: "What, are you trying to argue that Black lives don't matter (motte)?"</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzYzNTk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NTg3MzQ2OH0.rYqK2XXsKQaJUFB95LfI8ONsTdMkmJvQ9w5QDCFQew8/img.jpg?width=980" id="de706" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3ac7fb1ab576aadad4d516a670d2f485" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="\u200bMotte-and-bailey meme" />
Motte-and-bailey meme
Credit: MotteAndBaileyMemes
<p>It might sound like motte-and-baileys are always easy to spot. But as Alexander wrote on <a href="https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/03/all-in-all-another-brick-in-the-motte/" target="_blank">Slate Star Codex</a>, "all fallacies sound that way when you're thinking about them."<br></p>
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Why your rapport with coworkers is about much more than small talk
Scientists have proven that small talk with coworkers leads to stronger team cultures and better collaboration.
26 August, 2020
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- A recent Rutgers study has found that although small talk in the office can be distracting, employees and employers alike gain far more from these seemingly trivial interactions than we lose.
- Non-work banter can lead to more cohesive culture and higher-quality output.
- To deliver output with a higher value, you need to view productivity through a different lens, one that has leeway for freeform discourse.
<p>As remote working has become an integral <a href="https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/creative-expression-during-covid-19" target="_self">part of the "new normal,"</a> there has been plenty of speculation over its effects on people's productivity. Much of this tends to focus on the more tangible aspects, such as a longer working day due to reduced commuting, or the individual home office setup. </p><p>But a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341950505_Office_Chit-Chat_as_a_Social_Ritual_The_Uplifting_Yet_Distracting_Effects_of_Daily_Small_Talk_at_Work" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">recent study</a> out of the Department of Human Resource Management at Rutgers has uncovered that there are far more subtle forces at play. Specifically, while small talk in the office can be distracting, employees and employers alike gain far more from these seemingly trivial interactions than we lose. And when we're working from home, that type of banter simply doesn't flow in the same way.</p><p>While the effects of office small talk are difficult to quantify, the study expands on its many benefits. Notably, small talk "enhanced employees' daily positive social emotions at work, which translated into heightened organizational citizenship behaviors and greater wellbeing." In turn, this made them more likely to go the extra mile for their colleagues and the company. </p>
<p class=""><br></p>
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU4NDY3My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzAzMjQ1MH0.4ppxM-xn9FQG3FytzA480Zdo4gOyr2-603PAziTedss/img.png?width=980" id="74ab8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1dde547ecaedf9052ec626ee65954939" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="women laughing and looking at phone screen" /><p>The study does acknowledge the distraction factor of office chitchat, which will be a more familiar take on the topic for those used to a stricter boss. However, frowning on small talk as a distraction uses a very narrow, somewhat old-school definition of productivity that fails to consider the holistic set of factors governing optimal output.</p>
<p>As Matthew Guay, the founding editor of Capiche, <a href="https://capiche.com/e/no-productivity-software" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">put it</a>, you might be able to build a software stack that allows you to accomplish more. "More on its own, though, isn't enough," he wrote. "A better notes app might help you write more notes. A better to-do list app might get you to list more stuff. A better email app might help you hit inbox zero, and email everyone you've met." But to deliver output with a higher value, you need to view productivity through a different lens, one that has leeway for freeform discourse.</p>
<p>Indeed, the Rutgers study found that, overall, the positive impacts of small talk mitigated any adverse effects of being distracted from work. </p>
<p>In many ways, this isn't new information. Even before the pandemic took hold, experts were extolling the virtues of small talk. It's <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90388411/4-reasons-why-it-pays-to-get-better-at-small-talk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">said to help</a> individuals stand a better chance of being included in projects. Foreign workers excluded by language barriers also <a href="https://www.business2community.com/human-resources/big-benefits-of-small-talk-in-the-workplace-02098547" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">report feeling lethargic</a> due to feelings of loneliness and isolation stemming from a lack of engagement with co-workers. </p>
<p>On the other hand, seeing a proper peer-reviewed scientific study confirming what we know about small talk in the workplace is gratifying and especially poignant, given the current realities of remote work.</p>
Not just trivial chat
<p>Of course, every office is likely to have at least one or two curmudgeons who perceive all small talk as meaningless chit chat, and we're all better off letting these people do their thing unfettered. However, when taken across an entire workforce, the positive benefits for the organization start to stack up. </p><p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reality-mining/200911/the-water-cooler-effect" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">One study by MIT</a> found that office small talk promoted cohesion among employees, even in regimented environments such as call centers. </p><p>There's even reason to believe that teams come up with the best ideas when they are shooting the breeze, as opposed to working on ideas. "We have this very rich vocabulary to describe moments of inspiration," noted "Where Good Ideas Come From" author Steven Johnson in <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/steven_johnson_where_good_ideas_come_from" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">his 2010 TED Talk</a> of the same name.</p><p>"All of these concepts, as rhetorically florid as they are, share this basic assumption, which is that an idea is a single thing. It's something that happens often in a wonderful, illuminating moment. But, in fact, what I would argue and what you <em>really</em> need to begin with is this idea that an idea is a <em>network</em>."</p><p>Showing a slide of William Hogarth's 1755 painting "An Election Entertainment," Johnson noted that "This is the kind of chaotic environment where ideas were likely to come together, where people were likely to have new, interesting, unpredictable collisions, people from different backgrounds." Sounds like something hard to accomplish when we're relegated to individual bubbles. "So if we're trying to build organizations that are more innovative," Johnson concluded, "we have to build spaces that, strangely enough, look a bit more like this."</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU4NDY3Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzY3NjI5Mn0.ZDfoKvvTpUgRO196wvdPfEKJNX89FG93oKwd3IzOgco/img.jpg?width=980" id="11075" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6199faddbbe734be7ed6a0f40431ce41" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
"An Election Entertainment," William Hogarth
Wikimedia Commons
<p>In 2017, IBM, one of the original pioneers of remote working, <a href="https://qz.com/924167/ibm-remote-work-pioneer-is-calling-thousands-of-employees-back-to-the-office/" target="_blank">recalled workers</a> to the office in a bid to promote better collaboration and improve organizational agility. Ryan Holmes, founder of the social media management tool Hootsuite would no doubt agree with the strategy. He <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanholmes/2017/12/11/how-2000-random-coffees-changed-my-companys-culture/#5f3d226c4ffc" target="_blank">credits</a> a cross-departmental initiative matching employees for coffee dates with having transformed the culture of his company, creating a mindset of open conversation.</p> <p>All this underscores the role that seemingly trivial conversations can play in building a company culture based around trust and communication. This type of culture is the most <a href="https://www.greatplacetowork.com/images/media/2018_millennials_report_3.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">critical driver</a> for employee retention among the notoriously transient millennial generation. </p> <p>However, many of us are now working remotely for the foreseeable future, and there is a <a href="https://diginomica.com/traditional-office-dead-major-change-ahead-workplace" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">lot of talk</a> that the traditional office may be consigned to history. </p> <p>So what does this mean for small talk and even more importantly, overall employee wellbeing and productivity? </p>A risky proposition
<p>Pandemic-induced remote working practices mean that employees are working <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/covid-19-teleworking-and-productivity" target="_blank">longer hours</a> than ever before, promoting an "always-on" culture. Despite a significant increase in working time, around <a href="https://digital.com/coronavirus-employee-work-from-home-productivity/" target="_blank">30 percent of U.S. employees</a> report being less productive than they were before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Neither is this an American phenomenon – a <a href="https://voxeu.org/article/covid-19-teleworking-and-productivity" target="_blank">study from Japan</a> shows similar worrying trends.</p><p>Of course, there are confounding factors at play here. Many employees are caring for or homeschooling their children alongside their daily work. Some won't have an appropriate home office setup or decent connectivity. The overriding feelings of anxiety brought on by the pandemic and its far-reaching implications will also be affecting many people. </p><p>But the sudden change also means that many employees have seen a sudden drop in work-based interactions. The chances are that the majority of leaders are probably unaware of the productivity benefits of small talk, and even those that were aware may not have done much to address the issue. After all, the shift was sudden, and nobody knew how long it would last. </p><p>Either way, the loss of office social interactions represents a risk for companies. Employees may become disengaged, and productivity will drop even further. A company culture of trust and transparency can become that much more nebulous with distance. </p>Redress the balance
<p>Given it seems likely that remote working is here to stay, at least for now, then employers and employees can take some simple steps to help promote social interactions and engagement between remote workers. </p> <p>First of all, make sure that the channels of communication remain open, even if the <a href="https://bigthink.com/mind-brain/videoconferencing" target="_self">communication there is indeed inferior</a> to being in the same room. Most companies operate a chat-based communication system that supports audio calls, video or both – whether it be Slack, Skype, or MS Teams. Create a dedicated channel that's only used for social interactions, and start using it and encouraging others to do so.</p><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzU4NDY4Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMjg5MjEyMH0.Z8C5gr6gr660f3H9dCPK2SYb0rsPZuy9_T3HEpqfrak/img.png?width=980" id="c6504" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="193e635b1f3e705cf0844c8b410038b7" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="woman in video conferencing meeting" /><p>Set up calendar-based opportunities for social interactions such as a one-hour slot at the start or end of the day without any agenda for work-based discussion and allow people to come or go as they please. You could also organize virtual social activity sessions via video meetings, such as lunches, yoga, book groups, or birthday celebrations.</p>
<p>Managers and leaders need to go the extra mile to maintain communications between the company and employees. This may mean setting up a regular newsletter or blog, or conducting employee surveys. Leaders can participate in ask-me-anything sessions to help promote a culture of open dialogue and transparency. Employee recognition schemes using e-cards can help to highlight achievements. </p>
Keep talking small
<p>The suddenness of the shift means that employers and employees alike are having to get used to the new normal very fast. But small gestures can go a long way towards achieving a sense of normalcy, even if employees are locked out of their everyday office environment. </p> <p>Even those who are considering a more permanent shift to working at home should be mindful that losing out on small talk and trivial interactions holds far more risks than benefits to net productivity.</p>
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LIVE JUNE 30 | Happiness hack: Approach life like an Italian chef
If you're interested in reinvention and adaptability, turns out Italian cooking is an instruction manual for life.
27 June, 2020
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What does an adaptive and inventive life look like? Well, it looks a lot like Italian cooking. <strong>Tuscan chef Gabriele Corcos</strong> and <strong>American actor Debi Mazar </strong>bring their creative forces to Big Think Live to discuss risk-taking, career pivoting, and why your approach to food can be an instruction manual for reinvention, love and family.
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Ask your questions during the live Q&A!
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<strong>Join at 1pm ET on Tuesday June 30. Streaming via <a href="https://youtu.be/pqqL3WMu9-w" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom/posts/10157454482278527" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and via <a href="https://edge.bigthink.com/live_streams/97">Big Think Edge</a> (for subscribers only).</strong>
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Freedom fighting, writing, and microdosing LSD
Join New York Times best-selling author Maria Konnikova as she leads this special edition of Big Think Live.
17 June, 2020
Step inside the minds of two of the most exciting and dynamic writers of our times.
<p>In this special Big Think Live session, psychologist, <em>New York Times</em> best-selling author, and poker pro Maria Konnikova will lead a conversation with married writers Ayelet Waldman and Michael Chabon. Waldman and Chabon will discuss how they coach one another to new strengths, 100 years of landmark ACLU cases (the subject of their latest <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1501190407?tag=bigthink00-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1" target="_blank">book project</a>), Ayelet's experiences with LSD microdosing therapy, plus anything you'd like to know—just ask your questions during the audience Q&A!
</p><p><strong>Streaming via <a href="https://youtu.be/GvYoZHixf-Y" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BigThinkdotcom/posts/10157428783463527" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and via <a href="https://edge.bigthink.com/live_streams/64" target="_blank">Big Think Edge</a> (for subscribers only).</strong>
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Unleash your inner da Vinci with these art and science drawing lessons
Learn how to draw realistic figures for comic books, anatomy courses, and more.
14 June, 2020
- Masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper followed countless hours of anatomical studies.
- Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the human form.
- The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle teaches you how to draw human bodies, heads, and more.
<script async="true" src="https://widgets.stackcommerce.com/js-deal-feed/0.1/widget.js" type="text/javascript"></script><p>Fans of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are captivated by Leonardo da Vinci's exceptional eye for human forms. Those masterpieces followed countless hours of anatomical studies. Da Vinci was fascinated by the human form, most famously expressed in his classic sketch The Vitruvian Man. </p><p>There are many ways of capturing human figures through drawing, from precise anatomical sketches to essences of characteristics. <strong><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-complete-creative-art-science-of-drawing-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-complete-creative-art-science-of-drawing-bundle&utm_term=scsf-395850&utm_content=a0x1P000004sOitQAE&scsonar=1" target="_blank">The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle</a></strong> will teach you how to draw a wide range of human bodies, heads, movement, perspective, and much more. </p><p>In this 12-course bundle, you'll learn how to draw 3D objects that appear to occupy space. A human figure drawing course instructs you on the basics of anatomical perspective. From there, you can home in on heads, one of the most challenging aspects of the human body to draw. </p><p>Perhaps you're not that interested in photorealism. That's fine; there's a course on dynamic superheroes that will prepare you to create the comic book that's been in your head. Or, you can forget bodies altogether. Maybe you're more interested in textures and patterns. This bundle has you covered in that aspect as well. 3D objectives and environments? Check. </p><p>No drawing bundle would be complete without a course on animals. In 31 lessons, you'll be given the tools to create the best cat memes around. Two courses on shading will also help you master depth. And if you're intrigued by digital drawing, a master class in creating fantasy art in Manga Studio 5 is included as well. In other words, you'll be well on your way to calling yourself an artist.</p><p><strong><a href="https://shop.bigthink.com/sales/the-complete-creative-art-science-of-drawing-bundle?utm_source=bigthink.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=the-complete-creative-art-science-of-drawing-bundle&utm_term=scsf-395850&utm_content=a0x1P000004sOitQAE&scsonar=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Complete Creative Art & Science of Drawing Bundle</a></strong> is on sale now for $39.99, a 96% discount from the regular cost of $1,172.</p><p><em>Price subject to change.</em></p><h3><strong>More from the Big Think Shop</strong></h3><ul class="ee-ul">
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