Some Americans still believe the election isn't over and Trump will prevail. No, these are not stupid people. They are people who succumb to a thinking deficiency that allows them to accept certain logical fallacies inherent in our language.

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In a Georgia county just north of Atlanta, a CNN reporter interviewed four residents who still had their Trump signs posted and flags flying. I was struck by how articulate they were while explaining their reasons for believing Trump still has a chance to "turn this around" and win re-election.

Today, these folks hang on the horns of a national dilemma. (They really don't, but I'll use this situation as a practical example of non-critical thinking.)

This imaginary dilemma exists in these Americans' minds because of the intentional misuse of language and misunderstanding of misused language's implications. To be clear, the intentional misuse of assertions and assessments and the failure on the part of those people taken-in by the imaginary dilemma to understand the difference.

It boils down to an error in thinking. Specifically, the error of misunderstanding that assessments are opinions and assertions require evidence.

When we offer an assessment as an assertion, it requires we provide evidence to be true. That's why Trump's legal claims are dismissed in court. His lawyers have no evidence for their assertions, which make them assessments.

Unfortunately, this is not the same test in the public narrative. Politicians offer their assessments as assertions every day, and the public generally only applies one test, "does it agree with what I already believe? If it does, it must be true."

Overall, the effectiveness of our thinking depends on the appropriate use and interpretations of language. These interpretations require an accurate grasp of the context within which they occur and a solid personal footing from which to judge them.

The late psychologist Dr. Roger Birkman made two critical observations central to this point:

1. Behavior is not determined by objective facts, but by the meanings, the individual attaches to those facts.

2. Some individuals' perceptions about "most people" and/or "self" may be illusory, irrational, or unreal.

Nevertheless, these perceptions are real and reasonable to the individuals and are influential on their behaviors. Beware this trap. It's easy to assume Dr. Birkman's comments only apply to our external interactions. Not true. They apply equally to the internal monolog going on in our heads. If we fool ourselves, we don't have that solid personal footing from which to judge what's going on around us.

I would go as far as to say if our internal monolog is full of these "illusory, irrational, our unreal perceptions," all our external interactions will be negatively affected.

This commentary is not necessarily a condemnation of those people who believe the election is not over. It is a critical appraisal of thinking deficiencies inherent in the human narrative. We are all prone to falling into the traps of the logical fallacies that fill our language. They are endemic in our nation's public conversation.

If you want to learn more, my upcoming book, "Loosing" Your Mind: Liberating Your Intellect for Critical Thinking, is dedicated to helping readers become more critical observers of their thinking and the national narrative that spreads the infection of division and animosity.

We can make a difference if we try.

Robert De Filippis

Authors Website: http://www.robertdefilippis.com

Authors Bio:

Author, columnist, and blogger with a long career in business management, management consulting and executive coaching. I've authored and published eight books: "You, Your Self and the 21st Century,"The Flowers Are Talking to Me," and "Faith Stirred Not Shaken," Christianity in America, "The Martian Prelude," Faith Stirred not Shaken, 2nd edition," "On Coaching with The Birkman Method." "On Coaching with The Birkman Method," and coming soon is my new book, "Loosing" Your Mind: Liberating Your Intellect for Critical Thinking." For sale at your favorite booksellers or the publisher's site: booklocker.com