The X Factor Scandal Logic Disconnect
Last night on the X Factor, the flame-haired dancing twins, John and Edward (aka Jedward) were alledgedly ‘saved’ by Simon Cowell as he decided to leave it to the public to decide rather than using his vote. This meant that Lucy had to leave te show.
Since then, the press have been reporting the outrage amongst hordes of X Factor viewers who feel aggrieved that Simon had somehow ensured the twins’ safety by doing so.
Actually, it is the public who vote for their favorites and therefore it’s the public who placed Jedward in the final two. Then, when Simon left it to the public vote, it was the public who ensured Jedward were saved by voting for them more than Lucy.
The extras show afterward (known as the Xtra Factor) was a mixture of pretentiously glum faces (alledgedly in ‘mourning’ for Lucy) and a full house of commentators on what a ‘cop out’ Simon was.
In terms of keeping the column inches and viewership high, this was the absolute ideal outcome.
As in pantomime, people love a villain and Simon will gladly step up to the plate. However, what he also did here was to wave reality right in the face of a seething mass of disconnected logic.
If the outraged viewers thought logically for a bit, they would see instantly that there is supposedly only one sure-fire way of saving their favorite act – and that is for the favorite to get more public votes.
That’s it.
If their votes aren’t higher than everyone else, they are at risk. As in football, you just need to score one more goal than the other team.
But some people start their logic string at a later point than fact. In other words, claiming that Simon ‘saved’ an act by allowing the public to decide, is a non-sequiter. The statement doesn’t make any sense UNLESS the public vote was already known to favor the twins.
If the public are so sure that the twins would win in a public vote out of the bottom two scores, then the way to influence that is to ensure your favorite act get one more vote than the twins.
In an age where people are quick to shout out loud about civic liberties being removed, I found it fascinating how angry people got when Simon Cowell handed them the right to decide.
You have to be careful what you ask for. If you want Simon to bypass the public and take sides, he will. If you want him to let the public make a decision, he will. But I would urge those who are whinging about him ‘saving’ an act by letting the public speak, to think through the logic BEFORE his decision, and AFTER it.
Sure Lucy was a good singer..SO WHY DIDNT YOU VOTE FOR HER MORE?
