“All Women”

In online forums and discussion centers, I often find myself the victim of a predatory algorithm. This algorithm believes the best way to keep me engaged with the platform is to keep me in a bubble of questionable beliefs. I often find posts presenting exasperating assertions that don’t lean altogether one way or another, but the replies are a cesspool of misinfo, rage bait, bots, and genuinely spiteful people. Social media is unhealthy in larger doses, but even negative interactions such as these are still opportunities to test one’s critical thinking in the real world.

One of the most common things I see in these replies (once I leave the thread for my sanity) is a blanket assertion that fails to consider even the most basic critical ideas, and is likely a product of chronic internet syndrome: “All women…” A variety of phrases complete the sentence.

• “think all status and power is allocated, never earned.”
• “aren’t as committed to their careers.”
• “are bad negotiators/dislike negotiation.”
• “are overly emotional.”

From a purely logical perspective, these claims don’t hold up. The universal quantification (“for all”) creates a particularly vulnerable logical structure: in formal logic, a universal claim (∀x P(x)) is disproven by a single counterexample. This is known as “falsification by counterexample.”

The apologists for these assertions often suggest that “stereotypes have an element of truth.” However, this defense fails to address the fundamental logical error. They didn’t say “most women” or “women tend to…,” they said “all women.” It’s important to avoid making generalizations, especially in a social environment where one can genuinely hurt people.

It’s not inherently harmful to make generalizing statements, but most stereotypes grow from generalizations into vapid conceptions that persist across generations and poison our ability to get things done. The current culture war is the culmination of either side’s warriors refusing to look at things with any nuance.

At some point, blanket assumptions stop being shortcuts for understanding and start being blindfolds that hold the new generation back. A worldview built on absolutes is fragile when presented with reality, but social media thrives on preventing ideas and reality from mixing. It rewards those who double down and dig trenches rather than work to build. The only way forward is to break the loop through a healthy appreciation of natural observation.