Figure-eight logic meaning

Question

What is "figure-eight logic" meaning in this context:

Laura Ingraham’s show on Friday night was a particularly captivating example of the figure-eight logic we resort to when our stories don’t align with reality.

Answer 1

While a search for "figure-eight logic" renders many links to NAND logic configurations, it sounds more like Pretzel Logic, which is " is an expression used to describe someone's "twisted reasoning."

-Dictionary.com

That expression has been in existence in the US (as far as I know) since the early 70s.

"Figure-eight" logic seems to be a reference to a figure-skating maneuver in which the skater starts at a single point, draws the pattern of the number 8 in the ice, and ends up finishing at the same place. In other words, a circle with a convolution.

So, a "Figure-eight" logical statement starts with a an questionable declaration, twists it inside-out, and then ends up where it started-- a circular argument that goes nowhere no matter how satisfying it might seem to the gullible.

images courtesy

http://www.elartedeamasar.com/2012/04/pretzel-al-estilo-de-new-york-y-faciles.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/29906784997362548/

Answer 2

Laura Ingraham’s show on Friday night was a particularly captivating example of the figure-eight logic we resort to when our stories don’t align with reality.

Laura Ingraham’s show on Friday night was a particularly captivating example of the "twisted" logic we resort to when our stories don’t align with reality.

Twisted logic is a logic that relies upon

(i) ignoring some unacceptable behaviour or circumstances in order to accept/justify the premise/conclusion:

"There is a twisted logic to saying that robbing people is OK, if you are a drug addict and need drugs."

(ii) ignoring reality in an argument, or linking two things that are not really linked:

“On an ethical level, it is preposterous, if not heinous, to have the football and basketball coach paid several times as much as the university president,” says Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College who is considered an expert on the economy of sports. “What message does that send to the students about the priorities of the school or the society?” https://blutarsky.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/twisted-logic-example-one/

That argument ignores the amount of money available to pay both sets of people, and does not take into consideration the supply and demand for the professions nor the vastly different talents.

(iii) Using almost impossible circumstances to justify something:

"Of course we have to spend $1,000,000 a year on maintaining a fleet of helicopters we do not use! What would happen if we all had to travel somewhere without an airport in order to secure a $1billion deal?"

etc.