Skip to main content

Why Using CTTO Isn't a Valid Source at All


Right now, I'm having an argument with a certain old man (wearing a toga, presumably graduating from a doctorate degree) on Facebook. One thing I noticed in some of his Facebook posts is the use of CTTO more often than not. Maybe, I can start giving a sample of his arguments since there are many. One of his posts would go like this:
All nations have protectionist policies, its their inherent rights. It is the role of the business to use strategies to work within these policies.... ctto...

Back then, I remembered I erroneously used Yahoo as a source in my high school term paper. Later on, a college professor placed an X mark on Yahoo and Google as a source. It's because Google nad Yahoo are search engines. Now, we have CTTO which means Credit To The Owner. If we're to really credit the owner, why not post a link or acknowledge the site where it was taken from? For example, the meme above is by 8LIST.PH. 

It's very eays to say CTTO to make myself look smart. However, I can say CTTO all I want and not have any valid sources at all. I can say all I want that "studies show" and CTTO and I never read any of the studies at all. It's like this old man can say, "Do you know Switzerland is a protectionist country? CTTO." I say, "Where are the source?" The person will just reply CTTO. So where are these "tons of studies" if all he cites is CTTO. That's just plain intellectual dishonesty.

Any proper usage such as citation or context needs the source. If I'm going to quote Kishore Mahbubani from a video, it'd be best for me to say that I got it from The Singapore Economic Model - VPRO Documentary 2009 to cite my source. Meanwhile, the old man seeking to back up Hilario Davide Jr and the Monsods up would probably give more CTTO than valid sources. If anything, CTTO might be better worked as a temporary accreditation especially if certain works are meant for free domain use. Quoting Mabhubani, Mohamad, and LKY will give me more credibility to my writing than just simply CTTO.

If I'm going to prove that Singapore never self-industrialized and other nations (rich in natural resources) learned from it, I could cite that it was from the late Lee Kuan Yew's book From Third World to First. As much as possible, I should cite the pages for easier reference to the readers. I could cite how LKY figured out what's wrong with the development economists of his day vs. what the late Albert Winsemius recommended.

Also, using a disclaimer should be done as much as possible. That is by saying, "This book isn't mine. It actually belongs to (insert author)." In the fair use policy, one can list the makers of the show, the documentary, etc. to give proper accreditation that it was all for fair use. CTTO just wouldn't help at all in contrast to citing every last author. 

The usage of CTTO in excess might be an attempt to look brilliant. The person may want to give the illusion that he or she has "tons of studies". Yes, it's possible to say "studies show..." but the studies are either faulty or non-existent. That's why I really feel like that they're ridiculing Philippine Senator Robin Padilla--it's to cover their own insecurities

Popular posts from this blog

I Have Every Reason to be Scared of RISING Motorcycle Accidents in Cebu City This 2024

CDN Digital, for illustrative purposes only A weekend morning drive can be ruined by rude motorcycle drivers. I encountered two motorcycles and a helmet on the site. I was on my way to IT Park and I found them. A CCTO officer was there, doing some recording. The offenders were probably taken somewhere either for settlement or to the hospital. There was no sight of blood. However, after I hit a motorcycle making a slow turn or tend to be accident-prone, the latest scene still left me speechless. It's not the first time I've been into that but I always felt like, "We'd have fewer accidents if it wasn't for people like them!"  In 2019, I also remember driving home at 9:30 P.M. after attending an evening party at what used to be the JCentre Mall. I remember seeing a person with a dislocated leg from a motorcycle accident. Sure, it wasn't my fault but my blood froze in a figurative sense. It was because the incident happened after I accidentally hit two people ...

Is There No Need for Constitutional Reform, Because the Nation is Now "Healing" During the Midterm Elections 2025?

Two days ago, I voted during the Midterm Elections . Of course, I'm not allowed to post my ballot online. I'll address people who believe the nation is "healing" because Atty. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Paolo Benigno "Bam" A. Aquino have won the senatorial race. Okay, congratulations to Kiko and Bam for winning. The nuisance candidate Apollo C. Quiboloy had lost the elections, thankfully. Some say that success is but a step-by-step process. However, you can be taking the wrong steps. To say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is the "best in the world", has made us ignore Article XVII , and even think that the Filipino First Policy is good. Here's a screenshot I took from Butthurt Philippines' Facebook page. Is it really "healing" for the country as claimed by this person, whose name I blocked out? I usually block out the names of people who are private citizens, to protect their identity. However, I may...

Nirvana Fallacy and the Die-Hard Defenders of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines

IMGUR The philosopher Voltaire (real name  François-Marie Aroue ) was said to have said, "Perfect is the enemy of good." To define the Nirvana fallacy, we can look at Logically Fallacious to help us define it: Description: Comparing a realistic solution with an idealized one , and discounting or even dismissing the realistic solution as a result of comparing to a “perfect world” or impossible standard, ignoring the fact that improvements are often good enough reason . Logical Form: X is what we have. Y is the perfect situation. Therefore, X is not good enough. Example #1: What’s the point of making drinking illegal under the age of 21?  Kids still manage to get alcohol. Explanation: The goal in setting a minimum age for drinking is to deter underage drinking, not abolish it completely.  Suggesting the law is fruitless based on its failure to abolish underage drinking completely, is fallacious. Example #2: What’s the point of living?  We’re all going to die anyway. Ex...

Democracy is NOT Mob Rule: Why Parliamentary Systems Are Actually MORE Democratic than Presidential Systems

It's very easy to confuse democracy with mob rule , right? I remembered an English class proverb by George Orwell, the author of Animal Farm , who also warned, "Beware lest democracies may become tyrannies." It was most likely the theme of Animal Farm when the pigs took over the farm and made it worse than their human owners. Now, how do we define democracy? Most people just say that it's the rule of the majority. However, the Council of Europe website   would give us what democracy really means: The word democracy comes from the Greek words " demos", meaning people, and "kratos" meaning power; so democracy can be thought of as "power of the people" : a way of governing which depends on the will of the people. There are so many different models of democratic government around the world that it is sometimes easier to understand the idea of democracy in terms of what it definitely is not. Democracy, then, is not autocracy or dictatorship, ...

Indonesia's Tari Pakpak Reminds Me of the Philippines' Itik Itik

One look and one may think this is from the Bangsamoro Region. Instead, this is an Indonesian dance from Sumatra. A study of Filipino history reveals that Indonesians were among the settlers in the Philippines. That would explain why Muslim Mindanao would be like Malaysia and Indonesia in their culture. As I look at the gestures, I'm reminded of my high school Buwan ng Wika (Month of the Language) programs. Several Filipino dances in Mindanao are similar to those of Malaysia and Indonesia. After all, most Filipinos share the same direct ancestry as Malaysians and Indonesians.  As a Chinese Filipino, it's hard for me not to think of the Itik Itik dance. The two dances are similar yet different.