Is this an Appeal to Possibility?

The Layout

1. First I write about what I think the Appeal to Possibility is and give some examples of when it happens and when it doesn't.

2. Response to your comment.

3. Why does appeal to possibility happen?

Appeal to Possibility

1. 

What I understand from the appeal to possibility is that a conclusion is made from what's possible rather than what's probable. The former misses the point of probability. 

Example 1: It's probable that betting against 5 on a fair die with equal payouts is better than betting for it. 

Explanation: Here, a conclusion is made based on what is probable. It is better to bet against 5 than for it if the payouts are the same.

Example 2: It's possible that the fair die will land on 5. Therefore, I should bet for 5. 

Explanation: This one is an appeal to possibility because it is true that it's possible that the die will land on 5, but it is more likely that it won't. 

Example 3: Example 2 takes another form: It's not impossible that the die will land on 5. Therefore, I should bet on 5. 

Explanation: Although example 2 and 3 are saying the same thing, the latter could sound more powerful in different settings. For example, it's not impossible that I will win the lottery, or, it's not impossible to rise to the top in this pyramid scheme. But one should be wary on how much we should invest based on possibility. 

Response

2.

Although there is no probability measure for the event "there are non-stop notifications" and the event "the students wont focus on studying," there is a concern that this might happen; hence, the use of the words "it can lead to." I wouldn't say that this is an error in reasoning. This is a reasonable take on what can happen in order to see if it could really happen (look to other schools and so on).

We could say that there is a slight Slippery Slope when they say that if a flooding happens, then this will make the students and teachers be annoyed. But this makes sense since non-stop notifications are annoying to some people. I also think that this is a reasonable take. And of course, this could lead the student to lose focus.  

An appeal to possibility would happen if the arguer said that it's possible that flooding would occur and therefore it will occur. But what's going on instead is that the arguer is inviting for people to assign a probability to his or her speculations and take measures (how likely is it that a flooding would occur. If people get annoyed with non-stop notifications, are there ways to split the groups within time frames? How about with different teachers?).

Why does this happen? 

3. 

Perhaps appeal to possibility happens because it's tied to Wishful Thinking . We would like to win the lottery and the harsh truth hurts, so we rationalize. This could also take the form of the Gambler’s Fallacy . A player could bet on red on the roulette, just because it's not impossible for him or her to win. 

I see the Appeal to Possibility , as well as "analysis paralysis" which prevents an idea from being tested until/unless all the hypothetical objections are solved, a tactic of delaying (the best is enemy of the good).

I've seen this in brain-storming sessions.  The session leader has to maintain momentum and not get caught up in the critiquing by contrarians or opponents of the NIMBY,NIH,WWJD outlook. 

Some people may argue that WhatsApp Group (WAG) can increased interaction between students and teachers. They claim that is because in WhatsApp many students can interact with the teachers by sending the message directly and instantly.

Not a big problem, but certainly an appeal to Anonymous Authority here.

But, it can lead to flooding messages because all of the students send message to the teacher at the same time.

"It can" is the same as "it is possible that." I can also lead to world war III. What is the probability here? Assuming the implied conclusion is Whatsapp should not be used, we can call this an Appeal to Possibility .

If this happens, it will make the students and also the teachers annoyed because of non-stop notification from their phone and it makes students not focus on studying.

One can argue that is a Slippery Slope . It would be more reasonable to replace "will" with "might" or even "likely to." This is Alleged Certainty .