In this quote, Lincoln is describing the weakness of one’s argument. By mentioning the “shadow of a pigeon that had been starved to death”, Lincoln is describing the severe thinness of the argument. It lacks depth, profundity, and is not very rich in information. A type of a “thin” argument is one similar to an untested hypothesis. For example, whenever one of my friends tries to add salt to her lunch, people around her always exclaim that salt is “bad for you”, and they try to stop her from adding it. However, when she asks them why, they respond by saying, “it just is”, and she listens to their weak argument. This doesn’t only occur at school. Even throughout America, people continuously argue that salt is harmful to one’s health. As a result, people begin to add less salt to their meals and consume less salty foods, yet they don’t bother to look up the real facts. However, studies have shown that humans need salt, especially those who are very active, yet people continue to decrease their salt intake. Therefore, claiming that salt is “bad for you because it just it”, is a “thin” argument.