logical fallacies pt. 2

The gamblers fallacy

You said that “runs” occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette wheel spins

Red has come up six times in a row on the roulette wheel, so Greg knew that it was close to certain that black would be next up. Suffering an economic form of natural selection with this thinking, he soon lost all of his savings.

The gamblers fallacy

Bandwagon

You appealed to popularity or the fact that many people do something as an attempted form of validation

Shamus pointed a drunken finger at Sean and asked him to explain how so many people could believe in leprechauns if they’re only a silly old superstition. Sean, however, had had a few too many Guinness himself and fell off his chair.

Bandwagon

Appeal to authority

You said that because an authority thinks something, it must therefore be true

Not able to defend this position that evolution ‘isn’t true’ Bob says that he knows a scientist who also questions evolution (and presumably isn’t a primate)

Appeal to authority

Composition/division

You assumed that one part of something has to be applied to all, or other parts of it; or that the whole must apply to its part

Daniel was a precocious child and had a liking for logic. He reasoned that atoms are invisible, and that he was made of atoms and therefore invisible too. Unfortunately, despite his thinky skills, he lost the game of hide and go seek.

Composition/division

No true Scotsman

You made what could be called an appeal to purity as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of your argument

Angus declares that Scotsmen do not put sugar on their porridge, to which Lachlan points out that he is a Scotsman and puts sugar on his porridge. Furious, like a true Scot, angus yells that no true Scotsman sugars his porridge.

No true Scotsman

Genetic

You judged something as either good or bad on the basis of where it coms from, or from whom it came

Accused on the 6 o’clock news of corruption and taking bribes, the senator said that we should all be very wary of the things we hear in the media, because we all know how very unreliable the media can be

Genetic

Black-or-white

You presented two alternatives states as the only possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist

Whilst rallying support for his plan to fundamentally undermine citizens’ rights, the supreme leader told the people they were either on his side, or they were on the side of the enemy

Black-or-white

Begging the question

You presented a circular argument in which the conclusion was included in the premise

The word of zorbo the great is flawless and perfect. We know this because it says so in The Great and Infallible Book of Zorbo’s Best and Most Truest Things that are Definitely True and Should Not Ever Be Questioned

Begging the question

Appeal to nature

You argued that because something is ‘natural’ it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, good or ideal

The medicine man rolled into town on his bandwagon offering various natural remedies, such as very special plain water. He said that it was only natural that people should be wary of ‘artificial’ medicines such as antibiotics

Appeal to nature

Anecdotal

You used a personal experience or an isolated example instead of a sound argument or compelling evidence

Jason said that that was all cool and everything, but his grandfather smoked, like, 30 cigarettes a day and lived until 97 - so don’t believe everything you read about meta analyses of methodologically sound studies showing proven casual relationships

Anecdotal

The Texas sharpshooter

You cherry-picked a data cluster to suit your argument, or found a pattern to fit a presumption

The makers of sugarette candy drinks point to research showing that of the five countries where sugarette drinks sell the most units, three of them are in the top ten healthiest countries on earth, therefore sugarette drinks are healthy

The Texas sharpshooter

Middle ground

You claimed that a compromise, or middle point, between two extremes must be the truth

Holly said that vaccinations causes autism in children, but her scientifically well-read friend caleb said that this claim had been debunked and proven false. Their friend Alice offered a compromise that vaccinations must cause some autism, just not all autism

Middle ground