Fallacy Test

tu quoque

You avoided having to engage with criticism by turning it back on the accuser - you answered criticism with criticism .

the texas sharpshooter

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

strawman

You misrepresented someone's argument to make it easier to attack

loaded question

You asked a question that had a presumption built into it so that it couldn't be answered without appearing guilty .

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 .

personal incredulity

Because you found something difficult to understand , or are unaware of how it works , you made out like it's probably not true .

slippery slope

You said that if we allow A to happen , then Z will eventually happen too , therefore A should not happen .

middle ground

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

the gambler's fallacy

You said that ' runs ' occur to statistically independent phenomena such as roulette wheel spins .

genetic

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

false cause

You presumed that a real or perceived relationship between things means that one is the cause of the other .

special pleading

You moved the goalposts or made up an exception when your was shown to be false .

the fallacy fallacy

You presumed that because a claim has been poorly argued , or a fallacy has been made , that the claim itself must be wrong .

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 parts .

begging the question

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

burden of proof

You said that the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim , but with someone else to disprove

bandwagon

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

black - or - white

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

appeal to nature

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

appeal to authority

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

ad hominem

You attacked your opponent's character or personal traits in an attempt to undermine their argument

appeal to emotion

You attempted to manipulate an emotional response in place of a valid or compelling argument

ambiguity

You used a double meaning or ambiguity of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth .

anecdotal

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

Hasty Generalization

Drawing expansive conclusions based on inadequate or insufficient evidence .