Flawed Logic & Leaps
"You wore your lucky green socks today, and our team won the championship; clearly, your socks caused the victory."
What is False Cause?
"A commercial claims '4 out of 5 dentists recommend this toothpaste,' without mentioning they only surveyed five dentists who were paid by the company."
What is Questionable Use of Statistics?
"You shouldn't listen to Sarah's argument about improving city parks because she has terrible taste in clothes."
What is Ad Hominem?
"Bigfoot must be real because no one has disproven him, plus my uncle—who is a great mechanic—saw him in the woods!"
What are Appeal to Ignorance and Appeal to Doubtful Authority?
"If we allow students to redo one failed quiz, soon they’ll demand to retake entire semesters, and eventually college degrees will become completely meaningless."
What is Slippery Slope?
"My favorite movie star says that drinking lemon water cures all allergies, so it must be scientifically true."
What is Doubtful Appeal to Authority?
"Nobody has ever proven that aliens don't exist on the dark side of the moon, which proves that they definitely live there."
What is Appeal to Ignorance?
"People who eat breakfast every morning are healthier. Therefore, you should buy a blue car."
What is a Non Sequitur?
"An economist with a PhD in macroeconomics, Jamie Haag, insists that a new surgical technique is safe, and you accept it solely because of their title."
What is Appeal to Authority? (Note: Relying blindly on an authority figure—especially outside their specific field or without supporting evidence—makes the argument fallacious.)
Instead of offering new evidence during a debate, a speaker simply says, "This policy is a disaster. It’s a total disaster. Everyone knows it’s a disaster," until the audience starts believing it.
What is Argument by Repetition?
"Every year, ice cream sales and shark attacks rise at the exact same time; therefore, eating ice cream attracts sharks."
What is False Cause?
"Our new energy drink boosts focus by 300%!" (Fine print: Tested on a sample group of 2 people who also drank three cups of coffee).
What is Questionable Use of Statistics?
"Scientists still can't completely explain how this ancient stone monument was built, so it had to have been constructed by time travelers."
What is Appeal to Ignorance?
"The town library just extended its weekend hours, which proves that the mayor is secretly planning to raise property taxes next spring."
What is Non-Sequitur?
"A famous historical philosopher claimed that heavy objects fall faster than light objects, so we don't need to test it—we should just take his word for it."
What is False Appeal to Authority?
"Why should I trust Dr. Miller’s climate research when he got a speeding ticket last week and cheats at Monopoly?"
What is Ad Hominem?