Fallacies

A fallacy is an argument that can be shown to have errors. They are an important component of logic as
its often easier to find an error in an argument than to prove that it's logically correct. In other words, if
you can't find a fallacy in an argument, it might be correct even if you can't prove it. The following are
common fallacies:

Affirming The Consequent Assuming that the converse of a true statement is also true.

Anecdotal Fallacy An argument based on a statistically insignificant example in the form of a story or
personal experience.

Appeal To Accomplishment Using the opinion of an accomplished individual as proof or inferring that
someone has no right to talk about a topic due to a lack of accomplishment.

For example, "if you know so much about acting, why aren't you a famous movie star?"

Appeal To Authority Implying that those with power must know best. For example, "Who are you to
question the Prime Minister, you work at a coffee shop."

Appeal To Consequences Suggesting that consequences are impossible when they are not. For example,
"If robots could really think then they might take over the planet someday. Clearly this is impossible."

Appeal To Emotion Arguments that prey on emotions such as fear, hope and anger.

Appeal To Novelty Overstating the benefits of new or innovative things out of a sense of excitement.

Appeal To Possibility Suggesting that because something is possible, that it will necessarily happen.
Appeal To Ridicule Acting as if someone's argument is obviously ridiculous when it isn't.

Appeal To Tradition Claiming that something is right because it has been that way for some time.

Argument From Ignorance Asserting that something is true because it hasn't been proven false or vice
versa.

Argument From Silence Arguments based on the absence of evidence.

Argument To Moderation Suggesting that the middle between two extremes is necessarily correct.

Argumentum Ad Hominem Attacking the person instead of their argument.

Argumentum Ad Nauseam Literally "arguing to the point of nausea", meaning a long, repetitive
argument that causes an opponent to concede out of boredom and despair.

Association Fallacy Arguing that things are the same merely because they are associated. Also known as
Guilt By Association or Honor By Association.

Bandwagon Argument An argument that something is true because many people believe it.

Base Rate Fallacy A tendency to focus on specific information over general probabilities. Often results in
dramatic errors of math.

Begging The Question A type of circular reasoning that assumes the conclusion of an argument. Often
takes the form of proving something using a word that's a synonym. For example, America is rich
because it has great wealth.
Broken Window Fallacy An argument that ignores opportunity costs. Associated with economics and the
false idea that damage such as wars and natural disasters are good for the economy.

Cherry Picking Choosing evidence that supports a theory and ignoring evidence that contradicts it.

Circular Reasoning An argument that refers to itself as proof.

Conjunction Fallacy Falsely assuming that specific information is more likely than general.

Conspiracy Fallacy Assuming that theoretical conspiracies are real and concrete.

Correlation Proves Causation Incorrectly assuming that one thing causes another simply because the
two are correlated.

Destroying The Exception A rule of thumb that is mostly true with the exception of minor or obscure
special cases. Such arguments may have value as a rule of thumb despite being a fallacy.

EquivocationMisuse of a word that has multiple meanings.

Fallacy Fallacy Assuming a conclusion is wrong simply because an argument for it contains errors.

Fallacy Of Composition Inferring that something has the same properties as its parts.

Fallacy Of Division Assuming that parts have the same properties as the whole.

False Analogy A misleading analogy.

False Dichotomy The incorrect assertion that two things are opposites.
False Equivalence Asserting that things are the same that are clearly different.

Gambler's Fallacy The belief that a random event becomes less likely after it has just occurred.

Hasty Generalization Easily seeing patterns in things that are statistically insignificant.

Historians Fallacy Evaluating the past as if people had access to the same information we do now. Also
applies to imposing modern values on the past.

If-By-WhiskeyAn argument that strongly takes both sides of a controversial issue. Named for a
remarkable 1952 speech.

Irrelevant Conclusion A solid argument that fails to support the conclusion. For example, arguing that
America is great when asked about a controversial topic.

Kettle Logic A series of valid arguments that contradict each other.

Ludic Fallacy The overuse of games to model more complex real life scenarios.

Masked Man Fallacy Falsely assuming that two things aren't identical because they don't share a
property. The term is an analogy to the assumption that someone is a different person because they are
wearing a mask.

Misleading Vividness The tendency for an extremely detailed example to be convincing despite being
statistically insignificant.

Moralistic Fallacy The argument that something can't be true because its result is morally objectionable.
For example, "war can't be in human nature, because then we're all doomed."
Nirvana Fallacy Asserting that a practical approach is invalid because it contains minor flaws or isn't
ideal. In many cases, the ideal approach is unfeasible or impossible to achieve.

Overwhelming Exception An large exception that makes a statement meaningless. For example, "we are
always fair except when it's not in our best interests."

Proof By Example An attempt to prove something based on a statistically insignificant example.

Proof By Verbosity A long, boring and convoluted argument that wins because it is too much work to
debunk it.

Prosecutor's Fallacy A valid statistic that is interpreted incorrectly such as a base rate fallacy.

Proving Too Much An overly broad argument that suggests absurd things.

Psychologists Fallacy An ability to see the fallacies and cognitive biases of others but being blind to your
own.

Red Herring An argument designed to distract.

Regression Fallacy An argument that ignores the impact of regression toward the mean.

ReificationTreating an abstraction as a concrete thing.

Retrospective Determinism Viewing past events if they were predestined when in fact they could have
worked out differently. For example, "once the industrial revolution started pollution was bound to
damage the Great Barrier Reef." The statement presupposes that no other options were available.
Slippery Slope A dramatic argument that one small action leads to greater actions in the same direction
until some tragedy ensures.

Straw Man Fallacy Refuting an argument that your opponent didn't make.

Survivorship Bias Only considering the survivors or winners in a particular situation, typically resulting in
an overly optimistic analysis or argument.

Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy Changing your target as you go. Often results in a clustering illusion whereby
you find patterns that are random.

Thought-Terminating Cliche Use of a catch-phase or slogan in place of rational thought.

Traitorous Critic Fallacy Attacking a person's group membership as opposed to their argument. For
example, "you're only saying that because you're a conservative."

Wrong Direction Confusing cause and effect.