The Fallacy Detective News

Who’s on First?

2010-06-15T18:07:29+00:00

Below we’ve linked to a video of Abbot and Costello’s famous "Who’s on First?" comedy routine: Abbot and Costello fail to communicate. Each of them makes sense to himself, but the other guy doesn’t get it. This is okay - it happens to all of us. What makes this skit funny and ridiculous is that neither of them is able to change the way he speaks. They say the same thing over and over, hoping the other guy will eventually understand. Have you done this? Also, Abbot and Costello commit a fallacy in this video. What is the name of this fallacy? Dear Hans and Nathaniel, You have some celebrity status here in Western NY. My classes and I talk about you all the time. The word on the street is that Logic is their favorite class. This is the second year I have taught a logic class and this year I have two classes. Every one has been a blessing. Thanks for writing such a fun book, and for keeping up the website that goes along with it. I just found Laura Xentara’s bread test. I know the kids will have fun studying for the final with these new examples. Linda

OOPS! in Saudi Arabia

2010-04-07T23:47:12+00:00

These events recently happened at a Starbucks in Saudi Arabia. (Sent to us by Perla Adams)

Obama Avoids Question

2010-03-20T06:23:50+00:00

Avoiding the Question is a common fallacy. People do this a lot! NEWS REPORTER CODY: Senator Bill, do you think Senate Bill 747 will save money? SENATOR BILL: Well, Cody, I just want to say the healthcare system in America is broke. Just yesterday I was walking downtown and I met this homeless guy. He was homeless, but even more, he was without heathcare! I think he needs help. Until America wakes up, we’re all in trouble! Notice how Sentator Bill ignores Cody’s question. He talks about something else - what he wants to talk about. He says nothing about Senate Bill 747. If News Reporter Cody asked Senator Bill about the space program, Senator Bill would give the same answer. Fox News Interviews President Obama Fox News asks President Obama questions in this beginning of this video, but Obama avoids the questions. What is a question Obama avoids in this video? Fox News Interviews Rush Limbaugh Fox News asks Rush Limbaugh questions in this video, but Limbaugh answers different questions. What is a question Limbaugh avoids in this video? Has anyone ever avoided a question you asked? Do you think it is okay to hijack a conversation to say what you want?

The Fallacy Detective - Mini Edition for Lego People

2010-03-15T18:12:13+00:00

These pictures of “The Fallacy Detective - Mini Edition for Lego People” were sent to us by Perla de Adams.

Bread Fallacy Quiz

2010-01-22T00:59:35+00:00

(This test was created by Laura Xentaras (copyright 2009) and edited by Nathaniel Bluedorn.) Name the fallacy in each example below: 1. Bread is bad for you because it contains things that aren’t good for you. 2. According to polls, 98% of Americans believe bread is the primary cause of obesity. 3. Jesus said he is “the bread of life.” We shouldn’t touch other kinds of bread if we want to call ourselves Christians. 4. President Obama says we should eat two slices of bread every day. But he’s a Democrat. He can’t possibly know what he’s talking about. 5. Either you become addicted to eating bread and die, or you don’t eat it at all. Choose wisely or suffer the consequences. 6. Why do you want to torment me with your blatant bread-eating? 7. The Assyrians, one of the most violent civilizations, were among the first to bake and consume bread. Unless we want to become like them, we should not eat bread. 8. Since bread is obviously bad for us, we should avoid water as well. Everyone knows bread is made with flour and water. 9. According to Mrs. Xentaras - the lady at the post office - bread consumption by children lowers their score on the IOWA test. We should keep children from all forms of bread. 10. Of course we shouldn’t follow Mrs. Xentaras’s advice. I saw her eating a bread soup bowl on her lunch break. 11. All people with last names that start with an “X” are hypocrites. Mrs. Xentaras told us not to eat bread, and then she ate bread herself. Bread Fallacy Quiz Answers: (1) Circular Reasoning, (2) Appeal to the People, (3) Equivocation, (4) Ad Hominem, (5) Either-Or, (6) Loaded Question, (7) Genetic Fallacy, (8) Whole-to-part, (9) Faulty Appeal to Authority, (10) Tu Quoque, (11) Hasty Generalization.

‘Make a Fallacy’ Contest

2009-12-09T18:24:31+00:00

Create an example of your favorite fallacy and win $40.00! Jenny: You shouldn’t buy that car with your credit card! Bert: Oh, it’s okay. My uncle says it’s actually good to run up a bunch of credit card debt. He says it helps my credit rating. He’s smart . . . he works for NASA. Jenny: Uh, NASA? Bert: Oh, he knows about money. He’s been through bankruptcy court several times. Send your example fallacy to us at before December 24th and we’ll pick our three favorite examples. The winners will each receive a $40.00 Amazon.com gift certificate. (a) We will accept photographs, drawings (like a cartoon), graphic design (like an advertisement), videos, or written examples. (b) Your submission must only contain your original work, or work that you have the right to use - no copyrighted photographs or music or other media. (c) If you submit a video, it must be on the YouTube.com web site. (d) By submitting an example you give us permission to use that example on our web site. (e) You should include the name of the fallacy(s) to make it easier for us to figure out! We will judge each example fallacy on whether it is an (1) accurate and (2) clear example of that fallacy, whether it is (3) original and (4) memorable. We prefer examples from ordinary life because these show creativity. (Political examples are too easy.) We like humor, but serious examples are good too. The deadline is December 24th - send your examples soon!

Fallacy Detectives in Russia

2009-12-08T20:35:37+00:00

Dear Hans and Nathaniel, I am a missionary in Russia, and have had the fun of reading The Fallacy Detective with my teenage daughter this year. . . . Recently, I’ve had several opportunities to address public school teachers and university professors in our city. . . . Last week, I was invited to give a seminar on critical thinking, and since this is nearly a brand-new concept in Russia and almost no materials for it already exist, I had carte blanche to say whatever I wanted to say. Russian thinking is often characterized by many of the logical fallacies presented in The Fallacy Detective, so right away, I thought, “Russians need to know this stuff!” I wrote a portion of the seminar on logical fallacies. . . I was amazed by the reactions. It was by far the most popular part of the seminar, and afterward several university professors told me, “We will be using this material with our own students. We’ve never heard these things before!” Thanks for your part in adding this dimension to the world-and-life view of these women. The influence of educators in Russia cannot be overemphasized. . . . What teachers say in the classroom carries far more weight in this country (as a nation of non-critical thinkers) than it does in America (where critical thinking is, at least to some degree, part of our culture.) I believe the ripple effect of last week’s seminar will go on for years to come as some of these teachers put into practice the things I learned from you and in turn passed on to them. I’ve been invited to present the same seminar on a city-wide basis in February. With warm appreciation, Carre in Russia

A Fallacy Detective Board Game

2009-07-09T18:35:15+00:00

Lydia in Ontario is having fun with a Fallacy Detective board game she invented called "Portals." For 2-4 players, ages 12 and up. Purpose: The purpose of Portals is to teach the basics of logic in a simple and fun environment. Contents: Game board, playing pieces, dice, and cards. Object: The object of Portals is to get to the destination star before anyone else does. The player to reach the destination star first is the winner. The idea is to stay on the logic track because the logic track has fewer spaces. A player who stays on the logic track can get to the destination star before his opponents. The player to reach the destination star first is the winner. On your Turn: On each player’s turn he or she rolls the dice and moves that many spaces ahead, and this shows the player what color he has landed on. The color corresponds with the four fallacy corners of the board. The four fallacies are Assumptions, Avoiding the Question, Propaganda, and Statistical Fallacies. The player takes a card of that color from the corresponding pile. Example Card: Whole-to-Part. Is this a weak analogy? "A cloud is 90% water. A watermelon is 90% water. Therefore, since a plane can fly through a cloud, a plane can fly through a watermelon." Answer: Yes The player answering the question will receive a definition to go with that fallacy to assist in answering the question. The Portal questions can be answered on any color as well as on a star. If the player is able to answer the question correctly he is able to “portal over” to the logic track. If a player gets a portal question on the logic track, he may move ahead to the nearest same color to what he is on, but the player is not permitted to answer that question until his next turn. If the player gets a question wrong he then moves to the closest same colored square nearest to him on the fallacy track. If the player gets a question right on the fallacy track he cannot move to the logic track unless he has answered correctly a random Portal question from the corresponding colored fallacy corner. If he lands on a star the player may pick whichever card he chooses. If he can answer it correctly, he may “Portal” his way over to the nearest square on the logic track. The next person will than take his turn. Lydia, who created the game, says: "I had to do this as a final project in my logic class. People like it because it is a fun twisted version of Cranium."

Transfer Technique

2008-12-27T21:26:15+00:00

Transfer is a propaganda technique. An advertiser uses this technique when he tries to transfer our good feelings about one thing, to his product: There is no real connection between smoking cigarettes and a cowboy, but Marlboro wants you to associate the two. Mastercard wants us to transfer our good feelings about The Three Stooges to their credit card. Transfer can be used in a humorous way . . . Here the advertiser wants us to transfer our happy feelings after laughing at the advertisment, to their language school. Can you find an example of transfer? Give us a link to a video, graphic, or article that uses transfer. Post the link in the comments section below. The best example will win a copy of Secret Code Breaker, Volume I. Also, join our Fallacy Detectives Facebook group and enter this contest a second time to win Secret Code Breaker, Volume II.

Classic TV Ads

2008-12-02T18:30:20+00:00

The propaganda technique called “Appeal to Fear” is where someone tries to get you to fear the consequences of not doing what he wants. Prosecuting Attorney: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I urge you to convict John Jones of this crime of murder. We need to put him where he can never commit any crimes. If you don’t convict him, you may be his next victim!” Which of these three classic TV ads uses Appeal to Fear? Dwight Eisenhower 1952 TV Ad Ronald Reagan 1980 TV Ad Lyndon Johnson 1964 TV Ad Post your answer in the comment section below!