http://www.fallacydetective.com/news/ In 1999 we started publishing the "Fallacy in the News" email list. Here are the archives. en hansbluedorn@pm.me Copyright 2026 2026-05-18T17:03:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/free-review-copies-to-schools-and-co-ops https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/free-review-copies-to-schools-and-co-ops#When:17:03:00Z For a limited time, we are offering a single review copy of The Fallacy Detective, The Thinking Toolbox, and Archer and Zowie to schools and co-ops with 50 or more students. ​ Archer and Zowie is a middle-grade chapter book about imagination and friendship. For ages 7-12. Perfect for reading aloud, or as a first chapter book. If your school or co-op is interested in reviewing one of these books for a class, send us a message and tell us a little about yourself. What is the name of your school or co-op?  How do you represent your school or co-op? How many students do you have? Which book (or books) are you interested in?  That is all. Hans Bluedorn Featured, 2026-05-18T17:03:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/on-writing https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/on-writing#When:17:02:00Z Manybooks.net has asked Hans Bluedorn some questions on writing and his creative process.   What have you been working on lately?   After writing The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox, I spent a few years trying to write another book on logic. That didn’t happen, so decided to write something very different—a story about friendship. It’s called Archer and Zowie. It’s a sci-fi story for middle grade readers. It’s about aliens, outer space, and how to be friends with someone different from you.   What inspired you to write about two kids who build a rocket ship out of a treehouse? When I was a kid, there was a grassy field behind our house. I would wander around out there and explore. Sometimes I would think about what was on the other side of the field, where I wasn’t allowed to go. As long as I never went there, it could have been anything—my imagination was the limit. Why is friendship such a big theme throughout this book?   I think learning to be a friend is a big part of growing up. Your parents can show you HOW to be a friend, but you have to do it yourself. That’s why the parents aren’t shown in the book. The kids are on their own, navigating the darker parts of their personalities together.   What drew you to sci-fi? It just naturally comes out. If I tried writing historical fiction I would get bored and just stick an alien in there somewhere. Astronomy and astrophysics draw me in. The stars are at the furthest reaches of our understanding, kind of like that field behind my house. They are in a place where science and imagination meet. What advice would you give to your younger self? Writing is a war of attrition. Sit down in the same place and do the same thing every day. Some days nothing happens, some days a little bit happens. A little bit is usually all you should hope for. Just give it your maximum effort, and keep your expectations low. What’s an aspect of being a writer that you didn’t know about going in? Archer and Zowie took me 9 years to finish. That is a long time. I worked on it for hours almost every day of those 9 years. It was pretty rough. I felt like I was going crazy. It’s hard to tell how long a writing project will take to complete. Every time you write, you’re doing something that hasn’t ever been done before. You are reaching into uncharted territory, a place beyond the stars. But if you do it, it will change you. Make you a different person. I think it is a good thing to head straight into our doubts and fears carrying a headlamp with fresh batteries. Of all the characters in Archer and Zowie, who was the most difficult to create? Each character in Archer and Zowie is inspired by somebody that I know. It took me a while to figure out who the Teleportee was. I needed an antagonist to get angry at, but also relate to. Eventually, I figured out who that was in my life. (I won’t say who it was, haha). One big thing I learned about character is that it always takes time for the character to develop in your mind and on the page. Is there an message you wanted to relay about human nature through your characters? A theme that occurs a lot in Archer and Zowie is metamorphosis—something changing from one thing to something different. Many things in Archer and Zowie undergo a metamorphosis—from the microwave, to the penguin aliens, to Zowie herself. I kept thinking about how we never really see ourselves. We can see ourselves in a mirror, or see parts of our bodies, or even hear other people’s opinions of us, but we can’t really see ourselves—objectively and truly. Sometimes we need to find a way to see ourselves from the outside looking in, and like who that is. When that happens—we undergo metamorphosis. Which one of your characters do you think you would get along with the most? What about the least? If you know me at all, you will quickly figure out who Archer and Zowie are in my life. A good half of the things Archer and Zowie say to each other comes word for word from conversations between my wife and I. Most of my friends are very different from me—my wife is a perfect example. That might be because I find people similar to me to be a bit boring. They’re just a copy of me—what is there to talk about!?   Do you have any interesting writing habits? Pen or laptop, best time of the day to write, sources of inspiration? I sit down in my back yard, drink a cup of coffee and stare off into space for a while. In about 5 minutes the ideas start to come. Or they don’t. No matter, I just keep daydreaming until I feel like the well is dry. Sometimes I write stuff down on my phone, but sometimes I let it sit in my head for a while before writing it down. What are you working on right now? Collecting ideas for another book (possibly a sequel). We recently moved to Durango, Colorado so I’m also doing a lot of climbing. Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you? Check out Archer and Zowie on Amazon. I also have a website: http://www.hansbluedorn.com Featured, 2020-02-06T17:02:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/bread-fallacy-quiz https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/bread-fallacy-quiz#When:00:59:35Z (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. Fallacies, 2010-01-22T00:59:35+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/fallacy-detectives-in-russia https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/fallacy-detectives-in-russia#When:20:35:37Z 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 Fallacies, 2009-12-08T20:35:37+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/a-fallacy-detective-board-game https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/a-fallacy-detective-board-game#When:18:35:00Z 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." Thinking Tools, 2009-07-09T18:35:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/bread-facts https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/bread-facts#When:18:10:06Z 1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users. 2. Fully half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests. 3. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread. 4. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations. 5. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days. 6. Bread is often a “gateway” food item, leading the user to “harder” items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts. 7. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person. 8. Newborn babies can choke on bread. 9. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400F! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute. Can you name the errors in reasoning in the list above? Email your answers to info@christianlogic.com. The first three correct answers will receive a free Fallacy Detective t-shirt! (Visit http://www.fallacydetective.com/articles/read/short-list-of-fallacies/ to learn more about how to name fallacies.) Answers to Bread Facts Here are the fallacies we found in our last “Bread Facts” email: 1. “More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.” This is a post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because felons eat bread, that doesn’t mean the bread made them a felon. 2. “Fully half of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.” This is also post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because below average children eat bread, that doesn’t mean the bread made them below average. 3. “More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.” Another post hoc ergo propter hoc. Just because crimes often happen after somebody eats bread, this doesn’t mean . . . you get the point. 4. “In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.” Post hoc ergo propter hoc. 5. “Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.” Well, this seems to be true . . . we’re all addicted to food. But, this may be equivocating on the word “bread.” In the first part, the word “bread” means stuff made out of flour. In the second part, “bread” refers to food, generally. 6. “Bread is often a “gateway” food item, leading the user to “harder” items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.” Huh? 7. “Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.” We don’t know what this one is, it just sounds so crazy. 8. “Newborn babies can choke on bread.” This is an appeal to fear. 9. “Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400F! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.” Red Herring—something irrelevant is being introduced into the argument. And our winners are Maryalice Newborn, Jason Kibbe and Amy Summers! (The list above was adapted from “Bread Is Bad” http://laughlines.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/bread-is-bad/) Fallacies, 2008-10-02T18:10:06+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/simple-red-herring https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/simple-red-herring#When:18:13:00Z Toby asks . . . We have used some of your logic texts but have encountered an informal argument we thought may be a fallacy not covered in the books. We name it after the kid who uses it. A certain camper wore the same t-shirt all week. When my Dear Husband, his counselor, told him on Thursday to change shirt, his reply was, “Why? This shirt was fine on Monday - you had no complaints on Tuesday - no problems on Wednesday, and now all of a sudden you are saying something is wrong with it?” Is there a name for this fallacy we just are not catching? Answer Toby, Your camper might be committing a simple red herring fallacy. This is when somebody introduces something irrelevant into an argument. While your husband does agree with this camper that his shirt was okay on previous days, this avoids your husband’s argument that the accumulation of grime has reached the point today when his shirt is a hindrance to good social interaction. Hans Questions & Answers, 2008-06-17T18:13:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/is-learning-logic-the-solution-to-this-problem https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/is-learning-logic-the-solution-to-this-problem#When:17:33:00Z “My grandson seems to have a problem making decisions . . . even what to eat for dinner. When shopping, he cannot decide if he should buy an item, and asks for my opinion, even for what I think he should buy. I thought if he could learn logic, it would give him the mental ability to weigh pros and cons and make a decision on his own. I think he’s afraid to make a decision, therefore he avoids the task. Or he may be afraid of making the “wrong” decision even when there is no right or wrong in the deciding? He is the youngest of the three children, and the only boy. Even at the age of 12 he still cannot decide. I have reviewed your website and wonder if these exercises (games, etc.) will help. Truly, Ann” Ann, It sounds like he needs more courage and confidence than logic. How is he spending his time? Maybe he needs to do things that challenge him. A few years ago, a friend took us to a local cave. We didn’t know it then, but after crawling around in dark, tight passages for a day, our life had begun to change. Since then, we have taken up caving, skiing, rock climbing, mountain climbing, mountain biking, and motorcycling. Doing these sports has taught us a lot about how to act under stressful situations, how to make clear decisions, and how to face what we fear. Check out our article “Logic of Adventure” at http://www.aisforadventure.org. Questions & Answers, 2008-02-18T17:33:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/cs-lewis-and-the-either-or-fallacy https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/cs-lewis-and-the-either-or-fallacy#When:17:31:00Z Letter from Carter Askren Hi. A professor of critical thinking was telling me that C.S. Lewis’ comment to the effect of, “either Jesus was who he said he was or he was a liar or a lunatic,” is a false dichotomy and therefore illogical. I disagree, but can’t really articulate why. Liar or lunatic do seem like reasonable possibilities, but I suppose one could try to make the argument that C.S Lewis was mistaken and that could be another possibility. If false dichotomy is the presentation of conclusions that may not necessarily be all of the possible conclusions, then perhaps that was what the professor was trying to argue? I disagree with the idea that Jesus was mistaken, but I was trying to understand how someone might argue that such a statement from Jesus was illogical. And then, of course, we can remember that we are to be “fools for Christ” and that may mean standing by a position even when it is not popular—or “logical.” Thank you for your help. Carter, In “Mere Christianity” C.S. Lewis says, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” When interpreting what someone ways – like C.S. Lewis – it is best to interpret them in the best possible light. It is likely that Lewis understood that an alternative to “liar or lunatic” was “mistaken.” Lewis’ likely intention in this paragraph from “Mere Christianity” was to point out that this third alternative, “Jesus was a wise but mistaken human being,” is not reasonable given that Jesus claimed to be God. Lewis wasn’t committing an “either-or” fallacy because he addresses the alternatives, and rejects them. An either-or fallacy ignores the alternatives. Questions & Answers, 2007-12-13T17:31:00+00:00 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/logic-q-a-2 https://www.fallacydetective.com/news/read/logic-q-a-2#When:22:59:00Z Contents 1. Quiz answer 2. Fallacy Detective Test 3. Logic activities for younger students 4. Predicate calculus 5. Formal logic 6. Creating a formal logic book Quiz Answers The correct answer to last time’s quiz was the fallacy “post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc” or sometimes called “false cause.” Post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc is when someone concludes that since A happened before B, then A must have caused B. this fallacy also occurs when somebody says that since A and B are commonly seen together, one must have caused the other. The researchers in the article notice that murder rates, abortion, promiscuity and suicide are higher in the United States, which is a more religious nation than most European nations that have both a lower crime rate and a lower church going population. The researchers then conclude that since more religion is seen with higher crime rates etc., the religion must have caused the crime. Post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc. The quiz was won by Carter Askren, who will receive a Fallacy Detective T-shirt. Hans Bluedorn ------------------------ Do homeschool parents qualified as "teachers" for your Fallacy Detective test? I read a post from a lady in a homeschool board, where she mentioned that "to her" using the Thinking Tool Box BEFORE the Fallacy Detective was better...is there an specific, necessary order to obtain the best results from your products? Yolanda Yolanda, Yes, we will send The Fallacy Detective Test to homeschool parents. However, since the test is copyrighted, you must send us a request for it in order to receive it. You are not allowed to reproduce it except for you own homeschool/class. We recommend parents use The Fallacy Detective before The Thinking Toolbox. However, this is not necessary. We believe TFD is easier than TTT. Hans Bluedorn ------------------------ Re:  logic activities for younger students I’ve used products from the Tinman Press for several years now with early and late elementary age children.  While most of their products would work well in the classroom, they can also be used individually.   www.tinmanpress.com   The kids love the activities, and they really are great logic-building activities. I’ve also used lots of materials from the Critical Thinking Company.  Their web site is searchable by grade level.  http://www.brightminds.us/home/products.   I saw that some families recommended using the Mind Benders, and they are good.  But there are lots more materials available for younger folks. Anni Welborne West Lafayette, IN ------------------------ Hans and Nathanial, I was wondering if you could tell me what predicate calculus is?  What type of logic is it?  I know of someone who is using her training in this subject (she took a class) to make herself into an expert on everything in life. Help please! Anne Calvert Anne, Predicate calculus is an advanced form of modern symbolic logic. If your friend says that she knows more than you do because she knows logic, then she is fooling herself. Logic should teach humility. People with good thinking skills know they are not smarter than other people. If she knows this advanced form of logic, she should be able to translate all her new ideas into something you can understand. If she can't translate things into something that convinces you, then her advanced form of logic is useless. What is the difference between someone with such incredibly DEEP thoughts that we can't understand them, and someone with incredibly CONFUSED thoughts that we can't understand? Nathaniel ------------------------ Dear Logic Guys, Logic is a required class in the classical christian school my daughter attends. Logic instruction begins in seventh grade. This current class is working through Douglas Wilson's workbook Intro to Logic. At this point a few students are riding through, my daughter is not. I find this text and the language and concepts to be difficult. How do young students wrap their brains around these concepts? Any suggestions? Which of your materials would best complement the Wilson text? Thank you, Cynthia Brandon Cynthia, We suggest using Wilson and Nance's "Introduction to Logic" (which teaches formal logic) at age sixteen or seventeen. Some younger students handle it if they have a knowledgeable teacher to answer their questions and guide them. There is no hurry about logic. It is more important that students learn to enjoy logic and thinking skills and that they understand what they are learning. You can think of formal logic as being about as difficult as geometry. If the first thing a student learns in math is geometry, he may feel overwhelmed. It may be easier to start with something less challenging that beginners can have fun with. Nathaniel ------------------------ Are you planning to write a formal logic book? We are starting to use Introductory Logic by Wilson and Nance.We are enjoying it, but my son loves your books even more!! Thank you. Becky. Mexico City. Becky, We aren’t planning a formal logic book right now. However, we are thinking about creating a Fallacy Detective video. What do you think about that idea? Questions & Answers, 2005-10-13T22:59:00+00:00