Author Archives: Fallacy Man

Masks and COVID vaccines were huge successes; ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine were not

COVID19 presented an unprecedented challenge for modern science/medicine. Faced with a novel infectious disease, doctors, scientists, and health officials rose to the challenge in remarkable speed. That rate at which we went from never having heard of COVID19 to having … Continue reading

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Incredulity fallacy: I’m right because I can’t believe I’m wrong

I want to briefly discuss a logical fallacy that is surprisingly common, despite being so obviously absurd. I suspect that most people committing this fallacy do so without ever actually contemplating what they are saying, and it is my hope … Continue reading

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Yes, you should fact-check

Yesterday, I posted the fairly innocuous image above on the TLoS Facebook page, and the results were both fascinating and horrifying. Numerous people took time out of their day to embarrass themselves by doubling down and attacking fact-checkers, often with … Continue reading

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Overpopulation or overconsumption? It’s both, and it’s complicated

Before you start reading, open worldometers.info and take a screenshot (this will give you the world population right now; we’ll come back to it later). Our world is facing enormous environmental challenges. Climate change is roaring forward at a terrifying … Continue reading

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How well do you understand placebo effects?

“Placebo effect” is a term that almost everyone knows but few seem to understand. Misconceptions about placebo effects are rampant and usually center around the idea that a placebo effect occurs when you feel better because you thought a treatment … Continue reading

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