Author Archives: Fallacy Man

Evolutionary mechanisms part 7: Gene flow

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Fallacy Man

So far in this series, we have talked about natural selection, sexual selection, genetic drift, and mutations, but that still leaves us with one final and very important evolutionary mechanism: gene flow. This simply refers to the movement of genetic … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

No, homeopathic remedies can’t “detox” you from exposure to Roundup: Examining Séralini’s latest rat study

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Fallacy Man

One of my main goals for this blog is to help people learn how to evaluate scientific studies. To that end, I have written several posts that dissect papers and explain either why they are robust or why they are … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Don’t mistake an assumption for a fact

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Fallacy Man

I want you to imagine for a minute that you have been selected for jury duty, and you are sitting in the courtroom listening to the evidence. As you watch, the prosecution calls an expert forensic scientist to the stand, … Continue reading →

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Debunking the creationist myth that mutations don’t produce new and useful information

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Fallacy Man

Genetic variation is a fundamental requirement for evolution, but many evolutionary mechanisms (such as selection and genetic drift) actually remove variation from populations. Therefore, evolution is entirely reliant on the formation of new genetic information, and without it, evolution would … Continue reading →

Posted in Science of Evolution | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Don’t attack the straw men: Straw man fallacies and reductio ad absurdum fallacies

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Fallacy Man

People love to argue. We all have views and opinions, and we tend to promote them prominently and viciously attack opposing ideas. There is nothing inherently wrong with that as long as your views are evidence-based and you use proper … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments