Author Archives: Fallacy Man

Evolutionary mechanisms part 5: Sexual selection

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Fallacy Man

As Charles Darwin sailed on his epic voyage, he noticed something which initially troubled him. In many species, the males had traits which seemed disadvantageous. In birds, for example, the females tended to be dull and camouflaged, whereas the males … Continue reading →

Posted in Science of Evolution | Tagged , | 8 Comments

5 reasons why anecdotes are totally worthless

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Fallacy Man

Personal anecdotes are often the primary ammunition of those who deny science. If you ask anyone in the alternative medicine or anti-vaccine movements for their evidence, you will almost certainly get flooded with anecdotes. A quick internet search will reveal … Continue reading →

Posted in GMO, Nature of Science, Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Global warming hasn’t paused

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Fallacy Man

The notion that there has been a recent pause or hiatus in global climate change is one of those myths that just will not die. Numerous studies have shown that it simply isn’t true, and the claim is based on … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Global warming hasn’t paused

Research, you’re doing it wrong: A look at Tenpenny’s “Vaccine Research Library”

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Fallacy Man

“I’ve done my research.” If you’ve ever debated someone who disagrees with a scientific  consensus, then you’ve probably encountered that sentence, especially if they were an anti-vaccer. It is the mantra of the anti-science movement, but it’s nearly always misused. … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

The genetic fallacy: When is it okay to criticize a source?

Posted on January 18, 2016 by Fallacy Man

Last week, I wrote a post on the hierarchy of scientific evidence which included the figure to the right. In that post, I explained why some types of scientific papers produced more robust results than others. Some people, however, took … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic | Tagged , , , | 17 Comments