Category Archives: Rules of Logic

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

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

Stop accusing me of ad hominem fallacies you stupid idiots

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Fallacy Man

Ad hominem fallacies are among the most common logical fallacies, but they are also among the most misunderstood. Indeed, I often see people falsely accusing their opponent of committing an ad hominem fallacy. Therefore, I am going to explain how … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic | Tagged , | 8 Comments

The Rules of Logic Part 7: Using Consistent Reasoning to Compare Apples and Oranges

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Fallacy Man

Using consistent reasoning simply means that you use the same type of thinking or the same logical structure across your various views and arguments. In other words, the arguments that you use to support one position cannot conflict with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

7 easy ways to lose a debate

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Fallacy Man

One of the saddest statistics about my life is the amount of time that I spend pointlessly debating anti-scientists. Having devoted so much time to this endeavor has, however, allowed me to observe certain patterns and trends in their debate … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Rules of Logic, Science of Evolution, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 7 easy ways to lose a debate