Tag Archives: appeal to authority fallacies

The “it’s banned in Europe” fallacy

Posted on June 14, 2021 by Fallacy Man

The title of this post is written somewhat in jest because this is not a formally recognized fallacy; nevertheless, it is a very common line of reasoning that is logically flawed and very closely aligned with multiple fallacies. The argument, … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Shoddy statistics and false claims: Dr. Erickson dangerously misled the public on coronavirus

Posted on April 29, 2020 by Fallacy Man

By now, you have likely seen the viral video of two doctors in Bakersfield, California (Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi) holding their own press briefing in which they argued that COVID19 is no deadlier than the flu, shelter in place … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

More anti-vaccine cherry-picking: A rebuttal to, “Should you be afraid that measles can give you immune amnesia?”

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Fallacy Man

Earlier this week, I wrote a post about measles-induced “immune amnesia” and the growing body of evidence supporting it. Afterwards, I was directed to an anti-vaccine “rebuttal” to this evidence (not to my post specifically) which has been making its … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Don’t cherry pick your experts

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Fallacy Man

The appeal to authority fallacy is one of the most common logical fallacies in internet debates. It is a favorite tactic among climate change deniers, anti-vaccers, young earth creationists, and pretty much anyone else who rejects “mainstream” science. I previously … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Warming, Rules of Logic | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

If anecdotes are evidence, why aren’t you drinking paint thinner?

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Fallacy Man

I want to begin this post by doing something atypical for me. I want to tell you about an amazing cure-all that I that was recently introduced to: turpentine (aka paint thinner). According to the vast wealth of knowledge available … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments