Tag Archives: Bad arguments

Dying the way that nature intended: Appeal to nature fallacies

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Fallacy Man

The idea that nature has our best interest in mind is prevalent throughout the anti-science movement. For example, it is common to hear people say, “I’m not going to vaccinate, because I want my children to build immunity naturally, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Rules of Logic, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Silencing opinions vs. managing misinformation: Do skeptics suppress opposing viewpoints?

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Fallacy Man

If you have spent any time debating those who deny the well established science of vaccines, climate change, global warming, evolution, etc., then you have likely encountered the accusation that scientists/skeptics try to silence and suppress opposing viewpoints. This claim … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Understanding abstracts: Does the study say what you think it says?

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Fallacy Man

I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about scientific studies and how to analyze them, but there is a very important topic that, until now, I have only mentioned briefly: abstracts. Abstracts are intended to be useful … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Understanding the reported risks of medicines, foods, toxic chemicals, etc.

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Fallacy Man

We are constantly bombarded with news reports and claims like, “A new study found that chemical X increases your risk of disease Y by 100%” or “doing X makes you twice as likely to have Y,” but what do those … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science, Vaccines/Alternative Medicine | Tagged , , , | 2 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