Tag 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

Assumptions vs. inductive logic: is radiometric dating based on assumptions?

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Fallacy Man

Anyone who has tried to debate a creationist has invariably encountered their liberal use of the word, “assumption.” This is one of their trump-card, catch-all arguments that they use to handily “defeat” any evidence that opposes their position. For example, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature of Science, Science of Evolution | Tagged , , , , | 20 Comments

Falling branches: the illusion of miraculous divine intervention

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Fallacy Man

Human beings like to have explanations for everything, and we find seemingly inexplicable events extremely troubling. We disdain the notion that some things just happen without any rhyme or reason for them. This dependency on meaningful events makes us prone … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 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