The Logical Fallacies

Building a fake snowman instead of wrestling with the real storm.

This happens when you twist someone’s argument into an easier version that’s simpler to knock down.

Seeing two tracks in the snow and assuming one made the other.

Just because two things happen together doesn’t mean one caused the other.

Pulling on heartstrings instead of making a case.

Strong feelings are real, but they aren’t evidence.

Finding a bad turn and assuming the whole ski run is bad.

An argument can be flawed while its conclusion is still correct.

Turning a small hill into a cliff.

Arguing that one step will inevitably lead to disaster without proving the chain of events.

Aiming at the skier instead of the line they picked.

Instead of addressing the argument, you attack the person making it.

Responding to criticism with, “Yeah, but you do it too.”

Whether someone is a hypocrite has little to do with whether their criticism is true.

“I can’t imagine it, so it can’t be true.”

A lack of understanding isn’t evidence against reality.

Moving the finish line when you’re losing the race.

When evidence challenges your claim, you suddenly invent exceptions.

Planting a tree inside the question.

The question contains an assumption you haven’t agreed to.

Claim it, then make everyone else carry the backpack.

If you’re making the claim, it’s generally your job to provide the evidence.

Using foggy language to hide the trail.

An argument appears stronger because key words keep changing meaning.

Thinking the mountain owes you one.

Past random events don’t make future random events more likely.

Following the crowd down the run.

Popularity isn’t proof.

Mistaking expertise for infallibility.

Experts matter, but even experts can be wrong.

Confusing the tree with the forest.

What’s true of one part isn’t automatically true of the whole, and vice versa.

Redefining the club after someone proves you wrong.

When a counterexample appears, you change the definition.

Judging the river by its source instead of its water.

An idea should be evaluated on its merits, not merely where it came from.

Pretending there are only two trails off the chairlift.

Reality often offers more than two choices.

Using your conclusion as your evidence.

The argument loops in a circle.

Assuming natural means good.

Nature produces wildflowers and poison oak.

Treating one fishing story like a scientific survey.

Personal experience matters, but it isn’t the same as broad evidence.

Drawing the target around the bullseye after you shoot.

You notice the evidence that supports your view while ignoring the rest.

Assuming the truth lives exactly halfway up the mountain.

A compromise may be practical, but it isn’t automatically correct.