en-us 2009 A weblog for the Fallacy Files website. http://www.fallacyfiles.org Relating to our recent theme of the problem of expert opinion, a pseudonymous reader writes concerning the fallacy of argumentum ad verecundiam, which I call "the fallacy of misleading (or questionable) authority" rather than simply "appeal to authority", as it has been traditionally translated. The reader begins... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07282010 I've added a new entry to the "Familiar Contextomies" page. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07262010 The latest "eSkeptic" reviews the new book "Wrong: Why Experts Keep Failing Us--And How to Know When Not to Trust Them" by David Freedman. According to the review--and also its subtitle--"Wrong" focuses on how and why experts make mistakes. A couple of months ago, you may recall, I discussed this issue at some length with respect to another new book, Massimo Pigliucci's "Nonsense on Stilts". From the review, we learn that... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07182010 Mr. Brown moved into the office shared by Mr. White, Mr. Black, and Mr. Grey. On Formal Friday, all four men wore ties to work. Each of the four wore a tie, socks, and shoes of colors that matched one of their names--that is, the articles of apparel were of the four colors white, black, grey and brown--but none of them wore anything that matched his own name. There was one white tie, one black tie, one grey tie, and one brown tie among them; similarly for the socks and shoes. Also, each man wore ties, socks, and shoes of three different colors (each pair of socks was one color; also, the shoes matched each other in color). Mr. Brown wore the white tie, while neither Brown nor Mr. White wore the grey shoes. What color tie, socks, and shoes was each man wearing?... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07152010 I discussed Jerry Fodor and Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini's new book "What Darwin Got Wrong" at some length a few of months ago. Now, the "London Review of Books" has published a review by Peter Godfrey-Smith, and the latest "eSkeptic" has one by Donald Prothero. Check 'em out.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07102010 Can a critic pan a movie so badly that it's impossible for a clever ad writer to use a blurb from it to sell the movie? An ad for the new "Twilight Saga" movie "Eclipse" uses the following quote: "THE BEST 'TWILIGHT' MOVIE SO FAR!"-ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive072010.html#07022010 Three other men worked for the same company but shared a different office: Mr. Brown, Mr. Green, and Mr. Brown-Green. Today, when they came to work, one was wearing brown socks, another green socks, and the third unmatched socks: one brown and one green. Again, the men were not wearing socks of colors that matched their names. At the same time, each man wore long trousers that hid his socks, so that no one could see what color socks he was wearing. If you could enter the office, pull up only one trouser leg on just one of the men and see what sock he wore on that leg, could you determine what color of socks each man wore? Whose trouser leg would you pull up? http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06302010 The next day, the three men were back in the office, again with sock colors that did not match their names. Now, however, one of them was wearing black shoes, another grey shoes, and the third white ones. Like their socks, the colors of their shoes did not match their names. Not only that, but the colors of their shoes did not match that of their socks. In addition, nobody wore white socks with black shoes. What color combination of shoes and socks was each man wearing? http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06292010 Three men--Mr. Black, Mr. Grey, and Mr. White--work in the same office. Today, one of them wore black socks to work, another wore grey socks, and the third wore white socks. "That's strange", Mr. Black remarked to the man wearing grey socks, "none of us is wearing socks of a color that matches our names!" What color of sock was each man wearing? http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06282010 "...40 states not only don't ban handguns...they allow citizens with permits to carry [handguns] concealed in public. ... Crime went down in those states. And after Chicago passed its ban in 1983, crime went up. Crime never returned to pre-ban levels."... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06252010 "Data from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation show that America has been on a firearms buying spree since the end of 2005. Meanwhile, the FBI recently released preliminary 2009 crime data indicating that violent crime has been dropping at an accelerating rate since the end of 2006. The FBI reports the number of background checks, by month, requested for potential firearms purchases through licensed dealers. When a prospective buyer wants to buy a gun, he fills out a form which the dealer submits to law enforcement. If approved, the sale proceeds. This system is called the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS for short. ...[A]fter gun sales attained record growth in 2006, violent crime rates began to fall in 2007. As gun sales continued to register records each following year, violent crime rates decreased at an accelerating rate."... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06222010 Julian Baggini, author of "The Duck that Won the Lottery", has a new book coming out called "Do They Think You're Stupid?: 100 Ways of Spotting Spin and Nonsense from the Media, Celebrities and Politicians". I think the title question is rhetorical.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06202010 Q: Regarding the tu quoque fallacy: often in politics you will hear something like the following: Arguer 1: "President Obama did such and such." Arguer 2: "Oh yeah, well, President Bush did such and such as well." In other words, often in politics people will ignore accusations and simply attack the other politician. Could something like this be considered a tu quoque fallacy, even though the politicians are being referred to by third parties? In other words, it is a sort of tu quoque in the sense that Arguer 2 is saying "your politician too." The response by Arguer 2 is irrelevant to the issue brought up by Arguer 1. If this is not considered a tu quoque, what fallacy would it be?--Aaron Brake... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06172010 That's the message of an interesting article about intuition in "The Chronicle of Higher Education" by psychologists Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris, the authors of the new book "The Invisible Gorilla, and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us". Go read the whole thing, then come back and read this whole thing!... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive062010.html#06102010