the.com/fallacy
a wrong argument wearing a tuxedo, confident enough to fool the room.
means A flaw in reasoning that makes an argument invalid or misleading, even when it sounds convincing.
from From Latin 'fallacia' (deception, trick), from 'fallax' (deceptive), rooted in the verb 'fallere' — to deceive or cause to stumble. The same trip-you-up verb gives us 'false,' 'fail,' and 'fault.' English borrowed it in the late Middle Ages, first meaning plain trickery, then narrowing to the more specific sense of a flawed argument that fools by seeming sound.
- naming origin
- From Latin fallere, meaning to deceive or trip up
- named gun
- Ad hominem attacks the person, dodges the point
- slippery slope
- One small step somehow ends civilization, allegedly
- appeal fail
- Popularity proves nothing; millions once believed Earth flat
- self-defeating
- Calling everything a fallacy is itself a fallacy
appeal to authority — used in advertising when celebrities endorse products they don't use or understand
ad hominem — attacking the person rather than their argument, common in political debates since ancient rome
straw man — misrepresenting an opponent's position to make it easier to attack, frequent in 2020 us election discourse
false dilemma — presenting only two options when more exist, like 'you're either with us or against us' post-9/11