A fallacy is when someone uses bad thinking to make it seem like something is true, even if it’s not.
Imagine you're trying to convince your friend that ice cream is the best food ever. You say, “I love ice cream!” and then you say, “Everyone loves ice cream!” So you think everyone must agree with you. But actually, some people might prefer pizza or cake. That's a fallacy, you used your own opinion to make it seem like it’s the only right one.
When Thinking Tricks Us
Sometimes, fallacies happen because we don’t stop to check if what someone says is really true. Like when someone says, “All dogs are fast,” just because their dog is fast. But not all dogs are fast, some might be sleepy or slow like a turtle!
Another time this happens is when people use big words and fancy ideas to make something sound important, even if it doesn’t make sense. It’s like wearing your biggest coat in summer to look cool, it might feel silly, but that's what a fallacy looks like!
Examples
- Someone says, 'All dogs are friendly. My dog is friendly, so all dogs must be friendly.'
- A teacher tells the class, 'If it rains today, we won't have recess. It's raining, so we won't have recess.'
- A student argues, 'I failed one test, so I'll fail the whole year.'
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See also
- What is At its core, an argument consists of?
- What is inference?
- What are premises?
- How Does The Problem of Induction in ~ 100 Seconds Work?
- How Does The Story of (almost) All Numbers Work?