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5 Red Herring Fallacy Examples to Fight Irrelevant Information

In literature circles, a red herring is a narrative element that is meant to mislead readers by providing irrelevant information. For example, an author might introduce some plot point to distract the reader and mislead them so the ending is more surprising. Red herrings also pop up in rhetoric and argumentation. A red herring fallacy […]

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9 Middle Ground Fallacy Examples to Spot During an Argument

What is “truth?” Truth has been a topic up for discussion for thousands of years, especially in the eyes of philosophers. But when it comes to everyday people, we typically accept truths as being any ideas or concepts that aim to represent reality or correspond to it in some way. The truth is represented by […]

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5 False Equivalence Examples to Know Before Your Next Argument

In general, drawing comparisons between things can be useful. However, comparisons are not always apt and we sometimes end up drawing comparisons between things that are actually not alike. A false equivalence is a type of logical fallacy in which a person attempts to draw an equivalence between two things based on the presence of a few […]

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7 Hasty Generalization Fallacy Examples & How to Respond to Them

When in his 80s, a friend’s grandfather (Pappy) told me that he’s smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since he was a teenager and he turned out just fine, so it can’t really be that bad for you. Now, for any of you who can think back to statistics 101, n=1 in Pappy’s little […]

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6 Straw Man Fallacy Examples & How You Can Respond

In the context of a debate, it’s always good practice to make sure you clearly understand your opponent’s position before you respond, so you can argue against their actual views. Unfortunately, good practice doesn’t always come through and people end up misrepresenting other people’s views. A straw man fallacy is a kind of logical fallacy […]

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6 False Dichotomy Examples & How to Counter Them

In 2001, then-president George W. Bush was quoted making the following statement to Congress in response to the attacks on 9/11: “Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.” In the time since, President Bush has been criticized for his all-or-nothing […]

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7 Slippery Slope Fallacy Examples (And How to Counter Them)

Say you’re debating a friend over the topic of marijuana legalization and they say this: “If we legalize recreational marijuana, then marijuana will become normalized in public life. If marijuana is normalized, that will make it more likely that children and other impressionable people will partake. Before you know it, everyone will be doing drugs! […]

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What is a Logical Fallacy? (with 10 Examples)

Have you ever made a mistake at work and then thought you were surely going to be fired? I was recently in a bind at work and my boss asked to have a meeting with me the following morning. I was positive I was going to get fired–or, at least get into big trouble. I […]

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What is the Planning Fallacy (and How Can It Derail Your Time Management Efforts)?

How often do you find yourself racing at the last minute to meet a deadline? Do you often find that you end up finishing projects after you had promised they would be complete? Have you let people down because you didn’t have enough time to fulfill your obligations? If these questions sound familiar, then you […]

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How to Overcome the “Sunk Cost Fallacy” Mindset

Do you often find yourself continuing on a path that doesn’t feel right, only because you’ve already invested so much time or money into it? You might strongly dislike what you’re doing, but you feel like you have to stay the course because you can’t imagine doing anything differently. If this sounds familiar, then you’re […]

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