Ad Hominem  “to the man”  Attacking a person’s views by attacking his or her character  Ex: “Mayor Burns is divorced and estranged from his family. How can we listen to his pleas for a city nursing home?”  Why is it a fallacy? How he handles his personal life has no logical bearing on his views on the nursing home.

Appeal to Tradition  Appealing to a long standing practice or tradition and claiming validity/viability because people have done it for a duration.  Ex. They can’t have an opening night game before opening day because the Cincinnati Reds have always played the first game of the season on Opening Day.  Why is it fallacy? The fact that they have always been the first game doesn’t mean it makes sense to keep it that way if other ways of doing it make more sense.

Argumentum Ad Baculum  An argument based on an appeal to fear or a threat.  Ex. If you don’t vote for this candidate then the country will crumble.  Ex. Eating too much of that product may cause you to become fat.  Why is it a fallacy? Fear is an emotion, and by nature, not logical. Logic might tell you that voting for a certain candidate may change things, but the likelihood of causing the country to fall is not logical. Similarly, eating too of anything may cause you to become fat.

Argumentum Ad Populum  An argument aimed to sway popular support by appealing to sentimental weakness rather than facts or reason.  Ex. You can’t write me up for that because my mother will kill me. Please don’t do it, I can’t take another weekend without my phone. I will be the biggest loser in the school.  Why is it fallacy? The student is trying to get the teacher to feel sorry for him/her not arguing what they did, and why it doesn’t deserve the punishment.

Bandwagon Fallacy  Concluding that an idea has merit simply because many people think, believe, or practice it.  Ex. Everyone else is doing it.  What is it a fallacy? The numbers of people doing something or believing something does not validate the thing they are doing. Think Nazis, slave owners, fans of dubstep. Just because people are doing it doesn’t make it good/right.

Begging the Question (or Assuming the Answer)  This is when you assume that something you state follows a logical track of reasoning.  Ex. We must encourage our children to stop playing violent video games to reduce the number of shootings in this country.  Why is it a fallacy? It begs the question: do violent video games produce violent people who shoot other people? The statement above assumes that it does without proving it.

Confirmation Bias/ Observational Selection  This refers to selective thinking that focuses on evidence that supports ideas you already believe and ignores evidence to the contrary. If your beliefs are not founded in logic – faith, tradition, prejudice) they are susceptible to this fallacy.  Ex. Kids that wear hats are delinquents. Every time I am in the hallways I see kids in hats being late to class.  I am pointing out the times I am in the hall that I see students with hats, but ignoring those times that I don’t. I ignore that these students are very much the minority of overall students that are late, but choose to focus on them. Lots of “see I told you so.”

Confusion of Correlation and Causation  Cause and effect is a difficult thing to prove. Just because something has a high correlation doesn’t mean we can say it “causes” something else.  Ex. Using Twitter causes your attention span to shorten because all information is condensed to 140 characters.  There may be a high correlation between short attention spans and those who use Twitter, it may even contribute to that, but it is not the lone contributing factor. Thus, one does not happen as a direct result of the other.

False Dichotomy (Excluded Middle)  Considering only the extremes.  Painting a subject in terms of black/white, good/bad, excluding any middle ground.  Many times phrased as an “either/or” statement.  Ex.

Half Truth  A statement intended to deceive that omits some facts necessary for an accurate representation.  Ex. You: Mom, can I go to this party tonight? Mom: Who is going to be there? You: Bob, Tim, and Albert. (You tell her knowing that she likes them, while excluding that Sam, Ed, and Drew will be there too.) Mom: Yes, they are wonderful young men. Why is it a fallacy? Since you know that your mother does not approve of those other boys, and you are intentionally excluding them. Thus, you are only telling her half of the truth, the half she wants to hear.

Non Sequitir  Latin for “It does not follow…”  An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the established premise or evidence.  Ex. There occurred an increase in births during the full moon. Thus, full moons induce labor.  Why is it a fallacy? There are a number of factors that could help explain the increase in births. The conclusion arrived at based on that one premise does not lead to the arrived at conclusion.

Red Herring  When the arguer diverts the attention by changing the subject.  Ex. There is a lot of commotion regarding saving the environment. We cannot make this world an Eden. What will happen if it does become Eden? Adam and Eve got bored there! (literarydevices.net).  The logical argument is about saving the environment, not the merits of Eden. Distracting the audience to take away their attention.

Slippery Slope  When a change in procedure, law, or action, will result in adverse consequences.  Ex. If we allow doctor assisted suicide, then eventually the government will control how we die.  Why is it a fallacy? It does not necessarily follow that just because we make changes that a slippery slope will occur.

Statistics of Small Numbers  A statistic from a small sampling that you imply represents a much larger majority.  Ex. My parents smoked all of their lives and never got cancer.  Why is it a fallacy? Simply because someone can point to a few favorable numbers says nothing about the overall chances.

Straw Man  Creating a false scenario (straw man) and then attacking it.  Ex. Most athiests believe in evolution. You know who else believed in evolution, Hitler and the Nazis. How could you support something that was supported by Nazis. That is unconscionable.  Why is it fallacy? You are transferring the negativity of Nazis onto another group by saying that they shared one idea. What is really under attack is Nazism, not evolution or Atheism, as the argument demands.