The appeal to definition (also known as the argument from dictionary) is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone’s argument is based, in a problematic manner, on the definition of a certain term as it appears in a dictionary or a similar source. The main problem with such arguments is that dictionaries are descriptive in …
The fundamental attribution error is a cognitive bias that causes people to underestimate the influence of situational (environment-based) factors on people’s behavior, and to overestimate the influence of dispositional (personality-based) factors. Essentially, this means that the fundamental attribution error causes people to assume that other people’s actions are less affected by their environment than they …
Virtue signaling is the act of speaking or behaving in a way that’s meant to demonstrate one’s good moral values. For example, if a person widely proclaims on social media that they strongly support a certain cause, because they want to show others how caring they are, that person is virtue signaling. Virtue signaling …
Ennui (pronounced on-wee) is chronic boredom that involves weariness, apathy, dissatisfaction, and lack of fulfillment. Some people experience a general sense of ennui in life, whereas others experience it in a specific domain, like their hobbies or work. For example, someone might experience ennui when it comes to a hobby that they previously loved, …
Knoll’s law of media accuracy is the adage that “everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge”. Essentially, Knoll’s law suggests that people often assume that everything they hear in the media is true, except for cases where they’re familiar …
Equivocation is the deliberate use of vague or ambiguous language, with the intent of deceiving others or avoiding commitment to a specific stance. For example, when a person is asked a direct yes-or-no question, and gives a vague response that doesn’t answer the question, that person is equivocating. The equivocation fallacy is a logical fallacy …
The Sagan standard is the adage that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence” (a concept abbreviated as ECREE). This signifies that if a claim seems extremely unlikely to be true, usually because of relevant past evidence, then it should be supported by extremely strong evidence before it’s accepted. For example, based on the Sagan standard, …
Opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative that you miss out on as a result of choosing a different option. For example, if a person chose to invest in a certain venture, their opportunity cost is the money they could have made by investing in a different venture, and namely in the …
False equivalence is a logical fallacy where someone incorrectly asserts that two (or more) things are equivalent simply because they share some characteristics, despite there also being substantial differences between them. For example, a false equivalence is saying that cats and dogs are the same animal, since they’re both mammals and have a tail. …
The verbatim effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember the gist of information better than its exact form, so they remember general meaning better than specific details. For example, when people read a long text, they’re more likely to remember its core message than how exactly it was phrased. Accounting for …