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Results 1 to 10 of 11 (page 1 of 2)
Logic 1: What’s wrong with this thinking?
An English-language quiz on identifying logic errors.Each of the following statements represents a logic error. See if you can identify the error.1. If you start letting your teenagers stay out late, soon they will get into drinking and taking drugs, and their lives will be ruined!appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope2. This world-renowned American economist says that Canadian logging practices are environmentally sound.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope3. It is normal for business writers to use expressions like "pursuant to your request" or "attached herewith please find." This kind of language has been used for decades and sounds professional. So why change?appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope4. The committee was to meet last week to discuss the changes to the project, so a decision still has to be made.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope5. Most hospital workers think that the health care industry needs more funding. Therefore, hospitals should get more money.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope6. My son David has been playing a lot with the boy who just moved to the neighbourhood; I recently caught David stealing money out of my purse. He'll have to stop playing with the new boy.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope7. If you believe in censorship, you have no commitment to free speech.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slope8. Everyone I know believes we should pay women to stay home with their children. It's obviously the right choice.appeal to traditionbandwagonbiased or suppressed datablack and white thinkingfalse appeal to authorityfalse causenon sequiturslippery slopeSource: Quizzes on the Language Portal of Canada
Number of views: 12,375
faulty comparisons
When making a comparison, avoid making illogical or unclear statements Illogical comparisons In illogical comparisons, the writer uses a faulty structure, which often leaves out a key element or idea. Illogical: The blender at this store is cheaper than the other store. [The blender costs less than a store?] Logical: The blender at this store is cheaper than the one at the other store. Illogical: I think green cleaning products perform as well, or better, than traditional ones. [As well than?] Logical: I think green cleaning products perform as well as, or better than, traditional ones. Illogical: Unlike Consuela, Devon’s cooking is bland. [Consuela is not like Devon’s cooking? Should she be?] Logical: Unlike Consuela’s cooking, Devon’s is bland. OR Unlike Consuela, Devon cooks bland foods. Illogical: Pepe eats more than anyone I know. [I know Pepe, so he can’t eat more than anyone I know!] Logical: Pepe eats more than anyone else I know. Unclear comparisons In unclear comparisons, the reader can’t tell what or who is being compared. Unclear: Greta paid a lower price for the concert tickets. [Lower than somebody else paid? Lower than she paid for something else?] Clear: Greta paid a lower price for the concert tickets than Abdul did. OR Greta paid a lower price for the concert tickets than for the tickets to the play. Unclear: Fred sees Joanne more often than Naomi. [Does Fred see Naomi? Or does Naomi see Joanne?] Clear: Fred sees Joanne more often than he sees Naomi. OR Fred sees Joanne more often than Naomi does.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,540
To be or not to be: Maintaining sentence unity
Usually when sentence unity turns up on the agenda at the workshops I teach, participants look at me blankly. Who can blame them? The term, though a chapter heading in many grammar and writing texts, is vague at best. So I normally introduce the topic by explaining what sentence unity means. Here are four possible explanations. Which one or ones are correctly worded? Sentence unity is where you make sure the subject and predicate of a sentence join logically. Sentence unity is when the parts of a sentence come together grammatically and make sense. The reason sentence unity is important is because without it, a sentence is incoherent. Sentence unity is taking care to keep sentence parts in line. If you found fault with all of these sentences, congratulations. Their content is fine, but all four are awkwardly constructed. Each illustrates a sentence unity problem—a logical and grammatical hitch in how the subject and predicate join together. In each case the hitch centres on the verb to be. To be, at first glance an innocent, workaday verb, can be surprisingly difficult to use correctly. Here’s a look at the most common ways writers misfire with this verb, destroying sentence unity in the process. Is where The word where, of course, denotes place. Yet writers often use where after the verb to be when referring to terms or concepts that have nothing to do with place. The result? Sentences like the following, which lack unity and suffer from both logical and grammatical problems. Origami is where you fold paper into shapes and objects that will delight and amaze the whole family. The logical problem is that origami is not a place. It’s therefore not accurate to say that origami is where anything takes place. Here’s a possible revision: Origami is the art of folding paper into shapes and objects that will delight and amaze the whole family. The grammatical problem is more complicated. If you’re a grammar keener, you’ll know that to be is a linking verb, and like all linking verbs it needs to be completed by either a noun or an adjective, or a phrase or clause that serves as a noun or an adjective. But where, a conjunction that refers to place, always begins an adverb clause. Strictly speaking, this means that following to be with where should produce a grammatically disjointed sentence every time. Nowadays, however, only the most prescriptive grammarian would condemn the structure outright. It’s generally agreed that when the subject of the sentence is a place, it’s fine to use is where. China is where the art of paper-folding originated, but Japan is where it is most widely practised. Is when Is when wreaks the same sort of havoc in writing as is where. Consider this illogical sentence, which regrettably appears in an online writing guide from a California college: Unity is when all the sentences in a paragraph stick to the main point, as stated in the topic sentence. The word when refers to time, but unity is not a time. This sentence is just as incorrect as the is where sentence above. It could be rewritten like this: Unity results when all the sentences in a paragraph stick to the main point, as stated in the topic sentence. Like where, when is generally acceptable after the verb to be when its use is logical—that is, when its subject refers to a time. New Year’s Day is when many people resolve to kick nicotine forever. The reason . . . is because An even more widespread problem, the reason . . . is because is an expression that routinely springs to mind when we have some explaining to do. The reason Sheila left the fundraising dinner early was because she had had her fill of lame political jokes and leathery prime rib. This sentence is snarled because because, like where and when, begins an adverb structure, not a noun or adjective structure, which should ideally follow to be. But unlike is where and is when, the reason . . . is because is uniformly panned by grammar texts and usage guides, largely because in addition to being grammatically suspicious, it’s redundant. The reason is and because mean the same thing. It’s therefore best to avoid the reason . . . is because entirely. There are two easy fixes: (1) eliminate the reason . . . is and just keep because or (2) use that in place of because. The first approach is often better because it produces a more concise sentence. Sheila left the fundraising dinner early because she had had her fill of lame political jokes and leathery prime rib. The reason Sheila left the fundraising dinner early was that she had had her fill of lame political jokes and leathery prime rib. To be in definitions Anyone who has composed a definition knows the peculiar pain of trying to capture the essence of something in words. Part of the difficulty is that definitions so often hinge on the verb to be, which is almost an equals sign in such a sentence, equating the term to its definition. Definitions require a precise balancing of subject and predicate. Notice the awkwardness of these two attempts: A turophile is being a connoisseur or lover of cheese. Taxidermy is a lifelike representation of an animal constructed from its preserved skin. Looking at the first sentence as if it were an equation helps to pinpoint the imbalance: a turophile (a person) = being something (an action). The sentence unity problem is clear: a person cannot equal an action. Here’s a better attempt: A turophile is a connoisseur or lover of cheese. If we analyse the second sentence, we see that taxidermy (the process) = the representation of the animal (the stuffed animal itself). Once again, the sentence unity is askew. To be must be followed by a noun that says precisely what taxidermy is. Taxidermy is the craft of constructing a lifelike representation of an animal from its preserved skin. Logic, balance and patience—that’s what it takes to construct unified sentences with to be. A simple verb that’s deceptively hard to use, to be is nonetheless a verb no writer can be without. Related quiz Test yourself—To be or not to be: Maintaining sentence unitySource: Peck’s English Pointers (articles and exercises on the English language)
Number of views: 1,448
non sequitur
The term non sequitur is a Latin phrase meaning “it doesn’t follow.” In this error in logic, the writer makes a statement that doesn’t follow logically from the one before it. False conclusion A non sequitur may simply be a false conclusion, one that cannot be drawn from the evidence stated: Global warming has occurred in the past as a result of natural factors and has never ended in disaster. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that the current global warming is caused by human activity or will create serious problems, and anyone who says it will is merely an alarmist. Omission of details Sometimes, however, there is a logical connection that has not been made clear; the writer has left out key steps in the reasoning process because he or she thinks they are obvious. John approved the funding before the committee meeting, so we will have to cancel the project. A logical connection does not exist between these two statements: If the funding was approved, it does not make sense to cancel the project. Of course, with the phrase “before the committee meeting,” the writer is suggesting that something happened at the meeting to reverse the decision. But it is important to state facts clearly rather than simply to imply them. The writer needs to explain what happened between the two events: John approved the funding before the committee meeting. But at the meeting, the committee overruled John’s decision, so we will have to cancel the project.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,424
false cause
This very common error in logic involves an assumption about cause. In this fallacy, when two events occur one after the other, the writer assumes, without enough evidence, that the first event caused the second. A lot of superstitions are based on this kind of reasoning: “My friend gave me a crystal charm, and both times I wore it, I won at cards. But the time I forgot it at home, I lost. I have to remember to wear that crystal if I want to win.” But this type of reasoning is not found only in superstitions: Two employees attended the weekend conference. They were both sick afterwards. The food served at the conference must have been bad. In this example, although the employees’ illness may have been caused by food poisoning at the conference, there is not enough evidence to draw a conclusion. The fact that the sickness occurred after the conference does not prove that something at the conference was the cause. This fallacy is sometimes called a post hoc fallacy, from the Latin phrase post hoc, ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this).Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,332
logic: appeal to tradition
In this error in logic, the writer claims that a belief or method is valid because people have believed it or used it in the past, often for a long period: “We’ve always done things that way, and it works fine, so why change?” If that were a valid reasoning process, then we should never have replaced handwritten manuscripts with typed ones, or typewriters with word processors! Examples “My boss wants to introduce a new procedure. But the one we have been using has worked well for the last 20 years. Changing it would be a waste of time.” [Even if the old procedure works well, the new one might work better.] “That country’s system of government has been in place for over two centuries. It must be good to have lasted that long!” [The country’s system of government may be good, but the mere fact that it has been around for centuries isn’t automatic proof of its quality.] Traditional ways of thinking or doing are not necessarily valid just because they are old—after all, the evil of slavery has existed as a traditional practice in one part of the world or another for thousands of years. And even when traditional ways are genuinely good, they can be capable of improvement!Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,267
black-and-white thinking, false dichotomy, false dilemma
In the error in logic known as black-and-white thinking, the writer suggests that there are only two (or three) possible options when in fact there is a whole range of positions or choices. (It’s like seeing only in black and white and ignoring the shades of gray in between.) Those who are not with us are against us! [There are more than two possible positions. A person or group could have a neutral stance or could disagree in part with our position without entirely opposing us.] Environmental legislation will lead to job losses, because offending factories will have to be shut down. [Is shutting down factories the only solution to complying with the legislation?] You won’t fund my campaign for the protection of purple-crested warblers? How can you claim to be concerned about the environment? [Are there only two possible positions: on the one hand, willingness to fund a specific campaign; on the other, a total lack of concern for the environment?] This error in thinking is also known as a false dilemma or a false dichotomy. (A dichotomy is a division of something into two opposing parts.)Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,197
bandwagon
In this error in logic, the writer claims that a conclusion is right simply because most people agree with it. The reasoning here is that if people in general believe something, it must be true. It is easy to see the flaw in this thinking—remember that in the time of Columbus, virtually everyone believed the world was flat! Examples: This product must be safe because a lot of people are using it. There is growing support for this controversial position. Obviously, we need to bring our legislation into conformity with the wishes of the people. There must be other life forms in the universe—if extraterrestrial life didn’t exist, there wouldn’t be so many people who believe in it. Look critically at an argument before jumping on the bandwagon!Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,076
logic: biased or suppressed data
These errors in logic both involve the misuse of data. A writer who resorts to biased data collects evidence from sources on only one side of the argument. A writer who suppresses data chooses data selectively, ignoring evidence that doesn’t support the conclusion he or she wants. Example of biased data: “More than 85% of people surveyed believe that the summer break for secondary school students is too short. Therefore, the academic year should be reduced to allow for a longer vacation.” [The people surveyed were all secondary school students. We can predict that most of them would prefer a longer vacation! Therefore, they represent only one side of the argument, and the sample is biased.] Example of suppressed data: “This new product has passed several tests. It meets safety standards and is ready to go on the market.” [The argument sounds good on the surface–but in this case, the writer has focused on positive test results only and has ignored a small number of tests showing evidence of risks. The writer has therefore suppressed important data.] In building a logical argument, it is important to be sure that all the facts from both sides of the argument have been fairly presented.Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,043
logic: false appeal to authority
In this error in logic, the writer quotes a recognized expert or celebrity–but on a topic outside of that person’s area of expertise. This strategy is often used effectively in advertising. Examples An actor who had played a doctor on a popular television series later appeared in television commercials for a health product. Interestingly, sales of this product increased significantly—possibly because viewers thought he was a credible spokesperson, on the basis of his role as a doctor, even though he had no actual medical expertise. “It is unnecessary to examine the information in any depth since this well-known international organization is supporting the project.” [Does the international organization have expertise in this area? If not, this argument is a false appeal to authority.]Source: Writing Tips Plus (English language problems and rules)
Number of views: 1,041