What's your (least) favorite logical fallacy?

[Shadow WarChief]

Come on. We all have that one logical fallacy which just pisses us off more than the others.

For me it's straw-men

What's the one that pisses you off the most?

[Mr Bean]

Burden or Proof with Strawman a close second

[TrailerParkJawa]

Begging the Question.

[Master of Ossus]

DarkStar defense (aka. Broken Record, if that counts as a logical fallacy).

After that, maybe Burden of Proof because it's so common.

[Darth Wong]

Appeal to ignorance: "I declare this is true because you haven't proven that it is false."

Heavily favoured by Christian fundamentalist idiots who think it's a sound rational argument for invisible deities in the sky (also employed by people who claim FTL travel is "inevitable", defense lawyers with insanely convoluted theories about "the real killers", etc).

[Tsyroc]

Appeal to ignorance: "I declare this is true because you haven't proven that it is false."

Heavily favoured by Christian fundamentalist idiots who think it's a sound rational argument for invisible deities in the sky (also employed by people who claim FTL travel is "inevitable", defense lawyers with insanely convoluted theories about "the real killers", etc).

I really hate that one.

I also don't like the "it's so complicated someone greater than us must have designed it". "I can't understand it so the only valid response is that the conclusion is wrong, and someone greater than us did it."

I see this all the time when it comes to evolution. Most of the people I have run into that dismiss evolution don't have the tiniest clue about science and the process that real science goes through. They like to get hung up on the terminology without understanding how science uses it.
A theory is dismissed by these people because it is not a fact.

[Colonel Olrik]

" I used to think exactly the same way"

The real meaning is:

1) I'm so much more advanced than you
2) If you pay attention and learn with me you may reach my level
3) You are obviously wrong, because I've been there and reached that conclusion

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

I ad hominem attacks, and leaps of logic employed by Trekkies, fundamentalists, and people that blame something silly such as guns or the media on today.

[Raziel]

Circular logic employed by fundies to prove that the Bible is full of God's truth.

I know we've all had THE conversation...

"So why is the Bible true?"
"Because God says so."
"Ok... so how do you know that God says so?"
"Because the Bible says so."
"Try again. Your reasoning is circular and self-defeating."
"No it isn't. The bible is the Word of God."
"According to the bible."
"No, according to God."
"As it says in the bible."
"Exactly!"
*rational person's head explodes in a burst of illogic*
"I love Jesus!"

[Lusankya]

Circular logic employed by fundies to prove that the Bible is full of God's truth.

I know we've all had THE conversation...

"So why is the Bible true?"
"Because God says so."
"Ok... so how do you know that God says so?"
"Because the Bible says so."
"Try again. Your reasoning is circular and self-defeating."
"No it isn't. The bible is the Word of God."
"According to the bible."
"No, according to God."
"As it says in the bible."
"Exactly!"
*rational person's head explodes in a burst of illogic*
"I love Jesus!"

I've never had that conversation. None of the religious types I've met have actually been too bad. Mostly they just say "I believe there is a God, but the bible is just literature."

When I ask them why, they just say, "because it makes me feel better," which I suppose is fair enough.

[Darth Wong]

I've never had that conversation. None of the religious types I've met have actually been too bad. Mostly they just say "I believe there is a God, but the bible is just literature."

When I ask them why, they just say, "because it makes me feel better," which I suppose is fair enough.

You don't live in North America. I've had people tell me that "science is just now catching up to the Bible", with a perfectly straight face. Mind you, idiots like that are pretty rare here in Toronto, but when I used to live on the Michigan border ...

[Raziel]

I guess Canadian fundies are more retarded than Aussie fundies

But we only have a fraction of the nut jobs you find in the Deep South.

[Lusankya]

Probably, although some guy from Queensland (who'd gotten a degree in Geology of all things) was round here earlier discussing creationism and how much better it was than evolution. I was half-tempted to go to one of his talks, but I figured that I'd either be rude and get hit, or become stupider. And after reading that site Mr B showed us, I don't htink I have that many IQ points to spare.

[Raziel]

I've had THE conversation and worse in school. See, I study music, so our faculty attracts an abnormally large population of fundies (as well as more moderate Christians).

The population there is very divided; on the one hand you have the fundies (often Mennonites, since rural Manitoba is overflowing with them) and on the other you have cynical, marginally rational assholes such as myself.

Seems music either inspires no thought whatsoever or complete freedom of thought. A dilemma I'm currently puzzling over.

[Lusankya]

My least favourite is the "repeat previous point, but louder" tactic.

[Mr Bean]

Or the Classic, its allready been mentioned but not the name


*Dark-Star's Preputal Wall of Ignorance, Each post mearly builds it higher until he is at the point you could set him on fire and he would not notice(Fun for the whole family!)

[PrinceofLowLight]

Not sure if this one has a name, but my all-time most hated one is definitely when a speaker tries to use emotive language in place of an argument. Probably because it's the most prevalent...I mean, you can't read any article on the internet, no matter the topic, on opposite topics, urging the reader to "rise up against the Man". Even from the side representing The Man.

Ugh. And what's worse is when people are swayed by that swill...

[The Yosemite Bear]

Humans are Intellegent

[Lagmonster]

I've had people tell me that "science is just now catching up to the Bible", with a perfectly straight face. Mind you, idiots like that are pretty rare here in Toronto, but when I used to live on the Michigan border ...

Funny thing, that. I live in Ottawa, and it's hard to find people with irrational religious beliefs. Now, I was visiting folks in Kentucky. And in a month, let me tell you, it was hard to find people WITHOUT irrational religious beliefs.

We have it good, us Canucks.

[Eleas]

What's the one that pisses you off the most?

Shifting the burden of proof as recently used by one Akira: "A sector is 20x20x20 Lightyears as stated in a number of eps."

Next: Portal The Musical by Graham Kennedy, showing this Friday inside Akira's head.

[Asst. Asst. Lt. Cmdr. Smi]

What's the one that es you off the most?

Shifting the burden of proof as recently used by one Akira: "A sector is 20x20x20 Lightyears as stated in a number of eps."

Next: Portal The Musical by Graham Kennedy, showing this Friday inside Akira's head.

Everyone's going to be flocing to that.

Performer on stage:
Turbolasers are real lasers!
Hyperdrive is 1.5c!
Nothing can stop a phaser!
One shot will blow up an ISD!
Because the TM says it,
it must be true!

(backup singers come on)
Singers:
The Emipire will lose to Star Trek...
We don't need proof!

(Fireworks ignite, a bunch of people come on, the music stops, and the curtains lower)

I also don't like it when Trekkies use dialogue as proof, and when they use the "style over substance" fallacy.

[Master of Ossus]

What's the one that pisses you off the most?

Shifting the burden of proof as recently used by one Akira: "A sector is 20x20x20 Lightyears as stated in a number of eps."

Next: Portal The Musical by Graham Kennedy, showing this Friday inside Akira's head.

[Groan] Akira. Essentially a clone of DS, and sharing all of his stupidity and beliefs.

Always two, there are. A master, and an apprentice.

[XaLEv]

Who is this Akira?

[Master of Ossus]

Who is this Akira?

He's a DarkStar clone! He's only made a few posts, but when he came onto the board the first notice I got of his existence was when he started telling us that SW EU material was invalid, etc. etc. etc. We all thought that it was DS smurfing, but when GAT did an ISP check, he found that the two were actually different! We were forced to conclude that Akira is actually a disciple of DS, although he does not appear to be nearly as bad as DS's earlier posts were.

[AdmiralKanos]

MKSheppard's shameless thread hijacking attempt (in which he leapt in with a rant about gun control without even bothering to name a fallacy type) has been split into the new thread "Another MkSheppard Gun Thread" in the "Off Topic" forum- Admiral Kanos