Beyond Feelings

Overgeneralization and
stereotyping
Oversimplification
Post hoc fallacy
The Error
Contradiction
CHAPTER 13 The Errors in Combination
Errors of Expression
147
drawing a hasty conclusion,
identify all possible conclusions
before you select any one. Then
decide whether you have sufficient
evidence to support any of
those conclusions and, if so,
which conclusion that is.
Overgeneralization is ascribing
to all the members of a group a
quality that fits only some members.
A stereotype is an overgeneralization
that is rigidly maintained.
To avoid these errors,
resist the urge to force individual
people, places, and things
into hard categories. And keep
in mind that the more limited
your experience, the more modest
your assertions should be.
Oversimplification goes beyond
making complex ideas easier to
grasp—it twists and distorts the
ideas. Instead of informing people,
oversimplification misleads
them. To avoid this error, refuse
to adopt superficial views and
make a special effort to understand
issues in their complexity.
This error is rooted in the idea
that when one thing occurs after
another, it must be the result of
the other, when in reality the
sequence may be coincidental.
To avoid the post hoc fallacy,
withhold judgment of a causeand-effect
relationship until you
have ruled out other possible
causes, including coincidence.
How to Recognize and Deal with It
To claim that a statement is both
true and false at the same time
in the same way. To avoid this