1.5 - About University

6.1 T HE BS DETECTOR K IT:R ECOGNIZING E RRORS OF L OGICInspired by John Paulos and Carl Sagan.Leaders need tools for detecting erroneous logic. Not only is this tool interesting reading, butby occasionally reviewing the fallacies pointed out here, you will sharpen your instincts fordetecting logical errors in your own thinking and in that of others.L OGICALFALLACIESLogic error What it is ExampleAttacking the person,not the problem—adhominemVague termsDefining the problemas a solutionAn either-or falsedichotomyConfusing associationand correlation withcausationSequence means causeThe statistic of smallnumbers—overgeneralizingMisunderstanding thenature of statisticsIncorrect conclusions—non sequitur (It doesnot follow.)PleadingBlindly trustingauthoritySelective observationAttacking the arguer rather than theargument or the factsUsing vague terms rather than stating thereal, concrete issuePresenting a solution to an as-yet undefinedproblemPresenting only two alternatives when a rangeis availableCausation cannot be assumed just becausesomething routinely happens after a certainevent.Just because two thing happened in sequence,that doesn’t necessarily mean one is causingthe other.Making general inferences from a very smallsampleMaking incorrect statistical inferencesDrawing incorrect conclusions from dataAppealing to some authority or law tosupport an argumentAn argument that amounts to little morethan “Trust me”Using only selected pieces of evidence tosupport your argument“You’re a typical engineer; you’ll never understandhuman needs.”“We have a communications problem” ratherthan, “You and I haven’t spoken since theincident.”“We need to send all our Systems Analysts to aninterpersonal skills workshop.”“Either you take the transfer or you’ll have nocareer here.”“We have a lot more absences on Mondaysbecause people get paid on Fridays.”“Chris seemed upset after getting negativefeedback yesterday. Now he called in sick today.”“I talked to a couple of customers and nobodylikes the new design.”“Over half of the statistics you hear are wrong.”“We have more lost-time accidents this month.Our new safety program isn’t working.”“It’s human nature for people to … (e.g., beselfish, want to help).”“If you work hard, the company will take care ofyou.”“Twice this week, Terry has been whispering onthe phone. Someone must be getting fired.”170 SECTION 6 TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING AND INNOVATION