en-us 2010 A weblog for the Fallacy Files website. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/ The new movie Man on a Ledge has had some trouble with the critics: its Metacritic Metascore is 40 out of 100, which technically means "Mixed or Average Reviews", but one point less and it would be "Generally Unfavorable Reviews". Similarly, it scores a rotten 32% on Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer. So, what's an adwriter to do for a blurb? Contextomy to the rescue! An ad for the movie has the following blurb.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive022012.html#02032012 From an Agence France-Presse report... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01282012 If you pay attention to the news, you might be excused for thinking that President Obama has increased the national debt much more than his predecessors in office. However, a bar graph put out by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's office, and later used by the liberal group MoveOn, purports to show that Obama has increased the debt less than each of the four previous presidents, and the three Republican presidents--Reagan, Bush pere, and Bush fils--each increased the debt more than either of the Democrats--Clinton and Obama.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012013.html#01262012 The umpteenth--I've lost count--debate of the candidates for the Republican nomination for President, moderated by journalist Bret Baier, was held in South Carolina a few days ago. The following transcript has been heavily edited to keep it on topic, but also to omit hesitation, repetition, stumbling over words, and one apparent mistranscription... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01192012 Philip Plait from Bad Astronomy on star-naming... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01162012 Patricia Heil sends in the following review.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01082012 James Taranto is back with another criticism of fact-checking. A few years ago, he took a shot at the fact checkers, and I thought it a clear miss. This time he hits the mark. Check it out, it's worth reading.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01052012 Q: I am having difficulty in categorizing one logical fallacy that has come up this fall, and would appreciate your thoughts. When Warren Buffett indicated that he thinks that the rich should bear a heavier portion of the tax burden, many commentators then issued a rebuttal along the lines of, "Well, Mr. Buffett can go ahead and just write a larger check to the IRS," without ever discussing the merits of Mr. Buffett's arguments. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01032012 Reporters like to cover polls as if they were horse races because races are more dramatic than dull numbers. According to the current coverage, Romney is in the lead as the field rounds the final turn heading towards the Iowa caucus, Paul is running a close second, and Santorum is pulling up on the outside. If a political campaign is like a horse race, then it's a horse race on a foggy morning when you can only catch occasional glimpses of the horses through the fog, and often can't tell which is ahead.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive012012.html#01012012 If you choose a single answer to this question at random from among the five possible answers below, what is the probability that you will select the correct answer? 1. 20%, 2. 40%, 3. 100%, 4. 20%, 5. 0%... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#12312011 In an article in The Guardian newspaper, Neil Clark criticizes the late Václav Havel and those who praise him.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#11282011 An A to Z of Critical Thinking, edited by Beth Black, is a new dictionary of terms used in critical thinking. I haven't read the whole book yet, but I was able to read some of the entries listed under the letter A using Amazon's preview function. The sample entries were very clearly written and quite accurate, though I could perhaps quibble about a few things. So, assuming this sample, though not random, to be representative of the quality of entries in the book, it should be excellent. Judging from the incomplete "List of Entries" in the back of the book, most of the standard fallacies have entries.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#12262011 Freeman Dyson has an interesting, anecdote-filled, review of Daniel Kahneman's new book Thinking, Fast and Slow. This part caught my attention.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#12212011 Christopher Hitchens, author of Why Orwell Matters among many other books and essays, has died at the much too young age of 62. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#12162011 Discover Magazine has an article worth reading on systematic mistakes people make about risk.... http://www.fallacyfiles.org/archive122011.html#12152011