Chapters 7-12

Question 1

argument

Answer 1

A statement that is used to support a conclusion or belief, often following deductive reasoning.

Question 2

deductive reasoning

Answer 2

Reasoning that begins with one or more general statements that are taken as premises and then concludes what must be true if the premises are true.

Question 3

inductive reasoning

Answer 3

Inductive reasoning begins with observations of the world and then derives general statements about what is probably true from those observations.

Question 4

innumeracy

Answer 4

A lack of working knowledge of mathematics, probability, and statistics.

Question 5

logical fallacy

Answer 5

A logical operation that is not valid.

Question 6

non sequitur

Answer 6

A Latin term referring to an invalid argument in which the conclusion does not logically follow from the premises.

Question 7

post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 7

Literally meaning “after which hence by which,” a logical fallacy in which it is assumed that B is caused by A simply because B follows A.

Question 8

premise

Answer 8

A fact that is assumed to be true, or treated as if it is true, as a starting point for an argument.

Question 9

sound

Answer 9

In logic, this describes an argument that has both true premises and valid logic, and therefore, the conclusion must be true.

Question 10

ad hominem

Answer 10

A logical fallacy in which an assertion is said to be false or unreliable because of an alleged negative attribute of the person making the assertion; arguing against the person rather than the claim itself.

Question 11

anomaly

Answer 11

A phenomenon that is incompatible with or cannot be explained by current scientific theories.

Question 12

false continuum

Answer 12

A logical fallacy in which the fact that a characteristic varies along a continuum is used to argue that the extreme ends of the continuum do not exist or cannot be meaningfully identified.

Question 13

false dichotomy

Answer 13

A logical fallacy in which multiple choices are reduced artificially to only a binary choice, or where a continuum is reduced to its two extremes.

Question 14

intelligent design

Answer 14

The term used to self-describe a new school of creationism that holds that life is too complex to have arisen from natural processes alone.

Question 15

paranormal

Answer 15

Any belief or phenomenon that allegedly is outside the naturalistic laws of science.

Question 16

petitio principii

Answer 16

Fallacy – a Latin term for begging the question, or assuming one’s conclusion in the premise of an argument.

Question 17

reductio ad absurdum

Answer 17

A Latin term that refers to a legitimate logical argument in which a premise is taken to its logical, although absurd, conclusion. This can be a fallacious argument if the absurd conclusion is forced and does not follow inevitably from the premise.

Question 18

tautology

Answer 18

In logical terms, this is an argument in which the conclusion simply repeats the premise and is, therefore, not a true argument.

Question 19

open minded

Answer 19

Applying the same rules of evidence and logic fairly to all arguments

Question 20

tu quoque

Answer 20

Also known as appeal to hypocrisy – a logical fallacy that intends to discredit the opponent’s argument by asserting the opponent’s failure to act consistently in accordance with its conclusion(s).

Question 21

argumentum ad ignorantiam

Answer 21

Fallacy – it asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false or a proposition is false because it has not yet been proven true.

Question 22

poisoning the well

Answer 22

type of ad hominem fallacy where irrelevant adverse information about a target is pre-emptively presented to an audience, with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that the target person is about to say.

Question 23

anchoring

Answer 23

The tendency to focus disproportionately on one feature or aspect of an item or phenomenon and base judgments on that one feature.

Question 24

anecdote

Answer 24

An uncontrolled or poorly documented observation or experience.

Question 25

availability heuristic

Answer 25

The tendency to believe that a phenomenon is more likely or more important if we can readily think of examples of the phenomenon.

Question 26

cognitive bias

Answer 26

A subconscious tendency to think in a certain way, or a bias toward certain decision-making pathways.

Question 27

congruence bias

Answer 27

The tendency to test our own theories but not alternative theories, which can lead to a false sense of confirmation of our own beliefs.

Question 28

exemplar

Answer 28

A case that vividly represents a phenomenon, making it seem more likely, common, or significant.

Question 29

exposure effect

Answer 29

The tendency to more favorably rate things or beliefs with which we are more familiar.

Question 30

Forer effect

Answer 30

The tendency to take vague or general statements and apply them specifically to ourselves, or to nd specific examples, making the statements seem more accurate and specific than they are.

Question 31

representativeness heuristic

Answer 31

The assumption or bias to believe that causes resemble effects. Therefore, for example, a large effect must have had an equally large cause.

Question 32

clustering illusion

Answer 32

The tendency of people to underestimate the clumping of statistically random distributions, which gives the illusion of clustering.

Question 33

cold reading

Answer 33

A mentalist technique by which the reader can seem to have speci c knowledge of the target (the subject of the reading) using vague or high-probability guesses and feedback.

Question 34

gambler’s fallacy

Answer 34

The false belief that prior events dictate the probability of future events, even when they are random and independent, such as the results of random coin flipping.

Question 35

regression to the mean

Answer 35

A statistical phenomenon in which large deviations from average behavior are likely, by chance alone, to return to more average behavior.

Question 36

retrofitting

Answer 36

Fitting predictions to known outcomes after they occur.

Question 37

lottery fallacy

Answer 37

The fallacy of using a specific post-event outcome to calculate the pre-event odds of any outcome. For example, the odds of a specific person winning the lottery may be very low, but that does not mean that the event is too unlikely to have occurred by chance alone because the probability of anyone winning was high.

Question 38

base-rate fallacy

Answer 38

Failure to consider how common a phenomenon is (the base rate) when estimating how likely it is, preferring other factors such as representativeness.

Question 39

multilevel marketing

Answer 39

A corporate structure in which salespeople must pay a percentage of their pro t to sponsors above them and, in turn, can sponsor salespeople below them who have to pay them a percentage.

Question 40

overprecision

Answer 40

A psychological term that refers to the tendency for people to overestimate the accuracy of their own knowledge.

Question 41

sharpshooter fallacy

Answer 41

Choosing the criteria for success specifically to match the results that are already known.

Question 42

collective wish fulfillment

Answer 42

A form of mass delusion characterized by the fulfillment of a common desire or wish, such as making a fantastic discovery.

Question 43

community flight panic

Answer 43

A form of mass delusion in which fear or an immediate threat spreads through a town or community, causing many to ee from the alleged threat.

Question 44

folie à deux

Answer 44

A shared delusion between two individuals, in which one person tends to be dominant and the source of the delusion.

Question 45

group delusion

Answer 45

A delusion shared among a small group, such as a cult, typically led by one charismatic leader.

Question 46

mass delusion

Answer 46

A delusion or false belief shared among a large group of people—even an entire community or culture.

Question 47

mass hysteria

Answer 47

Similar to a mass delusion but specifically involving physical symptoms.

Question 48

sick building syndrome

Answer 48

A form of mass hysteria centering around a building that is believed to be the source of a mystery ailment.

Question 49

symbolic community scare

Answer 49

A long-standing mass delusion that tends to wax and wane over years and is centered around a perceived existential threat to the community.

Question 50

urban legend

Answer 50

A false belief or story that represents a common fear or anxiety in society and spreads largely through rumor.

Question 51

witch hunt

Answer 51

The persecution of a person or group using accusations of heinous acts, or association with such acts, and using dubious investigating techniques designed to achieve the conclusion of guilt.