Find the Fallacy: Fallacies of Weak Induction Quiz

Answer: Hasty generalization

This is a hasty generalization. Although the sample isn't very small, the fact that all of the dogs were pit-bulls makes the sample atypical. Therefore, the sample can not be applied to dogs as a whole.

Answer: Appeal to ignorance

This fallacy is known as "appeal to ignorance" because it uses the fact that something has not been disproven as evidence that the conclusion is true. The conclusion does not follow from the claim, thus making the argument fallacious.

Answer: Appeal to authority

An appeal to authority is not always a fallacy. It only becomes a fallacy when the authority is not credible enough to back up the claim. The cast of CSI are actors, not actual crime scene investigators, so their claim about the difficulties of the job are fallacious.

Answer: Weak analogy

This is a weak analogy because it is comparing Victoria and Robert, who are similar in some ways, and using the similarities to say that Robert would like the same gift that Victoria did. The weak analogy disregards the more important fact, that Robert is male. Robert could, in fact, like the spa. However, the analogy/argument alone is not strong enough to suggest this.

Answer: Slippery slope

A slippery slope fallacy creates a chain of events that is unlikely to happen. It states that one event will certainly lead to the others, resulting in a negative ultimate effect. This is like a domino effect, but there is no evidence that the events will follow from one another.

Answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc

"Post hoc ergo propter hoc" (meaning 'after this therefore because of this') is a type of fallacy in which one event is said to be caused by an action that happened before it. However, there is really no connection between the two.

Answer: Gambler's fallacy

The gambler's fallacy is a causal fallacy where one believes that independent events are actually related.
For example: The overall probability of flipping a coin and it landing on heads is 0.5. Say you flipped five tails in a row. Someone using the gambler's fallacy would think that the next flip would have to be heads. However, each flip has a 0.5 chance of landing on either side, so the probability of the coin landing on heads is no more likely than it landing on tails. Each flip is an independent act.

Answer: Appeal to authority

This argument is fallacious because a politician's statement about the quality of cars could not be trusted without further investigation. This fallacy is often seen when actors and actresses endorse certain products.

Answer: Appeal to ignorance

An appeal to ignorance is a fallacy that works both ways. It can be used to claim that something is true because it hasn't been disproved, or that something is false because it hasn't been proved.

Answer: Hasty generalization

This is a hasty generalization because the sample size, 3, is too small to be generalized to all teenagers.