10 Logical Fallacies to Avoid

 

Logical fallacies are ubiquitous these days and you don't want to add more to the heap. 

Sidestep these if you can. 

1. Ad Homiminem: do not attack the person, attack the argument
2. Straw Man: do not misrepresent (or exaggerate) someone's argument to make it easier to attack
3. Hasty Generalization: do not try to extrapolate small sample sizes
4. Begging the Question: do not argue your position by assuming one of its premises is true
5. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: do not make the claim that because thing A preceded B, that A is the cause
6. False Dichotomy: do not reduce the argument down to two possibilities
7. Ad Ignorantum: do not say that your claim must be true/false due to ignorance of the matter
8. Burden Of Proof Reversal: do not lay the burden of proof on the person opposing your argument
9. Non Sequitur: do not assume this-follows-that when there's no logical connection
10. Bandwagon: do not argue that a popular idea must be true, just because it's popular