Martial Arts forum Fallacies

[Andrew Green]

Here are a few, there are many others, feel free to add more (I didn't think about it too much ):


Appeal to force: Yeah, well why don't you fly half way across the country and come see for yourself (at your expense).

False Dilemma: Which is better, Striking or grappling? Neither? Well then I don't have to do both, my one will beat the other

From Ignorance: Chi can't be proven false, therefore chi balls are real...

Prejudicial Language: McDojo's do .....

Attacking the person: What's your rank? How old are you? I'm not gonna argue with a 15 year old blue belt, come back in 20 years.

Appeal to Authority: Grandmaster xxx says.... and he once fought 20 armed men without dropping his groceries....

Anonymous Authority: It was proven on the battlefield hundreds of years ago

Unrepresentative sample: I've seen 2 real fights and ..... happened, therefore that is how all street fights are.

Inconsistency: I don't need to train grappling, my .... training teaches me to counter takedowns.

Popularity: ST00p1d N00b!!

Appeal to Pity: I've been training for years despite .... dissability. I was beat up really bad as a kid.... I joined this McDojo.....

Complex Question: Do you belong to a reputable school with a Lineage back to Asia?

Slippery Slope: If you break with tradition there is no way to know if what you do works.

Slothful Induction: Everyone from x style that has entered competition has lost, but it isn't the style, it was weak competitors. The good ones never compete.

Fallacy of Exclusion: 95% of fights go to the ground (From a police stat of officer involved instances)

 

[Andrew Green]

...now how on earth did I post this in the Chinese MA section...?

oops... where's the embarrassed smilie...

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Heh. Moved to General.

 

[arnisador]

Without Appeal to Authority. most traditional arts would collapse!

I've seen the Appeal to Force more times than I care to consider. Sure, maybe someone else could beat me up...does that mean his system is better, or just that he is?

 

[Marginal]

There's the ever useful:

"Style X sux"
"No it doesn't"
"Oh yeah? Check out this one video from a Dutch tournament I found in the internet. Video is fact, dude."

 

[Andrew Green]

There's the ever useful:

"Style X sux"
"No it doesn't"
"Oh yeah? Check out this one video from a Dutch tournament I found in the internet. Video is fact, dude."

That would be "Unrepresentative sample"

 

[arnisador]

Or just plain bigotry.

 

[Jerry]

"Appeal to force" - Could also be called "let's test empirically... I'm poor". I don't see it as a neccessairily fallactious approach, but it's gonna depend on the circumstance.

"Attacking the person" - Technical term: ad hominym
"Anonymous Authority" - Sounds more like an unproven assertion (facts not in evidence), which could then be validated with support than an actual fallacious piece of logic.
"Unrepresentative sample" - Technical term: Anticdotal. I think a more dangerous version is to look at one type of situation (say MMA competitions) and assume they apply out to another.
"Popularity" - Is acutually "everyone agrees so it's true". "St00p1d n00b" seems more of an ad hominym
Slippery Slope - I don't think you have a good example of that there.

Generally a good list though.

 

[searcher]

Here are a few, there are many others, feel free to add more (I didn't think about it too much ):


Appeal to force: Yeah, well why don't you fly half way across the country and come see for yourself (at your expense).

False Dilemma: Which is better, Striking or grappling? Neither? Well then I don't have to do both, my one will beat the other

From Ignorance: Chi can't be proven false, therefore chi balls are real...

Prejudicial Language: McDojo's do .....

Attacking the person: What's your rank? How old are you? I'm not gonna argue with a 15 year old blue belt, come back in 20 years.

Appeal to Authority: Grandmaster xxx says.... and he once fought 20 armed men without dropping his groceries....

Anonymous Authority: It was proven on the battlefield hundreds of years ago

Unrepresentative sample: I've seen 2 real fights and ..... happened, therefore that is how all street fights are.

Inconsistency: I don't need to train grappling, my .... training teaches me to counter takedowns.

Popularity: ST00p1d N00b!!

Appeal to Pity: I've been training for years despite .... dissability. I was beat up really bad as a kid.... I joined this McDojo.....

Complex Question: Do you belong to a reputable school with a Lineage back to Asia?

Slippery Slope: If you break with tradition there is no way to know if what you do works.

Slothful Induction: Everyone from x style that has entered competition has lost, but it isn't the style, it was weak competitors. The good ones never compete.

Fallacy of Exclusion: 95% of fights go to the ground (From a police stat of officer involved instances)

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!!!!!:rofl:

 

[Adept]

You are wrong because:

1. Amazingly Bad Analogy:
Example: You can train a dog to fetch a stick, therefore you can train a potato to dance

2. Faulty Cause and Effect:
Example: On the basis of my observations, wearing huge pants makes you fat.

3. I Am the World:
Example: I don't listen to country music. Therefore, country music isn't popular.

4. Ignoring Everything Science Knows About the Brain:
Example: People choose to be obese/gay/alcoholic because they prefer the lifestyle.

5. The Few Are The Same As The Whole:
Example: Some Elbonians are animal rights activists. Some Elbonians wear fur coats. Therefore, Elbonians are hypocrites.

6. Generalizing From Self:
Example: I'm a liar. Therefore, I don't believe what you're saying.

7. Argument By Bizarre Definition:
Example: He's not a criminal. He just does things that are against the law.

8. Total Logical Disconnect:
Example: I enjoy pasta because my house is made out of bricks.

9. Judging Things Without Comparison To Alternatives:
Example: I don't invest in U.S. Treasury Bills. There's too much risk.

10. Anything You Don't Understand Is Easy To Do:
Example: If you have the right tools, how hard can it be to generate nuclear fission at home?

11. Ignorance Of All Statistics:
Example: I'm putting all my money in the lottery this week because the jackpot is so big.

12. Ignoring the Downside Risk:
Example: I know that bungee jumping could kill me, but it's three seconds of great fun!

13. Substituting Famous Quotes For Common Sense:
Example: Remember, "All things come to those who wait." So don't bother looking for a job.

14. Irrelevant Comparisons:
Example: A hundred dollars is a good price for a toaster, compared to buying a Ferrari.

15. Circular Reasoning:
Example: I'm correct because I'm smarter than you. And I must be smarter than you because I'm correct.

16. Incompleteness As Proof Of Defect:
Example: Your theory of gravity doesn't explain why there are no unicorns, therefore it must be wrong.

17. Ignoring the Advice of Experts Without a Good Reason:
Example: Sure, the experts think you shouldn't ride your bicycle into the eye of a hurricane, but I have my own theory.

18. Following the Advice of Known Idiots:
Example: Uncle Billy says pork makes you smarter. That's good enough for me.

19. Reaching Bizarre Conclusions Without Any Information:
Example: The car won't start. I'm certain the spark plugs have been stolen by rogue clowns.

20. Faulty Pattern Recognition:
Example: His last six wives were murdered mysteriously. I hope to be wife number seven.

21. Failure to Recognize What's Important:
Example: My house is on fire! Quick, call the post office and tell them to hold my mail!

22. Unclear on the Concept of Sunk Costs:
Example: We've spent millions in developing a water-powered pogo-stick. We can't stop investing now, or it will all be wasted!

23. Overapplication of Occam's Razor(which states that the simplest explanation is usually right):
Example: The simplest explanation for the moon landings is that they were hoaxes.

24. Ignoring All Anecdotal Evidence:
Example: I always get hives after eating strawberries. But without a scientifically controlled experiment, it's not reliable data. So I continue to eat strawberries everyday, since I can't tell that they cause hives.

25. Inability to Understand that Some Things Have Multiple Causes:
Example: The Beatles were popular for only one reason: They were good singers.