What is the Ad Hominem Fallacy? The ad hominem fallacy occurs when someone attacks the person making an argument rather than the argument itself. This fallacy diverts attention from the actual issue ...

We’re always pleased when our readers write to us with questions or comments that really make us think. Here, for example, is reader K.S., who writes: Perhaps it was intended facetiously, if so I ...

The discourse of many of our politicians, media pundits and, most distressingly, the intellectual/academic community are symptomatic of a disturbing malaise of logical thought. Their discourse is ...

Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning. They are often called informal fallacies. It's becoming more common for people to call out these fallacies by name. You often hear accusations of people ...

To say that it does is a logical fallacy. However, correlation absolutely can be evidence for causation, the quality of which depends upon, for example, whether the correlation is actually feasible, ...

To persuade you, people often try to use logical fallacies (Credit: Javier Hirschfeld) When people are trying to persuade you, they sometimes reach for underhand tricks like the 'appeal to ignorance' ...

In the tech world, you will come across this more from people you argue against. For example, when people used to debate Windows vs. Linux, a common argument against Windows was that it made Bill ...

When we refer to fallacies, we are describing things that are mistakes, and if they are logical fallacies, they are mistakes in reasoning. It is impossible to read the news today or (worse) watch the ...

There is no statutory requirement that formal logic be adhered to during examination of patent claims. Examiners and patent practitioners are free to use a wide variety of discussion and argument ...