Hasty Generalization -- The Logical Fallacy That Devoured Cleveland

One of the things I've noticed at DU and other discussion forums is a tendency to fall into one of the most common logical fallacies of all: Hasty Generalization. For those who are unfamiliar with logical fallacies, hasty generalization is the forming of generalizations based on insufficient evidence.

Here's an example I've noticed recently:

There is a video of a rent-a-cop refusing to let a couple of reporters interview cleanup workers on a beach on the Gulf. That video has been posted here, and elsewhere, numerous times during the two weeks since it appeared on YouTube. Each time, it has been treated as some new incident by DUers and others. A search shows that that single video has appeared all over the web in the last two weeks.

So, hasty generalization kicks in, and the meme is spread that BP is blocking all reporters from interviewing all clean-up workers. BP sucks. That's true, beyond question. But, as I watch coverage of this disaster and the cleanup, I've seen numerous interviews with cleanup workers on the news. So, the generalization fails, despite that one video being repeated over and over again. I think there's another video of a similar incident, but that's it. There is far more evidence that news reporters are talking to cleanup workers.

A more logical conclusion is that an overzealous hired security guard kept a news team away from the clean-up workers at that site on that day, some two weeks ago. And yet, the meme is that BP is keeping all news reporters away from cleanup workers, something that is countered by the existence of many such interviews.

That's just one example. I'm sure everyone here can think of others. An incident occurs, or President Obama says something about some group, or it's a hot day in June somewhere, and many people jump on that to say that that incident means something about a broad subject, President Obama hates , or that global warming is proven.

Or...a schoolteacher does something awful, a cop violates someone's civil rights, or someone in one group shoots someone in another group. Immediately, calumny is heaped upon all teachers, all cops, or all members of the group containing the shooter.

From time to time, other forum members, here and elsewhere, try to point out the hasty generalization. Invariably, that leads to accusations of not being part of the group and of being unworthy of membership. The meme, based on a hasty generalization, has been violated, and the violator must be punished forthwith.

I think it's important to report on news, and to discuss the news. I think it's equally important to treat each news item as an individual incident, and not draw general conclusions based on those individual incidents. Only when we can point to several similar events can we begin to ask if there is a connection that may be indicative of a general thing.

Not falling prey to the hasty generalization logical fallacy would go a long way, I think, toward reducing the tension on boards like DU.

And global warming IS proven.

Causes are all that is in dispute.

evidence of global warming. Nor is a snowstorm in Atlanta evidence that there is no global warming. It's just a hot day or a snowstorm.

the worst......


I"M ALERTING! RIGHT NOW!

:scared:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacies

See if you can't find examples of them in discussions you've seen on DU and in other forums. It's an interesting exercise. The Wikipedia article offers examples of each fallacy. It's very good article.

Cleveland is still here, uneaten.

Until Thursday, anyway. When LeBron says he's leaving us, THEN we'll have been eaten.

Edited to correct: No, not eaten. "Chewed up and spat out" is more like it.

it exists. Therefore, using my usual flawed logical process, it was eaten by a hasty generalization.

That's too bad, because I enjoy chili five ways very much, and have always dreamed of visiting Cleveland to try an authentic version. Sadly, now that Cleveland has been eaten by a hasty generalization, I will never experience that distinctive pleasure.

Oh...wait...that's a Cincinnati thing. Never mind. Cleveland obviously doesn't exist, since that is not the source of chili five ways.

:rofl:

Being eaten by a hasty generalization is such a terrible way to go!

I have a good memory of the place. My only visit was shortly before the '04 election, when I did a quick trip for the Vote for Change concert: Springstein, Fogerty, Bright Eyes and R.E.M.--a great show, and the entire extent of my experience with Cleveland.

:bounce:

"Only when we can point to several similar events can we begin to ask if there is a connection that may be indicative of a general thing.



Okie dokie.....

...is at least understandable, and may even, under exceptional circumstances, actually be a choice move.

Recommended.