What is the nut picking fallacy?

Asked by: Dr. Blanche Torphy V  |  Last update: May 10, 2025
Score: 4.4/5 (71 votes)

Nut-picking (suppressed evidence, incomplete evidence) – using individual cases or data that falsify a particular position, while ignoring related cases or data that may support that position.

What is an example of the cherry picking fallacy?

Cherry-picking is often used in science denial such as climate change denial. For example, by deliberately cherry picking appropriate time periods, here 1998–2012, an artificial "pause" can be created, even when there is an ongoing warming trend.

What is the meaning of nutpicking?

giving too much attention to details that are not important, especially as a way of criticizing: If you spent less time nitpicking, you'd get more work done. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Disapproving & criticizing. anathematize.

What is an example of the straw man fallacy?

A straw man argument is a distorted (and weaker) version of another person's argument that can easily be refuted (e.g., when a teacher proposes that the class spend more time on math exercises, a parent complains that the teacher doesn't care about reading and writing).

What is the fallacy of the boogeyman?

Making up a non-starter argument or position defense based on a cheap, weak argument that the opposing viewpoint doesn't actually present or defend. Think of it as a type of boogeyman: it isn't real, it's a false threat, and it holds no actual meaning.

Nutpicking Fallacy

33 related questions found

What is the fallacy of Pooh Poohing?

In rhetorical analysis, to pooh-pooh an argument is to dismiss it as being unworthy of serious consideration. It is a fallacy in informal logic. Scholars generally characterize the fallacy as a rhetorical device in which the speaker ridicules an argument without responding to the substance of the argument.

What is the great jackass fallacy?

What this noted psychologist calls “the great jackass fallacy” is an unconscious managerial assumption about people and how they should be motivated.

What is the red herring fallacy?

This fallacy consists in diverting attention from the real issue by focusing instead on an issue having only a surface relevance to the first.

What is the non-sequitur fallacy?

A non sequitur fallacy is a statement or conclusion that does not follow logically from what preceded it. Non sequiturs can be responses that have nothing to do with the conversation or flawed conclusions “based” on what preceded them.

What is steelmanning?

Concept. Steelmanning is the practice of constructing the strongest possible version of an argument, even if it's one you disagree with. Unlike a strawman argument, where one misrepresents or weakens the opposition's case, steelmanning involves enhancing the argument to make it more robust and credible.

What is the nitpicking fallacy?

Logic chopping fallacy (nit-picking, trivial objections) – Focusing on trivial details of an argument, rather than the main point of the argumentation. Ipse dixit (bare assertion fallacy) – a claim that is presented as true without support, as self-evidently true, or as dogmatically true.

Why does my girlfriend nitpick me so much?

Nitpicking your partner is a common way to avoid the unresolved trauma that's been trapped in your body for a long time. When you constantly pick on what they need to improve, you avoid looking at your own issues. Being so focused on them takes the focus away from you.

What is the meaning of the word Petrus?

Petrus is the Latin form of the Greek name Πέτρος (pétros) meaning "rock", and is the common English prefix "petro-" used to describe rock-based substances, like petros-oleum or "rock oil." As the source of Peter, it is a common name for people from antiquity through the medieval era.

What is the stacking the deck fallacy?

Stacking the deck is a fallacy of omitting evidence that does not support your position. Like the card shark who “stacks” the cards before dealing to favor his own hand, a person who stacks the deck of an argument is cheating. All the cards favor him, because he has arranged them so.

What is the no true Scotsman fallacy in simple terms?

The no true Scotsman fallacy is the attempt to defend a generalization by denying the validity of any counterexamples given. By changing the definition of who or what belongs to a group or category, the speaker can conveniently dismiss any example that proves the generalization doesn't hold.

What is the post-hawk fallacy?

Post hoc fallacy, or false cause fallacy, is an argument that draws the conclusion that one event is directly caused by another event without evidence to prove this. The conclusion suggests a cause and effect relationship between two events, or one event or thing causing a specific effect.

What is a red herring?

red herring. noun. : something intended to distract attention from the real problem.

What is an example of a straw man fallacy?

A straw man argument is when someone sets up and then disputes an assertion that is not actually being made. For example, if someone says they love the color blue and someone else argues that red is better, asserting that the first person obviously hates the color red, this would be a straw man argument.

What is the ad populum fallacy?

Ad populum fallacy refers to a claim that something is true simply because that's what a large number of people believe. In other words, if many people believe something to be true, then it must be true.

Why is it called strawman?

Later recognition of the straw man fallacy as a distinct logical fallacy dates to the twentieth century. Generally, scholars agree that the term originated with the idea of setting up a simplistic imagined opponent that's easy to knock down, like a scarecrow or a military training dummy.

What is the false dichotomy fallacy?

False dilemma fallacy is also known as false dichotomy, false binary, and “either-or” fallacy. It is the fallacy of presenting only two choices, outcomes, or sides to an argument as the only possibilities, when more are available.

What is the most famous fallacy?

Take a look at fifteen of the most commonly used logical fallacies.
  1. 1 Ad hominem. ...
  2. 2 Red herring. ...
  3. 3 Straw man. ...
  4. 4 Equivocation. ...
  5. 5 Slippery slope. ...
  6. 6 Hasty generalization. ...
  7. 7 Appeal to authority. ...
  8. 8 False dilemma.

What is the jangle fallacy?

In research, a jangle fallacy is the inference that two measures (e.g., tests, scales) with different names measure different constructs. By comparison, a jingle fallacy is the assumption that two measures which are called by the same name capture the same construct.

What is the nirvana fallacy of argument?

The nirvana fallacy is the informal fallacy of comparing actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives. It can also refer to the tendency to assume there is a perfect solution to a particular problem.