From stereotyping to personal attacks, look here for a quick how-to on what NOT to do.
1. Hasty Overgeneralization (Stereotyping)
“Everybody knows about the Mayflower.”
Avoid words that use absolutes, such as everybody, nobody, all, always, and never. Also, please remember that when you put whole masses of people in two categories, you’re probably generalizing too much. Because, let’s face it. Nobody’s going to completely fit the mold entirely – and that’s a fact!
With this thought in mind, remember that when you’re arguing with someone, don’t lump them into categories without asking first. You may be very surprised at the real answer…
2. False Analogy
“A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.”
This is a comparison between dissimilar things that just doesn’t hold through. While arguing with my cousin, my brother did something like this where he tried to compare video games to romance novels. The result? We laughed at him.
But sometimes, false analogies actually get paid attention to, for some particular reason. Enough. If you’re comparing something completely different with each other, it’s probably not going to be a good comparison.
3. False Cause and Effect
“Every time I wash my car, it rains.”
Nope. Believe or not, this statement is not scientifically true. It may seem like it’s true when you wash your car and it rains, but unless you can prove it, don’t state it.
This point once again proves how important sources are. If you don’t cite your sources, then your point has died even before it began.
4. Either/Or
“Either you’re with us or against us.”
Good for Westerns… bad for arguments. There is no purely black and white world and many variations of gray in between our beliefs. Yes, it’s true. You can believe one thing and not believe another thing, even though they’re somewhat close in belief! So yes, there are Christians who believe in evolution, despite all whatever.
This goes with the hasty overgeneralizing too. Think about it.
5. Non sequitur /Off-topic
Going from an attack about Wal-mart to how lettuce is crunchy.
Basically? If your argument wanders too much, it’s not going to be effective. Period.
6. Out of Context
Check this out! This is from my story, FREAK:
Tingles suddenly ran down her spine and she almost stopped, but then he whispered to her, “Don’t stop now!” So she continued on, the little hairs on the back of her neck bristling as he played with her.
Wait… HOLD THE PRESSES!
That is something taken out of context. This is actually the quote, taken in context:
“Here,” he said. “You’re really good at this one scale and that’s fantastic. Now start it off, just as you usually do. When you play the third scale step – that would be this note – I’m going to start the same scale on the tonic. Then, as soon as you play the fifth scale step – this note – I’m going to join in with my left hand. Sound fun?”
The freak had no idea what he meant, but she agreed anyway. She bit her lip to concentrate and then pushed down on middle C. For the first two notes, it was just her playing single notes, but as soon as the third note came, Sadie’s father joined in. Tingles suddenly ran down her spine and she almost stopped, but then he whispered to her, “Don’t stop now!” So she continued on, the little hairs on the back of her neck bristling as he played with her.
Now it doesn’t sound like it came off of an adult magazine, no?
Lots of things get misquoted, from the bible to scientific articles… the list goes on. Be smart about what you quote and NEVER deliberately misquote it.
7. Personal Attacks
“Vote for me because he’s an idiot.”
Personal attacks are NEVER allowed under any circumstances. First of all, the argument is really lame and the logic just doesn’t compute. At all. And, in civilized debating, there are no obscenities flying around either. Just don’t insult. It’ll make life much easier for you and me. ‘
8. Circular Reasoning
“UFOs don’t exist. I’ve never seen one, therefore they don’t exist.”
Repeating the same thing over and over again is a fallacy. Yes, we know that. So why are we supposed to listen to you again? You can help this by getting more specific and NOT speaking in generalities. A little bit of research goes a long way too.
So there you go! Walk free and cleansed.
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