John has provided an excellent list of logical fallacies but ommitted some
of the more obscure ones including:
1. "Reductus Italicus" - Relying on italics to make a point which logic
doesn't support, for example, "Guns don't kill people, people who use guns
kill people" [Host's Note: Italicus's get reducted in plain text email.]
2. "Ignoramus est" - The misguided notion that stupidity is an excuse for
holding personal opinions which are unsupportable by logic, common sense,
or good taste; for example, "I may not know much, but ...(fill in stupid
statement)"
3. "Malhistoricum Americanus" - The tendency to recreate American history
to suite one's needs; for example, "In the good old days...(insert comment
nobody in the good old days would have recognized as true)" Also known as
pulling facts out of...er, thin air.
4. "Argumentum Ad Vertisement" - The subtle use of the notion that a lie
repeated often enough becomes the truth; for example, "Guns don't kill
people...".
5. "Mortis Presidentiatus" - Using $'s to influence logic; for example,
"Forget about that argument Senator, he isn't even a campaign
contributor".
--Lon Badgett lonbadgett@aol.com "Logic is seldom invoked by the strong side in a dispute." Emil Gobersneke, from The Gullible American
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