Refutation of a logical fallacy

Affirming the consequent

Affirming the consequent

Ambiguity

Ambiguity

Ad hominem

Ad hominem

Cholesterol

Cholesterol

Design of experiments

Design of experiments

Evidence-based medicine

Evidence-based medicine

Etiology

Etiology

Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox

Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox

Godwin's law

Godwin's law

Gambler's fallacy

Gambler's fallacy

In vivo

In vivo

In vitro

In vitro

Relativist fallacy

Relativist fallacy

False dilemma

False dilemma

Loaded question

Loaded question

Irrelevant conclusion

Irrelevant conclusion

Equivocation

Equivocation

Sampling bias

Sampling bias

No true Scotsman

No true Scotsman

Slippery slope

Slippery slope

Argument from ignorance

Argument from ignorance

Propositional calculus

Propositional calculus

Index of philosophy articles (A–C)

Index of philosophy articles (A–C)

Macroeconomics

Macroeconomics

Naturalistic fallacy

Naturalistic fallacy

Statistics

Statistics

Science

Science

Slashdot

Slashdot

Soul

Soul

Statistical hypothesis test

Statistical hypothesis test

The Mismeasure of Man

The Mismeasure of Man

Vagueness

Vagueness

Occam's razor

Occam's razor

Philosophy of science

Philosophy of science

Causality

Causality

Straw man

Straw man

Argumentum ad baculum

Argumentum ad baculum

Dissociative identity disorder

Dissociative identity disorder

Divorce

Divorce

Begging the question

Begging the question

Reproducibility

Reproducibility

Free will

Free will

Determinism

Determinism

Biological determinism

Biological determinism

Fallacy

Fallacy

Epiphenomenon

Epiphenomenon

Dust Bowl

Dust Bowl

Not invented here

Not invented here

Meta-analysis

Meta-analysis

Broken windows theory

Broken windows theory

Epidemiology

Epidemiology

Environmental determinism

Environmental determinism

Adolescence

Adolescence

Myopia

Myopia

Obfuscation

Obfuscation

Inverse gambler's fallacy

Inverse gambler's fallacy

Digit ratio

Digit ratio

Special pleading

Special pleading

Prevalence

Prevalence

Deregulation

Deregulation

Ronald Fisher

Ronald Fisher

SAT

SAT

Denying the antecedent

Denying the antecedent

Synchronicity

Synchronicity

Millennials

Millennials

Correlation

Correlation

Parable of the broken window

Parable of the broken window

Genetic fallacy

Genetic fallacy

Randomized controlled trial

Randomized controlled trial

Incidence (epidemiology)

Incidence (epidemiology)

CHSH inequality

CHSH inequality

Appeal to tradition

Appeal to tradition

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Animal testing

Animal testing

Culture war

Culture war

Menarche

Menarche

Germ theory of disease

Germ theory of disease

Magical thinking

Magical thinking

Emergency!

Emergency!

Mortality rate

Mortality rate

List of statistics articles

List of statistics articles

Cliché

Cliché

Poisoning the well

Poisoning the well

Argument from silence

Argument from silence

Appeal to fear

Appeal to fear

Appeal to novelty

Appeal to novelty

Appeal to flattery

Appeal to flattery

Appeal to pity

Appeal to pity

Appeal to emotion

Appeal to emotion

Appeal to consequences

Appeal to consequences

Ad nauseam

Ad nauseam

Argument to moderation

Argument to moderation

Package-deal fallacy

Package-deal fallacy

Teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy

Faulty generalization

Faulty generalization

Overwhelming exception

Overwhelming exception

Sorites paradox

Sorites paradox

Argument from fallacy

Argument from fallacy

Appeal to ridicule

Appeal to ridicule

Denying the correlative

Denying the correlative

Questionable cause

Questionable cause

Association fallacy

Association fallacy

Suppressed correlative

Suppressed correlative

Correlative-based fallacies

Correlative-based fallacies

Clinical trial

Clinical trial

Deterministic system (philosophy)

Deterministic system (philosophy)

Mathematical fallacy

Mathematical fallacy

Narcotics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous

Epidemiological method

Epidemiological method

Hazard ratio

Hazard ratio

Blinded experiment

Blinded experiment

Social statistics

Social statistics

Cross-correlation matrix

Cross-correlation matrix

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Lies, damned lies, and statistics

Case study

Case study

Circular reasoning

Circular reasoning

Pornography addiction

Pornography addiction

Cherry picking

Cherry picking

Red-baiting

Red-baiting

Fatalism

Fatalism

Compatibilism

Compatibilism

Education in Germany

Education in Germany

Wishful thinking

Wishful thinking

Quantitative research

Quantitative research

Selection bias

Selection bias

Cohort study

Cohort study

Availability heuristic

Availability heuristic

Odds ratio

Odds ratio

Virulence

Virulence

Democratic peace theory

Democratic peace theory

Indeterminism

Indeterminism

Libertarianism (metaphysics)

Libertarianism (metaphysics)

Project Stormfury

Project Stormfury

Argumentum ad crumenam

Argumentum ad crumenam

Argumentum ad lazarum

Argumentum ad lazarum

Ecological fallacy

Ecological fallacy

Texas sharpshooter fallacy

Texas sharpshooter fallacy

Regression fallacy

Regression fallacy

Fallacy of the undistributed middle

Fallacy of the undistributed middle

Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise

Anecdotal evidence

Anecdotal evidence

Spurious relationship

Spurious relationship

Hard determinism

Hard determinism

Fallacy of division

Fallacy of division

Fallacy of composition

Fallacy of composition

Googleshare

Googleshare

Mierscheid law

Mierscheid law

Fallacy of the single cause

Fallacy of the single cause

Total fertility rate

Total fertility rate

Policy analysis

Policy analysis

And you are lynching Negroes

And you are lynching Negroes

Fallacy of four terms

Fallacy of four terms

Complex question

Complex question

Fallacies of illicit transference

Fallacies of illicit transference

Existential fallacy

Existential fallacy

Illicit major

Illicit major

Illicit minor

Illicit minor

Affirming a disjunct

Affirming a disjunct

Gold standard (test)

Gold standard (test)

Conjunction fallacy

Conjunction fallacy

Base rate fallacy

Base rate fallacy

Fallacy of exclusive premises

Fallacy of exclusive premises

Secundum quid

Secundum quid

Accident (fallacy)

Accident (fallacy)

Converse accident

Converse accident

Case–control study

Case–control study

Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson

Observer-expectancy effect

Observer-expectancy effect

Just-world hypothesis

Just-world hypothesis

In-group favoritism

In-group favoritism

Creativity and mental health

Creativity and mental health

False precision

False precision

Linguistic determinism

Linguistic determinism

Appeal to probability

Appeal to probability

Likelihood ratios in diagnostic testing

Likelihood ratios in diagnostic testing

Animistic fallacy

Animistic fallacy

Reductio ad Hitlerum

Reductio ad Hitlerum

Appeal to motive

Appeal to motive

Engel's law

Engel's law

Cyclomatic complexity

Cyclomatic complexity

Predeterminism

Predeterminism

Vaccine trial

Vaccine trial

Tu quoque

Tu quoque

Surrogate endpoint

Surrogate endpoint

Gateway drug effect

Gateway drug effect

Misuse of statistics

Misuse of statistics

Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis

Abortion–breast cancer hypothesis

Nirvana fallacy

Nirvana fallacy

Coincidence

Coincidence

Quantum correlation

Quantum correlation

Cultural determinism

Cultural determinism

Kuznets curve

Kuznets curve

Coefficient of determination

Coefficient of determination

Open-label trial

Open-label trial

Longitudinal study

Longitudinal study

Cross-sectional study

Cross-sectional study

Scientific control

Scientific control

Informal fallacy

Informal fallacy

Parade of horribles

Parade of horribles

Rationalization (psychology)

Rationalization (psychology)

Survivorship bias

Survivorship bias

Rainbow jersey

Rainbow jersey

Rain follows the plow

Rain follows the plow

Number needed to treat

Number needed to treat

Economic determinism

Economic determinism

Etymological fallacy

Etymological fallacy

Clinical endpoint

Clinical endpoint

Music education

Music education

How to Lie with Statistics

How to Lie with Statistics

Multicenter trial

Multicenter trial

Risk–benefit ratio

Risk–benefit ratio

Medical research

Medical research

Curse of Tippecanoe

Curse of Tippecanoe

Academic clinical trial

Academic clinical trial

Flying Spaghetti Monster

Flying Spaghetti Monster

Chronological snobbery

Chronological snobbery

The terrorists have won

The terrorists have won

Necessitarianism

Necessitarianism

Predictive modelling

Predictive modelling

Much Apu About Nothing

Much Apu About Nothing

Relative risk

Relative risk

Number needed to harm

Number needed to harm

Masked-man fallacy

Masked-man fallacy

Proof by assertion

Proof by assertion

Clinical study design

Clinical study design

Infectivity

Infectivity

Nested case–control study

Nested case–control study

Double-barreled question

Double-barreled question

Systematic review

Systematic review

A2 milk

A2 milk

Medical writing

Medical writing

Confounding

Confounding

Violin family

Violin family

Theological determinism

Theological determinism

Red herring

Red herring

Research design

Research design

Modal scope fallacy

Modal scope fallacy

Moralistic fallacy

Moralistic fallacy

Case fatality rate

Case fatality rate

Health effects of tobacco

Health effects of tobacco

Formal fallacy

Formal fallacy

Fox News controversies

Fox News controversies

Street light interference phenomenon

Street light interference phenomenon

Wisdom of repugnance

Wisdom of repugnance

Thiomersal and vaccines

Thiomersal and vaccines

Quoting out of context

Quoting out of context

List of Latin phrases (full)

List of Latin phrases (full)

Case report

Case report

The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

Advanced maternal age

Advanced maternal age

Innumeracy (book)

Innumeracy (book)

Appeal to nature

Appeal to nature

Clinical research

Clinical research

Psychiatric epidemiology

Psychiatric epidemiology

Intention-to-treat analysis

Intention-to-treat analysis

Drinker paradox

Drinker paradox

Sports betting systems

Sports betting systems

Gardasil

Gardasil

Data monitoring committee

Data monitoring committee

Sensitivity and specificity

Sensitivity and specificity

Blanchard's transsexualism typology

Blanchard's transsexualism typology

Demographics of atheism

Demographics of atheism

Loki's wager

Loki's wager

Double counting (fallacy)

Double counting (fallacy)

Observational study

Observational study

Invented here

Invented here

Mediation (statistics)

Mediation (statistics)

False attribution

False attribution

Postperfusion syndrome

Postperfusion syndrome

Proof by example

Proof by example

Appeal to the stone

Appeal to the stone

Animal testing on non-human primates

Animal testing on non-human primates

List of fallacies

List of fallacies

Bulverism

Bulverism

Architectural determinism

Architectural determinism

I'm entitled to my opinion

I'm entitled to my opinion

Risk difference

Risk difference

Relative risk reduction

Relative risk reduction

Superdeterminism

Superdeterminism

Mendelian randomization

Mendelian randomization

Propaganda techniques

Propaganda techniques

Reification (fallacy)

Reification (fallacy)

Marriage gap

Marriage gap

James H. Fowler

James H. Fowler

Case series

Case series

Employment testing

Employment testing

Debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters

Jumping to conclusions

Jumping to conclusions

Paradoxes of material implication

Paradoxes of material implication

Argument

Argument

Moving the goalposts

Moving the goalposts

Survey (human research)

Survey (human research)

Environmental epidemiology

Environmental epidemiology

Probabilistic causation

Probabilistic causation

Quantifier shift

Quantifier shift

Retrospective cohort study

Retrospective cohort study

Effects of pornography

Effects of pornography

Foundations of statistics

Foundations of statistics

Priscilla K. Coleman

Priscilla K. Coleman

Psychological determinism

Psychological determinism

Prospective cohort study

Prospective cohort study

Flag-waving

Flag-waving

Friendship

Friendship

Analysis of clinical trials

Analysis of clinical trials

Ecological study

Ecological study

List of Latin phrases (C)

List of Latin phrases (C)

Photon antibunching

Photon antibunching

Population structure (genetics)

Population structure (genetics)

Ipse dixit

Ipse dixit

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Seeding trial

Seeding trial

Culture

Culture

Default mode network

Default mode network

Glossary of clinical research

Glossary of clinical research

Netherlands fallacy

Netherlands fallacy

Furtive fallacy

Furtive fallacy

2008 Irish pork crisis

2008 Irish pork crisis

Placebo-controlled study

Placebo-controlled study

Appeal to loyalty

Appeal to loyalty

Alex Berenson

Alex Berenson

Invincible ignorance fallacy

Invincible ignorance fallacy

Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective

Socioeconomic decile

Socioeconomic decile

Attributable fraction among the exposed

Attributable fraction among the exposed

Cohabitation in the United States

Cohabitation in the United States

PAQUID cohort

PAQUID cohort

McNamara fallacy

McNamara fallacy

Slothful induction

Slothful induction

Preventable fraction among the unexposed

Raison oblige theory

Raison oblige theory

Illusionism (philosophy)

Illusionism (philosophy)

Capital punishment debate in the United States

Hair whorl (horse)

Hair whorl (horse)

Rochester Epidemiology Project

Rochester Epidemiology Project

Imaging biomarker

Imaging biomarker

Neuroscience of free will

Neuroscience of free will

Causal analysis

Causal analysis

Clinical trials unit

Clinical trials unit

Bradford Hill criteria

Bradford Hill criteria

Island mentality

Island mentality

Appeal to accomplishment

Appeal to accomplishment

Van Gogh fallacy

Van Gogh fallacy

Correlation coefficient

Correlation coefficient

Relative index of inequality

Relative index of inequality

Negative conclusion from affirmative premises

Pre- and post-test probability

Pre- and post-test probability

Argumentum ad populum

Argumentum ad populum

Null result

Null result

Scholarly peer review

Scholarly peer review

Argument from analogy

Argument from analogy

Minority stress

Minority stress

False equivalence

False equivalence

Expansionary fiscal contraction

Expansionary fiscal contraction

Cause (medicine)

Cause (medicine)

Second-generation immigrants in the United States

Whataboutism

Whataboutism

Misleading graph

Misleading graph

Consciousness after death

Consciousness after death

Fertility factor (demography)

Fertility factor (demography)

Causal inference

Causal inference

Convergent cross mapping

Convergent cross mapping

Argument from authority

Argument from authority

Two wrongs don't make a right

Two wrongs don't make a right

Circular analysis

Circular analysis

Think of the children

Think of the children

Social determinism

Social determinism

Technological determinism

Technological determinism

Susan Murphy

Susan Murphy

Vincent Rue

Vincent Rue

Designated Member Review

Designated Member Review

Historical determinism

Historical determinism

Quantifier (logic)

Quantifier (logic)

Psychoanalytic infant observation

Psychoanalytic infant observation

Fallacy of accent

Fallacy of accent

Replication crisis

Replication crisis

Stephanie Seneff

Stephanie Seneff

Cohen's h

Cohen's h

Scott Lilienfeld

Scott Lilienfeld

Straw feminism

Straw feminism

Virtuality fallacy

Virtuality fallacy

Vaxxed

Vaxxed

Bayesian structural time series

Bayesian structural time series

Tone policing

Tone policing

Lead–crime hypothesis

Lead–crime hypothesis

Sealioning

Sealioning

Gait deviations

Gait deviations

Well-being contributing factors

Well-being contributing factors

Motte-and-bailey fallacy

Motte-and-bailey fallacy

Jean Twenge

Jean Twenge

Real world data

Real world data

Real world evidence

Real world evidence

Attributable fraction for the population

Preventable fraction for the population

Preventable fraction for the population

Exploratory causal analysis

Exploratory causal analysis

Correlation function

Correlation function

IGen (book)

IGen (book)

Disease of despair

Disease of despair

Code-break procedure

Code-break procedure

Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness and Violence

Effects of pornography on young people

Effects of pornography on young people

Outcome measure

Outcome measure

Adaptive design (medicine)

Adaptive design (medicine)

Leiden Manifesto

Leiden Manifesto

Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism

Royal Commission on Animal Magnetism

Sex as a biological variable

Sex as a biological variable

Argument from anecdote

Argument from anecdote

Biological tests of necessity and sufficiency

John Campbell (YouTuber)

John Campbell (YouTuber)

Platform trial

Platform trial

Territorial peace theory

Territorial peace theory

Appeal to the law

Appeal to the law

Cornish Bronze Age

Cornish Bronze Age

Rage-baiting

Rage-baiting

Millennials in the United States

Millennials in the United States

Specious reasoning

Specious reasoning

Mathematics, science, technology and engineering of the Victorian era

Patient and public involvement

Patient and public involvement

DevOps Research and Assessment

DevOps Research and Assessment

B causes A (reverse causation or reverse causality)

Examples of illogically inferring causation from correlation

Reverse causation or reverse causality or wrong direction is an informal fallacy of questionable cause where cause and effect are reversed. The cause is said to be the effect and vice versa.

In this example, the correlation (simultaneity) between windmill activity and wind velocity does not imply that wind is caused by windmills. It is rather the other way around, as suggested by the fact that wind does not need windmills to exist, while windmills need wind to rotate. Wind can be observed in places where there are no windmills or non-rotating windmills—and there are good reasons to believe that wind existed before the invention of windmills.
 * Example 1
 * The faster that windmills are observed to rotate, the more wind is observed.
 * Therefore, wind is caused by the rotation of windmills. (Or, simply put: windmills, as their name indicates, are machines used to produce wind.)

It is the other way around since the disease, such as cancer, causes a low cholesterol because of a myriad of factors, such as weight loss, and an increase in mortality. This is also seen with ex-smokers. Ex-smokers are more likely to die of lung cancer than current smokers. When lifelong smokers are told they have lung cancer, many quit smoking. This change can make it seem as if ex-smokers are more likely to die of lung cancer than current smokers. This can also be seen in alcoholics. As alcoholics become diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, many quit drinking. However, they also experience an increased risk of mortality. In these instances, it is the diseases that cause an increased risk of mortality, but the increased mortality is attributed to the beneficial effects that follow the diagnosis, making healthy changes look unhealthy.
 * Example 2
 * Subjects with low cholesterol correlate with an increase in mortality.
 * Therefore, low cholesterol increases your risk of mortality.

Example 3

In other cases it may simply be unclear which is the cause and which is the effect. For example: This could easily be the other way round; that is, violent children like watching more TV than less violent ones.
 * Children that watch a lot of TV are the most violent. Clearly, TV makes children more violent.

Example 4

A correlation between recreational drug use and psychiatric disorders might be either way around: perhaps the drugs cause the disorders, or perhaps people use drugs to self medicate for preexisting conditions. Gateway drug theory may argue that marijuana usage leads to usage of harder drugs, but hard drug usage may lead to marijuana usage (see also confusion of the inverse). Indeed, in the social sciences where controlled experiments often cannot be used to discern the direction of causation, this fallacy can fuel long-standing scientific arguments. One such example can be found in education economics, between the screening/signaling and human capital models: it could either be that having innate ability enables one to complete an education, or that completing an education builds one's ability.

Example 5

A historical example of this is that Europeans in the Middle Ages believed that lice were beneficial to health since there would rarely be any lice on sick people. The reasoning was that the people got sick because the lice left. The real reason however is that lice are extremely sensitive to body temperature. A small increase of body temperature, such as in a fever, makes the lice look for another host. The medical thermometer had not yet been invented and so that increase in temperature was rarely noticed. Noticeable symptoms came later, which gave the impression that the lice had left before the person became sick.

In other cases, two phenomena can each be a partial cause of the other; consider poverty and lack of education, or procrastination and poor self-esteem. One making an argument based on these two phenomena must however be careful to avoid the fallacy of circular cause and consequence. Poverty is a cause of lack of education, but it is not the sole cause, and vice versa.

informal fallacy

questionable cause

recreational drug use

psychiatric disorders

self medicate

marijuana

confusion of the inverse

social sciences

education economics

screening

signaling

human capital

lice

body temperature

fever

thermometer

circular cause and consequence

TV