Exam 6: Performance Evaluation: Variance Analysis

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. In a letter to the editor of a newspaper, a certified nutritionist criticized an editorial that had appeared earlier in the paper advocating a ban on raw milk. He wrote, "You call for an 'outright ban on commercial sales' of raw milk. Yet, by your own figures, you relate about 123 California cases of Salmonella dublin [food poisoning], which represents a miniscule danger compared to the lives lost by smoking cigarettes." -Sacramento Bee

Identify any fallacies in the following passage. "Tell me this. If you aren't losing your hearing, then how come you can't hear so well. Well?"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage. "Don't you just love hearing somebody [Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City] who violated New York City's term limit law to run for mayor a third time lecturing us on portion control? When it came to the portions of terms he could serve, he was insatiable." -Rush Limbaugh

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. All this talk about secondhand smoke causing cancer, I just don't get it. How does it happen? WHEN does it happen? The first time you take a breath in a smoky room? The second time? The third? You can never pin it down exactly.

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "When [Nidal] Ayyad [convicted of conspiring to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993] complained that 'human rights advocates' had not monitored his treatment during months of detention, [U.S. District Judge Kevin T.] Duffy interjected: 'Did human rights organizations monitor the people whom you killed?'" -Robert L. Jackson, in the Los Angeles Times

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "Doesn't the fact that very few first-rank economists accept Marxist economic ideas suggest to you that there may be something wrong with those ideas?" "Not at all. Those economists are all tools of the ruling capitalist parties. I dismiss their views out of hand."

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. It isn't so important how they're made or how long they last or how much they cost. These are the best jeans because they're incredibly popular right now. Sometimes I think you just don't understand style.

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. When he was twelve, Walter Polovchak and his family were permitted to emigrate from the Soviet Union to the United States. Walter's father, however, eventually decided to return to Russia and was pressured by the Soviet Embassy to take Walter with him. The American Civil Liberties Union sided with Walter's father, rather than with Walter, who wished to remain in Chicago. When the case reached the courts, the legal arguments of the ACLU were criticized by some editorial writers on the grounds that in most other instances involving the rights of children, the ACLU had always sided with the child. Commented one law professor: "The ACLU's actions regarding Walter can be understood only in terms of 'an unwillingness to criticize communism.'"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. He: I believe everybody should be permitted to cheat. She: That's absolutely ridiculous. He: Why do you say that? She: Well, assume that everyone were permitted to cheat. To say they are permitted to cheat means that it's all right for them to cheat, right? And if it's all right for them to cheat, then there's nothing wrong with cheating. But then, if there's nothing wrong with what they're doing, they wouldn't be cheating. So your suggestion is absurd.

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. I wouldn't take her speech on freedom and liberty seriously. She restricts her own children from eating outside.

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. Speaker: In sum, despite the military's claims for the accuracy of smart weapons, over 70 percent of allied bombs missed their intended targets. Person in audience: What's your documentation? Can you prove that you are right about that? Speaker: Can you prove I'm wrong?

Identify any fallacies in the following passage. "One professor to another: One of my students missed class because of illness. How could anyone possibly think attendance is optional?"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "You really should get a Prudential life insurance policy. What would happen to your spouse and children if you die? Remember, you are their main source of income. Would they be forced to move?"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. Letter to the editor: "Should people on welfare be allowed to play the lottery? I say no. It's time we did something about the welfare rip-off in this country. I believe in charity for the poor, but free-loading parasites who are too lazy to get out and do an honest day's work-I say cut them off at the knees!" -North State Record

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "It's obvious that God created the universe. Can you prove that he didn't?"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "You can't say that he is uneducated. At what point does someone become educated?"

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "Greyhound reminds you that when you travel by car, you take chances, especially if you are traveling alone. Anything can happen: dangerous thunderstorms [sound effect: thunder], engine trouble [sound of car failing to start], blowouts [tire blowing out, car screeching to a stop]. Next time [upbeat music] don't take chances. It's time to go Greyhound and leave the driving to us." -Greyhound advertisement

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "It says here that smoke from wood-burning stoves, no matter how airtight they're supposed to be, gets into your house and is a health hazard." "No way. We just spent close to a thousand dollars on this new stove; what you're reading can't be ."

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. "Sure, driving after you've been drinking can get you into trouble with the law, but if you're careful and stay in control I don't think there's anything wrong with it. What makes something like that wrong is endangering others; so as long as you haven't drunk enough to impair your control, you aren't doing anything wrong."

Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue. Overheard: "When it comes to the issue of growth in this town, you're either part of the solution, or you're part of the problem."