I just participated in the first W3C Authentic Web Mini Workshop¹ hosted by the Credible Web Community Group² (of which I’m a longtime member) and up front I noted that our very discussion itself needed to be careful about its own credibility, extra critical of any technologies discussed or assertions made, and initially identified two flaws to avoid on a meta level, having seen them occur many times in technical or standards discussions:
1. Politician’s Syllogism — "Something must be done about this problem. Here is something, let's do it!"
2. Solutions Looking For Problems — "I am interested in how tech X can solve problem Y"
After some back and forth and arguments in the Zoom chat, I observed participants questioning speakers of arguments rather than the arguments themselves, so I had to identify a third fallacy to avoid:
3. Ad Hominem — while obvious examples are name-calling (which is usually against codes of conduct), less obvious examples (witnessed in the meeting) include questioning a speaker’s education (or lack thereof) like what they have or have not read, or would benefit from reading.
I am blogging these here both as a reminder (should you choose to participate in such discussions), and as a resource to cite in future discussions.
We need to all develop expertise in recognizing these logical and methodological flaws & fallacies, and call them out when we see them, especially when used against others.
We need to promptly prune these flawed methods of discussion, so we can focus on actual productive, relevant, and yes, credible discussions.
#W3C #credweb #credibleWeb #authenticWeb #flaw #fallacy #fallacies #logicalFallacy #logicalFallacies
Glossary
Ad Hominem
attacking an attribute of the person making an argument rather than the argument itself
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
Politician's syllogism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician%27s_syllogism
Solutions Looking For Problems (related: #solutionism, #solutioneering)
Promoting a technology that either has not identified a real problem for it to solve, or actively pitching a specific technology to any problem that seems related. Wikipedia has no page on this but has two related pages:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_instrument
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_fix
Wikipedia does have an essay on this specific to Wikipedia:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Solutions_looking_for_a_problem
Stack Exchange has a thread on "solution in search of a problem":
* https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/250320/a-word-that-means-a-solution-in-search-of-a-problem
Forbes has an illustrative anecdote:
* https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanieburns/2019/05/28/solution-looking-for-a-problem/
References
¹ https://www.w3.org/events/workshops/2025/authentic-web-workshop/
² https://credweb.org/ and https://www.w3.org/community/credibility/
Previously in 2019 I participated in #MisinfoCon:
* https://tantek.com/2019/296/t1/london-misinfocon-discuss-spectrum-recency
* https://tantek.com/2019/296/t2/misinfocon-roundtable-spectrums-misinformation
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#LogicalFallacy
Judging #research based on who sponsored it is an #Adhominem #logicalfallacy. Yet it seems like not judging it based on who sponsored it is a #fallacyfallacy .
Maybe the best would be to verify and test the ideas in research. But most of us aren't educated enough to even understand them.
How do we solve that without effecting people's #freedom ?
Oh man...I can already see the claims of companies getting so and so more productive and "streamlining" processes thanks to #AI, while it'll turn out that:
Yes, companies will have gotten more productive.
And no, it's not _directly_ because of AI - it's because employees have inadvertently produced a lot of documentation in the hope of "feeding" the AI, while, by documenting things properly, they'll have actually helped humans doing a better job.
Nobody observed the billions of years before humanity existed, therefore it never happened!
#LogicalFallacy for you! 
#LogicalFallacy lesson 2
#False_Dilemma or #False_Dichotomy:
If someone presents only two options or outcomes, when in reality there are other options, it is called a false dilemma/dichotomy.
Example: "If we don't build more highways, traffic will be unbearable"
• this presents buildings highways as the only solution to traffic, where in reality there are many other factors.
#LogicalFallacy lesson 1
#Ad_hominem:
When someone attacks the person and their traits instead of addressing the argument, it's known as an Ad Hominem fallacy. This is a #fallacy because attacking the person does not discredit or invalidate their argument.
Example: "Your takes on the dangers of monopolies is invalid because you're a socialist"
Basing how much you believe #news on the #agenda of those who tells the news is an #AdHominem #LogicalFallacy
#Capitalism will ultimately fall victim to it's own #logicalfallacy.
Boundless economic growth, constrained within a bounded system, is one such obvious logical impossibility.
Herb Stein -- Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute -- DEFINED IRONY when he coined the phrase "If something cannot go on forever, it will stop."
One of the most important ways YOU can contribute to the end of rapacious capitalist consumption for profit is to make this clear to everyone you know -- at every opportunity you get.
Once seen ... it cannot be unseen.
On social media and in politics, people often use the word dogwhistle to indicate that someone is making statements that sound reasonable to an unsuspecting audience, but are worded in a way that those more familiar with the subject at hand have grown to recognize as code for a more extreme opinion.
Beware: In defense, the #dogwhistle is often incorporated in another #logicalfallacy: the Motte and Bailey: feigning innocence by defending a modest stance when caught making an extreme statement.
ChatGPT Powers a Different Kind of Logic Analyzer - If you’re hoping that this AI-powered logic analyzer will help you quickly debug t... - https://hackaday.com/2023/04/06/chatgpt-powers-a-different-kind-of-logic-analyzer/ #machinelearning #logicalfallacy #speechtotext #chatbot #chatgpt #whisper #logic #spp #ai