Grain of Salt
Site index
Every page on Grain of Salt in one alphabetical list, each with the line that says what it does. The home page sets the same pages out grouped by instrument, which is the arrangement to read when you do not yet know what you are looking for. This one is for when you have a name, from a footnote, a lecture or an argument you have just had, and want the page it belongs to at once. The mark against each entry says which instrument the page belongs to.
A
- Ad hominemAttacking the person, not the argument
- Anchoring biasThe first number sticks
- Anecdotal evidenceWhy one story is not data
- Appeal to authorityWhen citing an expert is a fallacy
- Appeal to emotionDefinition and examples
- Argument structurePremises, conclusion and how to map one
- The availability heuristicJudging by what comes to mind
B
- The bandwagon effectThe bandwagon effect and the appeal to popularity
- The Barnum effectWhy a vague description feels personal
- The base rate fallacyWhy an accurate test misleads
- Burden of proofWho has to show the evidence
C
- Cherry pickingQuoting only the data that agrees
- Circular reasoningCircular reasoning and begging the question
- Cognitive biasWhat it is, with examples
- Cold readingHow a stranger seems to know you
- Composition and divisionThe fallacies of composition and division
- Confirmation biasDefinition and examples
- Control groups and blindingThe two devices that do the work
- Correlation vs causationThe difference, with examples
- Critical thinking exercisesCritical thinking exercises you can actually work through
- Critical thinking skillsThe six that do the work
D
- Deductive reasoningDefinition and examples
- Deductive vs inductive reasoningThe difference, with examples
- The Dunning Kruger effectThe Dunning Kruger effect, and what the study actually showed
E
- EpistemologyHow we know what we know
- EquivocationOne word, two meanings
- Evaluating sourcesHow to check where a claim came from
F
- False dilemma (false dichotomy)The either or fallacy, with examples
- False equivalenceTreating two unlike things as the same
- FalsifiabilityA claim that nothing could disprove
- The framing effectThe same fact, worded two ways
G
- The gambler's fallacyThe coin has no memory
- GroupthinkHow a room talks itself into a bad decision
H
- The halo effectOne good trait colors the rest
- Hasty generalizationToo few cases, too big a conclusion
- Hindsight biasThe I knew it all along effect
I
- Inductive reasoningDefinition and examples
L
- The loaded questionLoaded questions and leading questions
- Logical fallaciesWhat they are, with examples
- Logical reasoningHow an argument is built
M
- Media literacyHow to read a claim in the news
- Misleading graphsThe tricks and how to spot them
- Motivated reasoningArguing towards the answer you want
- Moving the goalpostsChanging the standard mid-argument
N
- Negativity biasWhy bad news weighs more
- No true ScotsmanRedefining the category to save the claim
- Non sequiturThe conclusion that does not follow
- The null hypothesisWhat a test is actually testing
O
- Occam's razorWhat it says and what it does not
P
- Peer reviewWhat it is and what it actually proves
- The placebo effectThe placebo effect, explained as a methods problem
- Post hoc ergo propter hocAfter it, therefore because of it
- Primary vs secondary sourcesThe difference, with examples
- PseudoscienceWhat makes it different from science
- Publication biasWhy the literature misleads
R
- Reading numbersThe checks to run on any statistic
- Recency biasThe last thing you saw
- The red herring fallacyDefinition and examples
- Regression to the meanWhy the treatment seemed to work
S
- Sample sizeHow many is enough
- The scientific methodThe steps, and what they are for
- Selection biasWho ended up in the sample
- Self serving biasMy wins, your luck
- The slippery slope fallacyDefinition and examples
- Statistical significanceStatistical significance and what a p value really means
- The straw man fallacyDefinition and examples
- The sunk cost fallacyThrowing good money after bad
- Survivorship biasThe cases you never see
T
- Tu quoqueThe you too fallacy
V
- Valid vs sound argumentsTwo different tests of an argument
W
- What counts as evidenceWhat counts as evidence, and what does not
- Who makes Grain of Salt, and howAbout Grain of Salt (skepticians.com)
A better question is a good next step.
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