Albert Einstein noted that when trying to solve problems, more time should be spent defining the issues than rushing to find solutions. When making assumptions or using statistics to support arguments, it is important to avoid misleading claims and fallacious reasoning. Various logical fallacies can undermine an argument if not recognized, such as hasty generalizations, reification, correlation versus causation, and misleading statistics.

1. J448
thinking +
research

2. “If I had an hour to save the world
I would spend 59 minutes defining
the problem and one minute
finding solutions”
-Albert Einstein

3. Assumptions

4. “We should go after the
biggest part of the market.”

5. “People
want local
stuff.”

6. Anything wrong with this?
“Ideally, BDM should promote whatever ingredients
are already natural on packaging, even if it is not
going for a solely all-natural beverage. This tactic will
help entice some consumers.”

7. Misleading statistics:
50% of women failed
the DMV driving test.

8. Misleading statistics:
40% of workers call
in sick on Monday
and Friday (long
weekend)?

9. Misleading statistics:
Correlation versus
causation.

10. Fallacy of
reification: “War
on Drugs.”

11. Hasty
generalizations

12. How to
use all
this stuff

13. Questions?