Stop Kids from Falling for Lies
Teach logic to your kids with games, conversation, and story
Every parent I know wants to teach their kids logic, but most find it intimidating.
But I promise, if you can read stories and play games with your kids, you can teach them logic.
This is part of my Logic series, you can find the first 3 in the Logic Series under the Logic tab here.
Today, we’ll be talking about the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy. This particular fallacy is quite nefarious. Indeed, history has shown it to be a matter of life and death. We’ll discuss what it is and how to teach your kids to avoid it through games, stories, and conversations.
What Is The Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy?
Appeal to Ignorance, also known as the Argument from Ignorance, is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone argues that a claim must be true or false based on the absence of evidence or lack of information. In other words, if there is no evidence to prove a statement false, then it must be true (or vice versa).
This fallacy relies on exploiting gaps in knowledge of the reader.
Examples of Appeal to ignorance
"No one has proven that ghosts don't exist, so they must be real."
“No one has shown this drug to be dangerous, that means it is safe.”
"You can't prove that Bigfoot isn't hiding in the woods, so I believe he's out there."
These seem innocent enough but falling for this logical fallacy can have devastating consequences.
Historical Examples
Salem Witch Trials: In 1692 in colonial Massachusetts, a small community executed 20 people that were accused of witchcraft. During their trial, they were asked to prove they weren’t witches.
If you can’t prove you're not a witch, you must be one
Thalidomide: Thalidomide was prescribed to women with morning sickness. No long-term data was collected on the outcomes post-pregnancy. The drug caused severe deformities in 1,000s of children.
There is no data saying this is dangerous, so it must be safe
Smoking: For decades, Phillip Morris (among others) claimed that there was no evidence that smoking caused cancer or other health issues. Without evidence, cigarettes were promoted as being healthy.
You can’t prove they are unhealthy, so they must be healthy!
As you can see, this particular logical fallacy can be quite treacherous.
How do you teach kids to not to succumb to this fallacy?
It’s easier than you think!
Today, you’ll learn three easy activities to joyfully learn logic. It really will be as simple as games, reading, and talking to them, but it will make them better, stronger, thinkers.
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