Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning. They are often called informal fallacies. It's becoming more common for people to call out these fallacies by name. You often hear accusations of people engaging in “ad hominem,” “appeal to nature,” and “straw man” thinking, for example. Some logical fallacies, however, are prevalent and yet rarely discussed. Here are three of them.

You commit the appeal to stone when you dismiss a claim as absurd without giving any reason or evidence. It can show up as “That’s nonsense,” “Be serious,” or “That’s obviously false.” Often, people say these things because they don’t want to engage in a debate. That’s fine, and not necessarily a fallacy: We don’t owe everyone who makes a claim a full discussion. But we shouldn’t pretend........

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