Identify the flaw in the argument: “During the summer of 2011, the number of accidents involving people hitting themselves or others with a hammer rose dramatically. That same summer, the movie Thor was released. So, Thor must have caused people to use hammers dangerously.”
Answer
This is a causation flaw. While an increase in hammer injuries correlating with the release of a movie about a superhero with a giant hammer is certainly a suspicious coincidence, we cannot say definitively that Thor caused the increase in injuries. Maybe that summer also involved a lot of DIY home improvement projects. The point is, causal conclusions are always sketchy on the LSAT so anytime you jump from correlation to causation, that is a huge fallacy red flag.
Want to receive daily LSAT practice delivered right into your inbox? Sign up here for our LSAT Question of the Day emails!
Related Post
Search the Blog
Free LSAT Practice Account
Sign up for a free Blueprint LSAT account and get access to a free trial of the Self-Paced Course and a free practice LSAT with a detailed score report, mind-blowing analytics, and explanatory videos.
Learn More
Popular Posts
-
-
-
-
General LSAT Advice How to Get a 180 on the LSAT -
Entertainment Revisiting Elle's LSAT Journey from Legally Blonde
Submit a Comment