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No Flame War here
On 24 Mar 2004 13:55:27 -0800, (Frank Maier) wrote:
Thanks. Here's a babble just for you.
ad hominem and tu quoque: ...
If someone else beats him to an insult ("Jax, you're an idiot!"), his
fallback is the tu quoque. "No! You're an idiot!"
ad verecundiam: Then there are all the famous (to him) people he
knows. This constitutes arguing from an authority. "I know a(n
important) guy who says you can sail upwind under bare poles." And the
self-aggrandizing version, "I had sex with a Playboy bunny. Therefore,
I am a desirable person." ...
ad numerum, refined by ad crumenam: The ad numerum gets him to the
ballpark where he wants to play. "Most smart people ... believe X."
From there, he refines it to an elitist version
with an ad crumenam. "The very smartest people (...maybe
God, on one of His good days) believe XsubY." ...
ad nauseum: Y'all know this one. "I'm smarter than all of you." "I'm
smart; you're dumb." "My middle name is MENSA." "My IQ is eight
bazillion, based on a test I took once, given by a group which would
get membership dues from me if I scored at least eight bazillion. And
I did!" "Did I mention how smart I am?" And on, and on...
non causa pro causa: Declaring that independent events actually have a
cause-and-effect relationship. "I couldn't find the Gulf Stream.
Therefore, the Gulf Stream is difficult to find."
Wow! Now that's what I call an educational post.
And I know an educational post when I see one.
Nobody better....
:-)
Brian W
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