Advanced Fallacies
📋 What it is
Subtler fallacies include the straw man (attacking a fake version of the argument) and the slippery slope.
🗣️ Coach says
Advanced tricks are sneakier. The straw man swaps your real point for a weaker fake one, then knocks THAT down. The slippery slope claims one small step leads to disaster with no proof. Spot the swap or the missing steps.
🧠 Memory hook
Straw man = they attack a FAKE version of you. Slippery slope = missing steps to doom.
😂 Giggle
What did the warrant say during the argument?
"I'm the reason this claim and evidence are connected!"
😲 Whoa!
The “straw man” is named after a practice dummy — easy to knock over. In an argument, it’s a fake, weakened version of your point that’s easy to “defeat”.
⚖️ The claim on trial:
“You said “let’s limit screen time,” so really you want to BAN all technology — that’s ridiculous.”
You're the judge. Deliver a verdict, pick the evidence that really matters, then reveal.
✗ Weak / flawed — Weak / flawed — this is a straw man: it misrepresents “limit” as “ban all” to attack the weaker version. Restate the ORIGINAL point fairly.
A straw man attacks a fake, weakened version — answer the real argument, not the dummy.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Find or imagine a straw man (someone exaggerating a point to attack it). Restate the ORIGINAL point fairly.