Red Herring Fallacy
đ§ Psych - 105 / 200
Hello!
How is it going for you?
Letâs talk about the Fallacy of Red Herring.
What is it?
The fallacy is where an attempt is performed to divert your attention away from the relevant issue by introducing you to a different irrelevant issue.
Also known as Fallacy of Misdirection.
Examples -
Bob: âIâm disappointed you broke your promise and didnât help me move.â
John: âOh yeah? What about that time you didnât show up to my birthday party?â [1]
Where does it occur?
In conversations, political statements, novels of different genres, announcements of large companies.
Why do I need to know?
The goal with red herring is to sway you away from the main argument or topic. It is not a bad âtrickâ or something. It can be used to win or convince over arguments in a sense.
Interesting side note:-
The use of herring to distract pursuing scent hounds was tested on Episode 148 of the series MythBusters.
Although the hound used in the test stopped to eat the fish and lost the fugitive's scent temporarily, it eventually backtracked and located the target, resulting in the myth being classified by the show as "Busted". [2]
Takeaways: -
Make your arguments better with the knowledge of this fallacy. While it is actually very easy to notice, you need to be aware enough to catch it.
References & Studies: -
https://www.developgoodhabits.com/red-herring/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_herring
Want to get a taste of Psychology? Check out my ebook!
Looking for previous issues? Take a look at the Archives.