Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments
Move beyond textbook definitions to untangle deceptive reasoning in real debates. Learn how to diagnose hidden rhetorical traps, dismantle causal illusions, and critique arguments without falling into the fallacy hunter's trap.
Like Duolingo, but for Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diagnosing Everyday Distortions and Responding Without Bad-Faith Traps. It assumes you already know the basics.
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Key ideas in Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments
- A bailey is an ambitious, controversial claim that is hard to justify under scrutiny.
- A motte is an obvious, modest truism substituted when the bailey is attacked.
- The fallacy succeeds if the speaker pretends defending the truism justifies the radical claim.
- Equivocation relies on a single lexical term carrying two distinct definitions across premises.
- The fallacy breaks down as soon as each instance of the ambiguous word is replaced with a precise synonym.
- The trick exploits shifts between colloquial uses and formal or normative senses.
- No True Scotsman rescues a universal claim by adding unstated purity qualifiers after counterexamples.
- The ad hoc modification makes the original generalization unfalsifiable by tautology.
- A valid qualification states clear, pre-existing boundaries rather than shifting them retrospectively.
- Operational definitions translate nebulous, values-laden labels into measurable procedures or tests.
- Without concrete operational criteria, speakers can shift evaluative standards whenever challenged.
- Semantic drift works through small, individually plausible expansions that compound over time.
- Each incremental step dilutes the original constraints until the term covers its opposite or extremes.
- Catching the drift requires comparing the final usage directly against the starting definition.
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc treats chronological sequence as direct proof of cause
- A valid causal claim requires demonstrating a plausible underlying mechanism
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What role does the 'bailey' play when someone makes a tricky argument?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Diagnosing Everyday Distortions
- Detecting Semantic Slippage
- Untangling Causal and Statistical Illusions
- 2
Responding Without Bad-Faith Traps
- Neutralizing Dialectical Sleights of Hand
- Mastering the Ethics of Fallacy Hunting
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments
How do I learn Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments?
Go in order: start with Diagnosing Everyday Distortions, then Responding Without Bad-Faith Traps. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments course free?
Yes. Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Logical Fallacies in Real Arguments is taught in the Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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