Straw man

A straw man replaces what someone said with a worse version that is easier to knock down. The worse version may be nearby, and it may even be a real view held by someone else. It is still not an answer to the point in front of you. The library's card asks you to put the original claim back and answer that. In a news interview, listen for the reply that begins with 'so you want' and then names something wilder.

Fallacy

Straw man

A straw man replaces someone’s actual view with a worse or simpler one, then attacks the substitute. The real view is left standing. Quoting loosely, dropping a qualification, or leaping to an extreme all do this.

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Mini check

Leila says the community garden should allow dogs on a lead. Omar replies: "So you want dogs digging up every bed and children getting bitten. Typical." What is Omar doing?

He restates her lead-dog rule more precisely than she first put it.He swaps her proposal for a worse one that is easier to attack.He shows that the proposal, as she worded it, contradicts itself.He supplies a relevant expert view about how dogs actually behave.

Try it today

In the next disagreement you hear, restate the other side in one sentence they would accept.

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