====== False Cause Fallacy ======

By [[daniel-chen| Daniel Chen]]

The False Cause Fallacy is when people think that Event A happened because of Event B, even though Event B did not cause Event A. For example, my grandmother believes that touching a cat will bring bad luck, but there is no strong relationship between the two. Another example is when my parents thought I became shortsighted because I used my phone too much. However, there is no strong connection, because as I grew older and used my phone more, my myopia did not worsen. A few years ago, there was a rumor that smart people liked eating eggs, so some people thought that eating eggs could make you smarter. However, this was just a coincidence. You can use the false cause fallacy to connect unrelated things to fool others and make your statement stronger. First, you tell someone a statement and then give them a reason that sounds correct. If they fall for the false cause fallacy, they will think you sound reasonable. For example, if you want someone to eat more vegetables, you could say, "All the top students eat a lot of vegetables, so eating vegetables will make you smarter." This falsely implies a direct cause-and-effect relationship, convincing the person to change their behavior based on incorrect logic.