False Dichotomy Fallacy

By Daniel Chen

The False Dichotomy fallacy is when people think there are only two options when there are actually more choices available. One example is a joke I made to my friend: “You can either dress well and be cool, or dress poorly and look silly.” However, you can also dress normally or in any way between those extremes. Another example is my parents saying, “You can either study hard to be successful or play video games and be a failure.” This is a false dichotomy because it ignores other possibilities, such as balancing both studying and playing video games and still being successful. False Dichotomies are presented by offering only two extreme choices, leading people to pick one without considering other options. If you fall for False Dichotomies, you might miss better choices because not everything is black and white.