Galileo Gambit
Galileo Gambit
classification : informal – Straw man
The Galileo fallacy is the idea that if you are widely vilified for your ideas, you must therefore be right.
Foundations
“The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.” –Carl Sagan
Examples
They made fun of Galileo, and he was right. They make fun of me, therefore I am right.
Almost everyone thought Galileo was wrong, but he turned out to be right. Therefore, just because almost everyone thinks something is true, doesn’t make it so.
Don’t lecture me about my report card. Eisenstein was a poor student and look how he turned out.
Other Names
argumentum ad populum
argument from consensus
© 2009, jhslee. All rights reserved.
