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Quiz about Thats Hooey
Quiz about Thats Hooey

That's Hooey! Trivia Quiz


You hear hooey, bunk, BS and malarky every day at work, on TV, riding the subway - hogwash is everywhere. To recognize baloney when you hear it, consider these basics in straight thinking.

A multiple-choice quiz by nutmeglad. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
nutmeglad
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
186,697
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
1953
Last 3 plays: emmal2000uk (4/10), matthewpokemon (3/10), ZWOZZE (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. You buy a new Harley. Your wife says, "I thought we were going to cut expenses!" You reply, "Well, what about the new kayak YOU just bought?!" In debating, what is your argument called? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Whenever you play white during a chess game you win. Your son wants to play white but you refuse, believing that playing white is the key to your success. Why is this illogical? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Your annoying neighbor stops by to ask you to sign a petition to allow a toxic waste dump in the neighborhood, something you oppose. "Come on," says he, "everyone on your block has already signed - look here, and you can see." What type of hooey is this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The odd guy at work says, "Over 2000 doctors have approved the new, no water diet." You know it's bunk, but what kind of bunk is it? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. You're standing on the railroad platform when your best friend says, "This train was late Monday AND Tuesday. It's always late." What kind of fallacy has your friend presented? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The only absolute truth in any dispute or disagreement (or science experiment, government policy or cookie recipe) is called empirical evidence. Which of the following statements is empirical? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Overheard on the subway: "I can't spend more than I make so how can the state spend more than it takes in year after year. That's why we have a huge deficit." What's wrong with this statement? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. At the used car lot, the salesperson says, "Welcome to Honest Joe's. You know we're honest because we always give you a fair deal." Is there a little something wrong with the BS being tossed your way? What's it called? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. "Every time I eat apples I get sick. Tonight's dessert is apple dumplings. I should avoid dessert." What kind of thinking is this? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Bill Clinton was forced to admit that he smoked pot but didn't inhale. George W. Bush has had to defend his wild party days. What are these character attacks sometimes called? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 21 2024 : emmal2000uk: 4/10
Mar 18 2024 : matthewpokemon: 3/10
Mar 11 2024 : ZWOZZE: 5/10
Feb 26 2024 : Guest 76: 3/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. You buy a new Harley. Your wife says, "I thought we were going to cut expenses!" You reply, "Well, what about the new kayak YOU just bought?!" In debating, what is your argument called?

Answer: pointing to another wrong

In this situation, you did something wrong in buying that Harley. Your only defense, and a weak one at that, is to point to another wrong, the buying of the kayak. This argument does not negate your error.
2. Whenever you play white during a chess game you win. Your son wants to play white but you refuse, believing that playing white is the key to your success. Why is this illogical?

Answer: post hoc ergo propter hoc

Post hoc ergo propter hoc, loosely translated means "After this therefore because of this." Here's another example: A man sees fluid leaking from beneath his car and decides to take it to the repair shop. Backing out of the driveway he realizes he's forgotten something. Pulling forward, he crashes into the garage. Why? The logical answer is he slipped on the leaked fluid, or the brake lines were broken.

In fact, blind as a bat, the man returned for his glasses which is why he hit the garage. The driveway slick had nothing to do with it. Just because something occurs after an event does not mean it was caused by the event.
3. Your annoying neighbor stops by to ask you to sign a petition to allow a toxic waste dump in the neighborhood, something you oppose. "Come on," says he, "everyone on your block has already signed - look here, and you can see." What type of hooey is this?

Answer: jumping on the bandwagon

"Come on, everybody's doing it." "All your friends and neighbors are voting for Turner." No one likes to be hanging out there like a lox, standing on her/his own, but to capitulate is to simply jump on the bandwagon like the rest of the sheep. (Apologies for the mixed metaphor.)
4. The odd guy at work says, "Over 2000 doctors have approved the new, no water diet." You know it's bunk, but what kind of bunk is it?

Answer: appeal based on authority

An appeal based on authority is anything from some jock selling a sports drink to an unknowable group of 2000, unverifiable doctors who approve some whacko diet. "3 out of 4 dentists..." is another well-known appeal based on authority.
5. You're standing on the railroad platform when your best friend says, "This train was late Monday AND Tuesday. It's always late." What kind of fallacy has your friend presented?

Answer: hasty generalization

Any generalization needs ample evidence to back it up. The train has been late 2 times that you know of but that's not enough of a sample to state that the train is always late. Politicians use hasty generalizations in much of their rhetoric: "The polls show that all Democrats (or Republicans ) are blah, blah."
6. The only absolute truth in any dispute or disagreement (or science experiment, government policy or cookie recipe) is called empirical evidence. Which of the following statements is empirical?

Answer: I smell the cookies.

Empirical evidence is evidence collected by observation. Observation is our interaction with the world through our five senses, thus "I smell the cookies" is a direct observation - an empirical statement. X = X is an axiom, a convention that we accept as truth. "Lincoln was a great president" and the delicious soup are nothing more than opinions and not factual, though most would agree that Lincoln WAS a great president and the soup was delicious.
7. Overheard on the subway: "I can't spend more than I make so how can the state spend more than it takes in year after year. That's why we have a huge deficit." What's wrong with this statement?

Answer: false analogy

To compare household money management to government money management is a false analogy. The differences between the two far outweigh the similarities, e.g. the way the entities raise money, the function of spending, etc. So, it's a bogus comparison.
8. At the used car lot, the salesperson says, "Welcome to Honest Joe's. You know we're honest because we always give you a fair deal." Is there a little something wrong with the BS being tossed your way? What's it called?

Answer: circular reasoning

Circular reasoning goes something like this: Used car dealers are honest. They're honest because they always give you a fair deal. The first statement, car dealers are honest, should be followed up with a statement that demonstrates honesty. In the example, the first statement is followed up by another unproveable statement, taking us around and around using circular logic.
9. "Every time I eat apples I get sick. Tonight's dessert is apple dumplings. I should avoid dessert." What kind of thinking is this?

Answer: deductive logic

All goons have blue hair. Barkley is a goon. Therefore, Barkley has blue hair. Deductive reasoning takes several facts, weighs them and comes to a logical conclusion.

Technically, the logical conclusion from the two premises is "If I eat dessert, I will be sick." When that is used as a premise and joined to "I do not want to get sick", the ultimate conclusion is the one given in the question.
10. Bill Clinton was forced to admit that he smoked pot but didn't inhale. George W. Bush has had to defend his wild party days. What are these character attacks sometimes called?

Answer: argumentum ad hominem

When you can't attack the person's position, attack the person. References to a person's homelife (divorced) or personal habits are considered ad hominem, irrelevent to the important issues. In recent years the ad hominem argument has taken center stage in elections everywhere. Unfortunately.
Source: Author nutmeglad

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