Friday 11 March 2016

The Fallacy of Hasty Generalization

Dear It's Taophieyc reader,

Today, let's talk about a topic of statistics which is now very interwoven with our everyday life. I didn't even realize there was a term for this phenomenon until I heard it in a vox-pop video I saw on youtube.

First and foremost, a fallacy is a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.

As explained by Wikipedia, hasty generalization is an informal fallacy generalization by reaching an inductive generalization based on insufficient evidence- essentially making a hasty conclusion without considering all the variables. In statistics, it may involve basing broad conclusions regarding the statistics of a survey from a small sample group that fails to sufficiently represent an entire population.

The fallacy is also known as: Illicit Generalization, Fallacy of Insufficient Sample, Generalization from the Particular, Leaping to a Conclusion, Hasty Induction, Law of Small Numbers, Secundum quid.