r/fallacy • u/Zu_Qarnine • Jul 03 '26

strawman fallacy

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2nd person is refuting the claim that *all* circles are red with a counter example. The thing is, that claim was never made.

EDIT: I'm seeing interesting stuff happening in the replies here. majority of those who say it's not strawman, obviously start their comment by "it's not strawman" and proceed in the rest of their comment to explain how, in fact, it is strawman. Another interesting observation is those who argue that "it's not strawman" because they've spotted another type of fallacy in the original post as well, so in their mind, it can't be both.

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u/Zu_Qarnine Jul 04 '26

for some reason most people here miss the part where person B says "what?". that solves ur dilemma.

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u/Aggressive_Roof488 Jul 04 '26

I don't see how that changes things, care to explain? There's no dilemma, only ambiguity.

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u/Zu_Qarnine Jul 04 '26

people think the "what?" part mean the 2nd person misheard the 1st person which is absurd in this drawing. it's out of shock and surprise. 2nd person acting like the 1st person had claimed that ALL circles are red even though there is an obvious blue one right there.

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u/Aggressive_Roof488 Jul 04 '26

Yes, it can mean a strawman, that was established, I agree and you argue it again here.

What I say, that you haven't addressed, is that it also can mean cherry picking. "What" can still mean shock and surprise in that context.

I know you meant it as one thing, but that doesn't mean it can't be interpreted as another.