• Deestan@lemmy.world
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    3 hours ago

    The Fallacy of the Beard

    Get your opponent to concede a point by burdening them with defining a strict threshold. Break their claim into smaller and smaller components and keep zooming in until you are looking at such tiny things that their original claims seem overblown.

    This man has a beard! Does he? Yes clearly! 20mm hair on chin!

    Would he have a beard I mean an actual beard if it was 5mm? No that’s just stubble! Where does it become a beard, at 10mm? I guess!

    So a man with 9mm hair has stubble? Yes! And he grows one measly millimeter of chin hair in on one of the hairs and BAM WHOA he has a beard now?

    Edit: Not calling your question out as disingenuous, but trying to prevent it being abused.