74 definitions by The Logical Fallacy

Schrödinger's Douchebag

A guy who says offensive things and decides whether he was joking based on the reaction of people around him.

Any website that lacks effective moderation and allows some level of anonymity will, to varying degrees, approxomate 4chan, and be overrun with Schrödinger's Douchebags. Now this type of person defends, for instance, rape-jokes by saying "all humor is inherently punching down because there must be a butt to every joke." He hasn't thought about it. he assumes it's true because he figures "(he's) a smart guy, and whatever (he) assumes is probably right", but he's unfazed if you prove otherwise. There's no shortage of dodgy reasons he might be right and you wrong. He'll just pick another one. What matters is the game continues.

-- Innuendo Studios example of Schrödinger's Douchebag, "The Alt-Right Playbook: The Card Says Moops"

by The Logical Fallacy February 4, 2019

Marxist Schadenfreude

When one takes pleasure in inflicting misfortune onto the rich and powerful (regardless of intentions).

Some of them suggest that he's not so much a champion of the oppressed so much as an adrenaline junkie who uses powerful and amoral opponents as a source of Marxist schadenfreude.

by The Logical Fallacy April 8, 2018

Woody

An adjective meant to describe a word pleasant to the sound or pronunciation. Opposite of Tinny.

"Yes, you can't beat wood. Gorn."
"What's gone, dear?"
"Nothing, nothing -- just like the word, it gives me confidence. Gorn. Gorn -- it's got a sort of 'woody' quality about it. Gorn. Go-o-orn. Much better than 'newspaper' or 'litter bin'."
-- Graham Chapman, "The Woody Sketch" from Monty Python's Flying Circus

by The Logical Fallacy October 13, 2016

hard power

The use of brute-force and hard solutions to beat a problem into shape, created from a moral righteousness through strength. Contrast with soft power.

"Toby Maguire's Spider-Man largely uses what's known in international relations as hard power - he rushes into battle, relying on brute strength to stop his foes. There's no time for negotiations with the Green Goblin, Doc Ock and The Sandman. Just some good ol' fashioned fisticuffs"

-- The Philosophy of Spider-Man – Wisecrack Edition

by The Logical Fallacy January 2, 2019

Arkham's razor

The weirdest explanation is the correct one. Opposite of Occam's razor.

Occam's razor says that people used primitive tech and slave labor build the pyramids. Arkham's razor says that Satan called in a favor from space aliens to build them in order to make people disbelieve in Jesus hundreds of years before he was born.

by The Logical Fallacy June 4, 2017

Playing Hot Potato with a Pineapple

Desperately trying to ditch an object that harms its holder.

In the Ready Player One movie, the High Five were passing along Chucky the Living doll in hopes of not getting stabbed. They were Playing Hot Potato with a Pineapple. ...get it? Li-like a grenade?

by The Logical Fallacy April 24, 2018

"The Card Says Moops" Maneuver

A form of logically fallacious reasoning that involves winning an argument by taking a contrarian position that is left just vague enough to where they win the argument regardless of which side comes out on top.

Named after the famous scene from the Seinfeld episode "The Bubble Boy."

There's a certain beat-you-at-your-own-gameiness to "The Card Says Moops" Maneuver. "Safe spaces are bullshit, but if you get one I get one, too." "There's no such thing as systemic oppression, but if there were, I'd be oppressed." It's dismissing the rhetoric of social justice while also trying to use it against you. Claiming "the card says 'Moops'" does not so much mean "I believe the people who invaded Spain in the 8th century were literally called 'The Moops'," but rather "you can't prove I don't believe it." Not a statement of sincere belief; simply moving a piece across the board. All in the game, yo.
-- Innuendo Studios, "The Alt-Right Playbook: The Card Says Moops"

by The Logical Fallacy February 4, 2019