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Logical fallacies in software engineering

artur-martsinkovskyi.github.io

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Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#11

Post by tide_ad »

> Appeal to Authority .... When explaining practices or opinions on some subjects of sofware development, project management, operations, e.t.c, people tend to use somebody elses saying, blogpost, conference talk or other claim as a foundation for justification of their own decision.

I consciously do this these days because other people are gullible.

I consciously know "well this isn't balanced", but there is no need to put a disclaimer on that, it just wastes your time and confuses the recipient.

Appeal to Authority works.

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#12

Post by shaki-dora »

The concept of "fallacies" is somewhat overdone, to the point where I'm tempted to coin the "fallacy fallacy".

They are used far too often to shut down some debate: Oh, you want to do this yourself? Not-Invented-Here-Syndrom! Oh, you want to buy from a reputable vendor? Appealing to authority!

I believe the "appeal to authority" fallacy is especially misguided: it's impossible to verify every statement we rely on from first principle. At some point, when the New York Times has an article highlighting the benefits of vaccinations, while @TheyAreTryingToKillYou241234 on twitter says the MMR vaccine will cause your kids to grow a second head, it is perfectly fine, or even necessary, to consider the source of some information as evidence in evaluating it.

This mechanism, of evaluating sources of time and establishing trust, is so pervasive we tend not to even notice it. You are far more likely to hand your car keys to your spouse when asked than to a random stranger.

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#15

Post by Udik »

shaki-dora wrote: post #12

The concept of "fallacies" is somewhat overdone, to the point where I'm tempted to coin the "fallacy fallacy". They are used far too often to shut down some debate: Oh, you want to do this yourself? Not-Invented-Here-Syndrom! Oh, you want to buy from a reputable vendor? Appealing to authority! I believe the "appeal to authority" fallacy is especially misguided: it's impossible to verify every statement we rely on fro…

Fallacy fallacy exists: assuming that because a reasoning contains a fallacy, its conclusions must be wrong. They're simply unproven.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_fallacy

https://existentialcomics.com/comic/9

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#17

Post by zzzcpan »

tide_ad wrote: post #11

> Appeal to Authority .... When explaining practices or opinions on some subjects of sofware development, project management, operations, e.t.c, people tend to use somebody elses saying, blogpost, conference talk or other claim as a foundation for justification of their own decision. I consciously do this these days because other people are gullible. I consciously know "well this isn't balanced", but there is no need…

Define works. Appeal to authority destroys engineering, scientific, critical thinking and decision making. You can't appeal to authority your way into subject experts, they might even openly criticize you for your bullshit.

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#18

Post by Udik »

stupidcar wrote: post #7

The "nirvana fallacy" is definitely one I commonly see on Hacker News. The ease with which people jump from "thing x is imperfect" to "thing x is worthless" is mind-boggling. This is usually coupled with familiarity bias, where the flaws of any existing technology are discounted vs. those of a new technology.

A fallacy I've noticed often in sw engineering, and might fall under the nirvana fallacy definition, is the assumption that there is one best tool for doing things- the one that supports the largest amount of use cases.

An metaphor I like to use is that of the software engineer buying a tank instead of a car: fits more people, drives on all terrain, basically indestructible, and in case an enemy is blocking the road you can always shoot it from the turret. Of course, it's horrendously expensive, wildly impractical, and you have to demolish your garage and rebuild it to fit it in, but hey, that was the best choice.

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#19

Post by V-2 »

Udik wrote: post #13

No true Scotsman's: - We followed agile methodology and failed miserably. - Then you weren't using real agile.

I come across the reverse version, too. I mean, the fallacy of labels - situations just like your example, but where (say) Agile methodology was INDEED not properly followed, despite being branded as such.

Re: Logical fallacies in software engineering

#20

Post by humanrebar »

> ...solutions to problems are rejected because they are not perfect...

I have seen the flip side as well... dismissing an idea as an instance of "too academic" or "perfectionist" problem solving. It's actually pretty hard to take the time to understand someone's thoughts well enough to differentiate between a complex but real flaw and an aesthetic preference.

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