Time to talk about critical thinking again! Let’s talk about red herrings!

What is a red herring? Well, there are two ways to think about it. A red herring in a story (a play, movie, novel, etc.), usually in a mystery or thriller plot, is a misleading clue. It’s a device used to distract the reader/audience’s attention away from the the real plot. Red herrings can be used to heighten suspense or provide a plot twist.

The other type of red herring is an informal logical fallacy. It is an argument tactic in which one party tries to distract from the real issue by introducing something that is unrelated, or only tangentially related.

Here a couple of examples:

Daughter: Hey, Dad, I’ve been doing more chores, can I have a increase in my allowance?

Dad: Hey, it’s funny, you know what I did with my allowance when I was your age? I bought a Nintendo and my buddies and I spend hours after school playing that thing.

So, dear ol’ dad in the above example tried to distract and derail the discussion with an irrelevant tangent about his old Nintendo.

Here’s another:

Reporter: Senator Johnson, would care to speak to the accusation that your new bill won’t reduce unemployment like you claim it will?

Senator Johnson: I have always worked for my constituents and worked to reach across the aisle to work with members of the other party to get things done.

Rather than answer the question, Senator Johnson makes an irrelevant comment about working for his constituents and being bipartisan.

That’s all for today, folks! Have a great day and stay curious!