ADS

American Derangement Syndrome is when someone from a foreign country is envious of the U.S. and believes all of the world's problems stem from America.

"Yo you see that people in foreign countries always talk about the U.S. but we dont gaf about them?"
"Yeah they must have ADS!"

by JaSmoke January 19, 2026

Ad Hominem Fallacy Fallacy

Incorrectly crying "Ad Hominem!" when someone makes a relevant critique of the speaker's background, motives, or qualifications that legitimately affects the argument's weight. Not all personal remarks are fallacious; only those irrelevant to the topic are. This fallacy fallacy weaponizes the term to immunize speakers from any scrutiny of their bias, conflicts of interest, or expertise, treating all such scrutiny as an illegitimate personal attack.

Ad Hominem Fallacy Fallacy Example: A politician arguing for deregulating Big Pharma is revealed to hold millions in pharmaceutical stock. A commentator notes this clear conflict of interest. The politician's supporters scream "Ad hominem!" This is the Ad Hominem Fallacy Fallacy. The financial motive is not a petty insult; it's a devastatingly relevant fact for assessing the argument's integrity.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026

Fallacy Fallacy (Argumentum ad Logicam)

The formal meta-fallacy of concluding that a proposition is false simply because the argument presented for it contains a logical fallacy. This is a critical thinking fail state: you correctly spot flawed reasoning (e.g., an appeal to emotion, a post hoc correlation) but then incorrectly assume the conclusion is therefore untrue. A bad argument for a claim doesn't automatically make the claim wrong; it just means you're still waiting for a good argument.

Fallacy Fallacy (Argumentum ad Logicam) Example: "He argues we should help the poor because it makes us feel good. That's just an appeal to emotion, a fallacy. Therefore, we should not help the poor." This commits the Fallacy Fallacy. The poor might still desperately need help; the speaker has just shot down one weak justification, not disproven the need for the action itself.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026

Law of the Ad Hoc Validity

The principle that arguments, explanations, or solutions constructed for a specific purpose, without broader application, can be valid within that specific context even if they fail elsewhere. The law acknowledges that ad hoc reasoning—devised for the occasion, not generalizable—has its place. In emergency response, ad hoc solutions save lives; in scientific discovery, ad hoc hypotheses guide research; in everyday life, ad hoc explanations get us through the day. The problem arises when ad hoc validity is mistaken for general validity—when the explanation that works for this one case is treated as a universal law. The law of the ad hoc validity reminds us that context matters, and that validity is not binary but situational.

Example: "His excuse for being late—traffic, then a train, then a stray dog—was ad hoc, invented for the occasion. But it was valid ad hoc: it explained this specific lateness to this specific boss on this specific day. The law of the ad hoc validity said: it works for this case; don't try to generalize it. His boss accepted it, which was all that mattered."

by Dumu The Void February 17, 2026

Law of the Valid Ad Hoc

The principle that ad hoc constructions—explanations, arguments, solutions devised for a specific purpose—can be genuinely valid within their limited domain. The law is a defense of pragmatism against purism: not everything needs to be universal to be useful. A theory that explains one phenomenon, even if it fails elsewhere, is valid for that phenomenon. A solution that works once, even if not replicable, is valid for that once. The law of the valid ad hoc reminds us that validity is not all-or-nothing; it comes in degrees and contexts. The valid ad hoc is the workhorse of practical life, even if it doesn't make it into textbooks.

Example: "She jury-rigged a fix for her broken printer using tape and a paperclip. It worked exactly once, for exactly one document, then fell apart. The law of the valid ad hoc said: it was valid for that document, at that moment. It wasn't engineering; it was survival. Sometimes survival is enough."

by Dumu The Void February 17, 2026

Law of the Possible Ad Hoc

The principle that ad hoc constructions are always possible—there is always some explanation, some solution, some argument that can be devised for the specific case, regardless of whether it generalizes. The law acknowledges human creativity: faced with a novel situation, we can always invent something that addresses it, even if that something has no broader application. This is the source of both human ingenuity (we can solve unprecedented problems) and human folly (we can justify anything). The law of the possible ad hoc reminds us that possibility is not the same as validity—just because we can invent an ad hoc explanation doesn't mean it's true.

Example: "He needed an excuse for missing the deadline and, applying the law of the possible ad hoc, invented one on the spot—a family emergency, a computer crash, a mysterious illness. It was possible, plausible, and completely fabricated. The law said: ad hoc is always possible. His boss said: next time, plan better. Both were right."

by Dumu The Void February 17, 2026

Law of the Ad Hoc Possibility

The principle that ad hoc constructions open up possibilities that didn't previously exist—they create new explanations, new solutions, new paths forward that weren't available before. Ad hoc reasoning is not just a fallback; it's a creative act, generating novelty in response to particular situations. The law of the ad hoc possibility celebrates this creativity while warning that not all possibilities are good ones. Ad hoc possibility is the source of innovation (the temporary fix that becomes permanent) and of deception (the lie that works once). It's a tool, neutral in itself, powerful in application.

Example: "Her ad hoc solution to the scheduling conflict—swapping shifts with a colleague, then covering for someone else, then working through lunch—created a possibility that didn't exist before: everyone got what they needed, for one day only. The law of the ad hoc possibility said: this is what ad hoc does—it creates possibilities. The schedule went back to chaos tomorrow, but today worked."

by Dumu The Void February 17, 2026