The fallacious belief that only that which can be quantified, digitally encoded, or formally computed is "real" or constitutes valid knowledge. It dismisses qualitative experiences, subjective consciousness, moral intuitions, and analog phenomena as "illusions" or "epiphenomena" because they cannot be fully captured in a discrete, measurable data stream. It's a form of extreme reductionism that mistakes the map (the informational model) for the territory (lived reality).
Example: "Love is just a biochemical algorithm for gene propagation. If you can't model it in a neural network or measure it in serotonin levels, it's not a real phenomenon, just a story we tell." This statement commits the Informational Fallacy by asserting that the computable aspect is the only reality, reducing a rich human experience to mere data processing.
by Dumuabzu February 3, 2026
Get the Informational Fallacy mug.Meta-fallacies that arise from the misapplication or abuse of informal fallacy labels (e.g., ad hominem, straw man, slippery slope) within discourse. These are tactical errors in rhetorical analysis. They happen when someone slaps an informal fallacy label on an argument incorrectly, uses the label as a conversation-stopper without justification, or employs fallacy accusations in a one-sided, partisan way to protect their own side from criticism. It’s using the vocabulary of critical thinking to avoid the practice of it.
Informal Meta-Fallacies Example: In a debate, someone accurately summarizes an opponent's position to show its weakness. The opponent shouts, "Straw man!" even though the summary was fair. This incorrect accusation is an Informal Meta-Fallacy; it weaponizes the name of a fallacy to falsely claim misrepresentation and derail the refutation.
by Dumu The Void February 4, 2026
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