Star Trek Logical Thinking
http://www.danhausertrek.com/AnimatedSeries/Logic.html
Golden Age Animation; Series (Drama) — Ridgecrest, CA, USA
In October of 2013 Curt Danhauser started putting out “Star Trek Logical Thinking” in the style of the Public Service Announcements which might have been used on Filmation's 1973-75 Animated STAR TREK series on NBC, where the logical Mr Spock corrects crew members who he overhears employing a logical fallacy in their discussions.
As Curt says, “using the Vulcan science officer to educate them in proper reasoning is ‘Only Logical’."
Episodes
0: Proper Reasoning (Valid Logic)
0 — 02min 40sec — 23 June 2021
Mister Spock overhears a discussion between Commander Scott and Lt Sulu and feels compelled to comment. A great introduction to this series and the subject of logical reasoning in general.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BUqMNVnELzE
Actually the 31st episode of this series, Curt explains on the "What's New" page of his website, "This 0th Logic Lesson is about Proper or Good Reasoning as opposed to all of the other logic lessons which display fallaceous reasoning."
Our ReviewAs Curt explains, it works well as an introduction to the series to have an example of good logic: it's no use telling people what bad logical reasoning is unless they know what good logical reasoning is - Kirok
1: Argumentum Ad Populum (Appeal of the Majority)
1 — 01min 59sec — 06 October 2013
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xkoMdnCS6Og
2: Ignorato Elenchi (Irrelevant Conclusion)
2 — 02min 10sec — 20 October 2013
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UzroWL3NlZA
3: Petitio Principii (Circular Reasoning)
3 — 02min 08sec — 08 January 2014
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/c_fOyxk7DdU
4: Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (False Cause)
4 — 01min 52sec — 09 February 2014
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h9AGegx8izY
5: Straw Man Fallacy
5 — 02min 09sec — 16 October 2015
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gVze3BvjZA
6: Ad Hominem
6 — 02min 48sec — 10 January 2016
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahM2CXZx80o
7: Argumentum Ad Antiquitam (Appeal to Tradition)
7 — 02min 16sec — 01 November 2017
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIaYrXRLzSA
8: Argumentum Ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)
8 — 02min 28sec — 15 December 2017
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVQvmy1rx4c
9: Confirmation Bias & Sunk Cost Fallacy
9 — 03min 14sec — 20 January 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOn8EiniFE
10: Argumentum Ad Vercundiam
10 — 01min 51sec — 21 February 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5k4yUSPHI8
11: False Compromise
11 — 02min 37sec — 17 March 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pJnmwDutrM
12: Halo Effect and Gambler's Fallacy
12 — 03min 09sec — 20 April 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfQSnMwnH50
13: Argumentum Ad Ignorantium (Appeal to Ignorance)
13 — 02min 47sec — 18 May 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCijKuS5YA
14: Single Cause Fallacy(Complex Cause)
14 — 02min 38sec — 03 July 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1UDOdtenHE0
15: Complex Questions(False Dilemma)
15 — 01min 53sec — 25 July 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5azN-hTb6Pk
16: Conjunction Fallacy
16 — 02min 34sec — 24 August 2018
Mirror Universe Spock of the I.S.S. Enterprise gives this lesson authorised by the Imperial Indoctrination Directive
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-SX4E3hsjCw
17: Fallacy of the Inverse
17 — 02min 41sec — 24 August 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fQ3Md3CZxks
18: Affirming the Consequent
18 — 02min 00sec — 25 October 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zqSlij2Idgg
19: Argument from Incredulity
19 — 02min 46sec — 23 November 2018
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/juFsA25b9EY
20: Appeal to Emotion
20 — 02min 28sec — 24 January 2019
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cxrqdL-tD-M
21: Argumentum Ad Nauseam
21 — 03min 11sec — 24 February 2019
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_PuhugWBehk
22: Hasty Generalization
22 — 02min 53sec — 21 March 2019
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rVUAi6A4u44
23: Ipse Dixit Fallacy or "It Simply Is"
23 — 02min 50sec — 18 May 2019
Spock corrects the logic of Harcourt Fenton Mudd and Cyrano Jones in their shared cell in the brig of the Enterprise. Those other prisoners look familiar as well!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zhpMLx7lC1w
24: Argument from Fallacy or Bad Reasons Fallacy
24 — 03min 16sec — 28 June 2019
Harry Mudd tries out some logic on Cyrano Jones but Spock see's a problem with it. The Enterprise has picked up some more strange prisoners!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Z7gnC7veFhk
25: Zero Sum Bias
25 — 02min 38sec — 24 December 2020
Spock corrects the biasses of two of the more unique members of the Animated Series Enterprise
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9ow-Rk1fx9w
26: Double Standard
26 — 02min 52sec — 21 January 2021
Spock tries once again to correct Harry Mudd's problematic logic!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yPilTtX1kwQ
27: Appeal to Motive (Vested Interest)
27 — 02min 25sec — 25 February 2021
Commander Spock of the ISS Enterprise corrects two bridge crew who use faulty logic. Authorized by the Imperial Indoctrination Directive.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HCjv5JUZ-Ik
28: Wishful Thinking
28 — 02min 24sec — 25 March 2021
Wishful thinking can be fun to fantasise with but has no place in making logical decisions as Spock points out to Yeaoman Rand and Nurse Chapel.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/iSVPsHpkamE
29: Red Herring (Diversionary Tactic)
29 — 02min 11sec — 22 April 2021
Spock is back on the shuttle with two of the alien members of the crew. Logical fallacies are not, it would seem, a purely human trait!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/grbzUaieZoQ
30: False Analogy
30 — 03min 39sec — 27 May 2021
Harry Mudd is trying to put one over on Cyrano again
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kMgHXjcBO5E
31: Fallacy of the Undistributed Middle
31 — 01min 35sec — 29 July 2021
If animals are lifeforms and you find some lifeforms... Co starring Dawson Walking Bear and M'Ress
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cFyy3PfksLM
32: Slippery Slope Fallacy
32 — 02min 17sec — 26 August 2021
The Imperial Indoctrination Directive shows how Spock keeps a tight reign on illogical behaviour even in the Mirror Universe!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UcUmqarAR80
33: Not As Bad As
33 — 02min 44sec — 23 September 2021
Sulu is being dismissal of Chekov's point, oh my!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h6NfU-ybtXY
34: Entitled to My Opinion (Agree to Disagree)
34 — 03min 20sec — 28 October 2021
Harry Mudd and Cyrano Jones agree to disagree but Spock points out that this doesn't actually resolve the issue.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xpoz3a_4bJs
Curt Danhauser messaged us to say, "This logic lesson features a cameo by Lieutenant Leslie who was portrayed by Eddie Paskey in the original series. Mr. Paskey passed away on August 17 of this year and so I put him in as an homage."
35: Appeal to Consequences
35 — 02min 37sec — 25 November 2021
Just because one outcome is more desirable than another doesn't make it any more likely.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/97MZFQUN2fQ
36: Appeal to Novelty
36 — 02min 14sec — 23 December 2021
When discussing how to do things, which are better: the old ways or the new ways?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yiR7kRyszA8
37: Bulverism (Identity Fallacy)
37 — 02min 21sec — 27 January 2022
"You like breaking into teams of two because you always want to go off alone with Sulu... to learn all his best tactical maneuvers." Sounds logical to me.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rGtIGA0c01s
38: Base Rate Neglect (Base Rate Fallacy)
38 — 03min 30sec — 24 February 2022
Statistics never lie ...but they *are* open to interpretation!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Z0a63tG2yPI
39: Argumentum Ad Misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)
39 — 02min 59sec — 24 March 2022
An appeal to emotion is bound to fail with Spock!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/th7DnIFAA6A
40: Equivocation (A Fallacy of Ambiguity)
40 — 03min 37sec — 28 April 2022
"You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eiWpZk2RTqI
41: Cherry Picking
41 — 03min 08sec — 25 May 2022
A very important decision that demands unquestionable logic! Who should go first for shore leave?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h80hXKpz46U
42: Argument from Anecdote (Anecdotal Fallacy)
42 — 02min 48sec — 23 June 2022
Anecdotal evidence isn't worth the paper it is written on!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ud71f0m_tfw
43: False Equivalence (A Fallacy of Inconsistency)
43 — 03min 15sec — 28 July 2022
Besides interesting insights into logic, I always find it fascinating to spot who is in the other cells with Harry Mudd & Cyrano.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2C0-7GBgIjc
44: Two Wrongs Fallacy
44 — 04min 38sec — 25 August 2022
The crew of the Enterprise have a welcome change of pace with a piano recital from Flint.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/K7TX64fSVk0
45: Composition & Division Fallacies
45 — 02min 31sec — 08 September 2022
The Imperial Indoctrination Directive of the Mirror Universe has released another lesson in logic. Continued failure to comply will mean a meeting with The Agonizer!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CB7dGajgkCQ
46: The Clustering Illusion
46 — 02min 53sec — 27 October 2022
Fun fact: J'Karl, the green guy and Thrax, the purple guy are from "The Museum at the End of Time" written by the late Len Wein in Issue 15, August 1972, of the Gold Key Star Trek comic. Thrax made an unspeaking cameo in Curt's "Ptolemy Wept" and both had speaking roles in "The Quintain".
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AknnTbENqdk
47: Hindsight Bias (Postdiction)
47 — 02min 24sec — 24 November 2022
Hindsight is not always 20/20 vision
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JK6ShT1Olto
48: Whataboutism (Tu Quoque)
48 — 03min 20sec — 22 December 2022
Is it my imagination or are Harry and Cyrano starting to get on each other's nerves? Spock might need to break up the next tiff they have with a nerve pinch!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6vrhIvQuwZc
49: Just World Fallacy
49 — 02min 47sec — 23 January 2023
We want a just world but as Spock said in 'The Undiscovered Country', "What you want is irelevant."
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9PGAm_Yduwk
50: Appeal to Ridicule
50 — 02min 41sec — 23 February 2023
I see an agonizer in Sulu's future.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ooZg0LNGAuc
51: Guilt (Or Honor) By Association
51 — 04min 22sec — 23 March 2023
It's important to note that even in the Star Trek future, humans will still be liable to make logical mistakes, they are no different than you or I. Luckily they have Spock to keep them on the straight and narrow!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3YzZFWcHcjo
52: Black Swan (Absence of Evidence Is Evidence of Absence)
52 — 02min 39sec — 27 April 2023
Spock schools Chekov and Sulu on their logic. The probability of something being true might be infinitesimally small but never zero
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/u8ul4f_-uOw
53: Neglect Of Probability (Cognitive Bias)
53 — 02min 47sec — 25 May 2023
It stands to reason that Spock would defend the logic of probability against personal bias.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UxqXot5WGnY
54: Poisoning the Well
54 — 02min 30sec — 22 June 2023
We've all seen this happen before. Spock explains why it flies in the face of logic
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Bzym4cNXQ1c
55: If-By-Whiskey Fallacy (Subjectivist Fallacy)
55 — 03min 54sec — 27 July 2023
Supporting both sides of a debate resolves nothing. Pop icons shown in this epsode include Gazoo, Quisp and Starship Exeter's B'fuselek
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/e10mGoh78l4
56: Argument by Gaslighting
56 — 05min 29sec — 24 August 2023
Spock catches someone out.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2nPUjf8NoPc?si=6AO5ZJEJvUrO9P4S
57: The Motte-and-Bailey Fallacy
57 — 04min 00sec — 28 September 2023
It’s interesting to put a name to these logical fallacies that we can all recognise
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2noqfaLNlzs
58: Relativist Fallacy (Fallacy of "Your" Truth)
58 — 04min 36sec — 26 October 2023
Logic dictates that there is only one ‘truth'
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MH8vYmLkxX0
59: Moving the Goalposts
59 — 02min 15sec — 18 November 2023
I’m surprised that Sulu would do this but we could put it down to just being overly cautious, perhaps?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s_J4dgWFU3w
60: Nirvana Fallacy (Perfectionist Fallacy)
60 — 02min 59sec — 09 December 2023
Just because we can’t achieve perfection doesn’t mean we should stop striving for it!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cxg46ZnzsM0
61: Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy
61 — 03min 25sec — 06 January 2024
The Imperial Indoctrination Directive has released another PSA to correct logical errors that you would be ‘advised’ not to make. You have been warned.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/9HMHbC2DO-A
62: Presentism (Cultural Bias)
62 — 03min 11sec — 03 February 2024
A very topical issue! William Shatner recently used this in a Tweet about a British tabloid article.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/f39L_TQVr5s
63: Bad Faith & False Attribution
63 — 05min 05sec — 02 March 2024
Loose lips sink… careers? Markel shows himself to be unsuitable for command once again!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eGBWN9QELRc
64: Hypocrisy (False Pretenses)
64 — 04min 33sec — 06 April 2024
There’s an alternate universe where Commander Therin was the logical Science Officer of The Enterprise…
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/P6o2z0T4ViY
65: Fallacy of the False Premise (Unsound Argument)
65 — 05min 02sec — 04 May 2024
Like a wall, an arguement is only as sound as it's foundations
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WyfIScL-6Rc
66: Dogmatism (Zealotry)
67: The Forer (Barnum) Effect - Cognitive Bias
67 — 03min 27sec — 06 July 2024
Wishful thinking might be pleasant but it’s not a sound basis for decision making
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/DcgIisxahuM
68: Statement Of Conversion
68 — 03min 13sec — 03 August 2024
Everybody trusts Security, right?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cx5C5CFq-rg
69: Special Pleading (Selective Adherence)
69 — 02min 57sec — 07 September 2024
No more Plomeek soup for you!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qVat9zRXmWI
70: Proof By Example (Inappropriate Generalization)
70 — 02min 37sec — 05 October 2024
Proof has to be rigourous – one or two examples aren’t worth betting your shirt on.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NjntoaujuF0?si
71: Overwhelming Exception
71 — 04min 36sec — 02 November 2024
OK, OK… but what has the federation done for us *recently*?
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/tUnejyMrCRw
More from Curt Danhauser's Guide to Animated Star Trek
Curt Danhauser's Guide to Animated Star Trek also created Star Trek Public Service Announcements, Klingon PSA: Warrior's Lessons, Curt Danhauser's Guide to Animated Star Trek and Curt Danhauser's Guide To The Star Trek Story Records.
