Analysis Of Neil Degrasse Tyson's Essay Things People Say

In the essay “Things People Say,” Neil Degrasse Tyson undoubtedly addresses common faults in reasoning and thinking in terms of science. He claims there are much more complicated and scientific reasonings behind the North Star, solar eclipse, air resistance, and the equinox than what is typically accounted for. He constantly questions socially believed assumptions while he addresses multiple specific logical fallacies. Tyson makes a list of universally believed statements and demands these as false. This can be rooted from ego problems or ignorance to clarify why this argument must be lame or false. Tyson used multiple logical fallacies himself. He said, “... then white stuff such as snow would reflect this light and appear yellow—a snow condition

confirmed to happen only near fire hydrants.” This is an easy case of non sequitur because the example simply does not follow the pattern of the argument. Next, he has a faulty use of authority when speaking on the behalf of the church—he is a physicist, not a church expert. He uses errors in generalizing when he said, “We all carry some blindly believed knowledge…” because not all people may carry some believed knowledge. In a way, this could also be bandwagon because implying everyone carries blind knowledge is illogical. In other parts of the essay, he avoids using this logical fallacy by avoiding overstatements, which shows how he may have simply been unmindful in certain areas of writing. He could also avoid a multitude of fallacies by simply being open to other ideas instead of instantly claiming previous information as false.