FALLACY OF THE DAY: FALSE CAUSE AKA: Mistaking correlation for causation, Post hoc ergo propter hoc DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION: The false cause fallacy assumes that two events are causally connected when they aren’t. It’s human nature to search for explanations by finding patterns and connecting the dots. Maybe you ate a sandwich for lunch and threw up later. Or maybe you used homeopathy and your headache went away. But are these events causally related? We often don’t know, yet assume we do. So

In her statement, #LindaMcMahon employs the logical fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc, suggesting that because the Department of Education (DOE) was established in 1980 and student scores have declined since, the DOE’s existence is the cause of this decline. This oversimplifies the issue by attributing causation without considering other contributing factors. Additionally, she uses a false dilemma by implying that federal oversight and local control are mutually exclusive, ignoring the potent