Fallacies

These are some factual fallacies and examples so you can avoid them

Strawmanning

Strawmanning is when someone misrepresents or distorts another person's argument or position in order to make it easier to attack or refute. It involves creating a weaker version of the opposing argument that is easier to attack, rather than engaging with the actual argument that was presented.

Argument: We should look into fuzz testing to imporve safety and reliability, here is a library for fuzz testing provided by LLVM foundation
Refutation: We shouldn't do things because they are cool and it'll take 2 months at the very least

Bikeshedding

Bikeshedding, also known as Parkinson's law of triviality, is a phenomenon where people focus on small, unimportant details while ignoring more complex or critical issues. The term comes from the idea that people will spend more time discussing the color of a bike shed than the design of a nuclear power plant, even though the latter is much more important. It can happen in group discussions, meetings, and decision-making processes, where people tend to prioritize simpler and less controversial topics to avoid conflicts and feel more productive.

Argument: We should have GPIO pins on the SUCK so that we can have some level of future-proof and modularity
Refutation: No! We should call them "unused" pins

Red herring

Introducing a secondary issue that is often irrelevant or misleading in order to divert attention from the main topic or argument.

Argument: We should have a hybrid rocket engine and test it rigorously
Refutation: But what colour are you going to paint the test stand?

Ad hominem

Attacking the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.

Argument: We should use a platform agnostic toolchain
Refutation: You are a dumb person!

Appeal to authority

An argument from authority standpoint is when someone uses the opinion or testimony of an authority figure to support their argument, even when the authority figure is not an expert on the subject. It involves relying on the credibility of the authority figure rather than on the evidence or reasoning for the argument. This fallacy can be misleading because not all authority figures are experts in every field, and their opinions may not be relevant or accurate in certain contexts.

Argument: We don't need a central data logger, as it increases complexity
Refutation: We should because uWaterloo does it

D: ...voltage regulator heat sink was cut off...
A: Also what do you mean regulator was cut off??
D: The heat sink Part
A: Did you do the math before doing that?
D: Yes, Math is it won’t matter
A: show math pls
D: I doubled checked my thoughts with Austin last night

False Dilemma

Presenting only two options when there are actually more.

Argument: We should use Rust to ensure memory safety, for critical tasks
Refutation: We are using C++, we can use either C++ or Rust

False cause

Assuming that because two events occurred together, one caused the other.

Argument: An elevator is not a analogous environment to a rocket
Refutation: The code does not work

Second System Synrome

The tendency of small, elegant, and successful systems to be succeeded by over-engineered, bloated systems, due to inflated expectations and overconfidence.