✅ Checkpoint: Claims, Fallacies, and Bias

By Better Wise

Quiz

  1. A city council member says: "The new bike lanes will draw 40,000 riders in their first month." Which label fits best?
    • A testable claim, because evidence could confirm or refute it
    • An unfalsifiable claim, because no observation could contradict it
    • A fact, because it is a specific number
    • An opinion, because it is about what the council member wants
  2. A headline reads: "New drop-off lane causes punctuality." Tardies fell after the lane opened. Which fallacy is this?
    • Straw man
    • False authority
    • Ad hominem
    • Correlation to causation
  3. You believe a new policy cut costs. Which search would best counter confirmation bias?
    • Searching "new policy saves money" and reading the top two results
    • Skipping the search because you already read one article that agrees
    • Asking a chatbot to confirm that the policy cut costs
    • Searching "new policy cost overrun" or "critics say policy costs money"
  4. A friend says a study found that "students who use laptops in class score 15 percent lower." What is the anchoring effect here, and what is the best defense?
    • The 15 percent pulls your judgment toward it; make your own rough estimate before accepting the number
    • The 15 percent is a rate, so it must be accurate; accept it as a fact
    • The number is an opinion; no evidence could settle it
    • The number is vivid, so it is an availability effect; ignore all studies
  5. A statement that expresses a preference, value, or evaluation, rather than something evidence could settle, is an ____.
  6. The technique of considering the opposite requires you to ____ the opposing view, that is, state its strongest fair version.
  7. Take a claim you strongly disagree with. Write two sentences stating it as fairly as you can (steelman), then write one question that would check its strongest piece of evidence. Then evaluate your own work against the rubric.
  8. Rewrite the vague statement "Our customer service is much better now" so that evidence could confirm or refute it. Then name the specific evidence you would collect. Evaluate your rewrite against the rubric.

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