00:08 Logic is built up of ideas called premises. 00:11 Even if they seem logical, it's important to pay attention to those premises 00:15 to make sure that they're not made of straw. 00:18 Straw-man arguments are off-topic, oversimplified, exaggerated, or subtly 00:23 twisted versions of your argument, 00:26 that others can easily knock over, while still appearing logical. 00:30 For example, perhaps you're discussing whether vaccinations can help reduce the number 00:35 of people who fall sick from a particular virus. 00:38 In response, another person puts forward a counter-argument claiming pharmaceutical 00:43 companies make large profits by selling vaccines. The focus of the argument is 00:48 being shifted from the benefits of vaccination to profiteering. 00:52 It's also easy to think everybody agrees with your starting premises. 00:56 But, misunderstandings or false premises can be slipped in. 01:00 For example, you can say that the measles make you sick, 01:03 the measles vaccine contains the measles virus and therefore the measles vaccine 01:08 makes you sick. 01:10 On these simplified facts this conclusion is logical. 01:14 But the premises might not be so solid. 01:17 You need to show that the measles vaccine which contains the same virus is 01:21 present in the form that makes you sick. 01:24 The measles vaccine actually contains a broken form of the virus that reproduces 01:27 slowly and doesn't make you sick. 01:31 This is a subtle, but rather significant difference. 01:33 Even oversimplifying a disagreement down to for and against, true or false, 01:38 black and white, 01:39 may be used to mislead you. 01:41 Remember, there can be more than one solution.