The more detailed a story is, the more you should believe it—right? This fallacy, known as the conjunction fallacy, takes advantage of your brain's tendency to conflate plausibility and probability. A short and engaging video explains this fallacy and its relevance in our world of conspiracy theories and "fake news."

Concepts

logical fallacies, riddles, probability, Media Literacy

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use in a unit on media literacy
• Show the video to high schoolers at the beginning of the year before reading controversial texts or articles about current issues
• Test the theory; have groups write stories that may or may not be true, and see if their peers can overcome the conjunction fallacy to discern the truth

Classroom Considerations

• Once the video is over, a short assessment begins, making it difficult to return and review the video

Pros

• Provides additional links for more research and information
• Video is thought provoking for learners of all skill levels

Cons

• None