Hasty and Sweeping Generalizations

The fallacies I chose to write about are hasty generalization and sweeping generalization. A hasty generalization is basically a fancy way of saying when people jump to conclusions or an over generalization. It’s taken from a smaller sample of something, so that people assume just because it’s true for a small population it’s true for everyone. The book Writing & Rhetoric specifically defines it as, “A conclusion formed on scant evidence” (McInelly & Jackson 89). 

I can avoid this in the future by thinking before writing or saying any general assumption. Instead of saying something like “it hasn’t snowed yet in Utah, so it must not have snowed any where in the world yet” I could change it to “it hasn’t snowed yet in Utah, has it snowed in any other place in the world?” Even that isn’t the best way; the smartest option would be to not say anything like that at all unless you have concrete evidence proving it. I’ve encountered this fallacy in my life before when peer reviewing papers and someone makes a generalization about everyone likes this or that.

            

A sweeping generalization is almost exactly like a hasty generalization, but regarding two situations that don’t always go together. The book’s definition for a sweeping generalization is, “Applying a statement that is true for one particular situation to another situation without considering how the two situations differ” (McInelly & Jackson 89). It would be something like, “I didn’t study at all for the test, and I got a pretty good grade, therefore no one needs to study for the test to get a good grade!” Just because it’s true for one person doesn’t mean it’s true for every scenario. There will probably be a lot of students that don’t study and still get a bad grade (that right there, my friends, was a sweeping generalization. You’re welcome). 

In the past I’ve heard the sweeping generalization fallacy in many situations. My parents have told me before to get me to practice piano that some famous pianist just practiced a lot when he was little and now he’s super good, so if I just practice every day I can become famous. Now, while practicing would have helped me become a more accomplished pianist, it isn’t very likely that just practicing every day could make me famous. It’s best to try to avoid these fallacies as best you can.