Anecdotal Fallacy

The anecdotal fallacy is using personal experience instead of a actual fact and content validate an argument. An example of this would be saying that eating a lot of candy won't give you a cavity because John's cousin eats a pound of candy a week regularly, and his teeth are perfectly fine. This gives the idea that just because John's cousin can do that that you can eat a bunch of candy and you won't get a cavity. But what this fallacy fails to realize that everyone is different and that ones persons experience will not be the same as another's.

Another example would an argument that cigarettes don't kill because James smoked a pack of cigarettes a day his whole life and he lived to be 100 then died of old age. The flaw with this is that although James smoked a pack of cigarettes a day and lived to be a 100 without dying from cigarettes, there are statistics that prove that thousands of people have died due to their addiction to cigarettes. This fallacy is used in daily in all types of persuasion, including peer pressure. People fall victim this fallacy because they hear that someone they know went through something risky and came out with no repercussions, so they believe they can do it too regardless of the many facts against it.

This fallacy can be dangerous because it can be misleading. Everybody is different so you shouldn't get caught up in someone else's experience. Rather than one mans experience you should sticking to what the facts say.

"Cigarettes are gonna be the death of you"