Definitions by Dumu The Void

Arbitrary Dilemma Fallacy

A fallacy, extremely common in politics, where one artificially restricts the range of available options to a false dilemma—typically presenting a limited set of choices as the only possibilities, when others exist. The most famous form is TINA (There Is No Alternative), where a particular policy or system is presented as inevitable because "there's no other choice." Another common form is lesser-evilism, where one is told to support a flawed option because the alternative is supposedly worse—without considering whether other alternatives exist or whether the framing itself is manipulative. "We have to accept this austerity because there's no alternative." "Vote for this corrupt candidate because the other one is even worse." "Support this imperfect policy because the opposition would be catastrophic." The fallacy lies in the arbitrariness of the dilemma: the options presented are treated as exhaustive when they're not, and the criteria for what counts as "worse" are assumed rather than argued. The dilemma is arbitrary because it's constructed to foreclose rather than enable genuine choice.

Example: "She argued that we had to accept the surveillance bill because 'the terrorists win otherwise'—Arbitrary Dilemma Fallacy, presenting a false choice between surveillance and security while ignoring the possibility of security without surveillance."

Arbitrary Dilemma Fallacy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Arbitrary Analogy Fallacy

A fallacy where one dismisses an argument, claim, or position by comparing it arbitrarily to something universally derided—Flat Earth theory, anti-vaxxers, tinfoil hats, or other culturally recognized symbols of irrationality—without establishing a substantive logical connection. The fallacy lies in the arbitrariness of the comparison: rather than engaging with the actual argument, the speaker simply invokes a stigmatized label, relying on cultural disgust to do the work of refutation. "That's just like Flat Earthers." "You sound like an anti-vaxxer." "Next you'll be wearing a tinfoil hat." The comparison is arbitrary because the logical relationship between the target argument and the stigmatized position is never demonstrated—they're just associated through rhetorical gesture. This fallacy is particularly powerful because it bypasses reasoning entirely, triggering emotional rejection rather than intellectual engagement. It's the lazy debater's way of dismissing without thinking.

Example: "He raised legitimate questions about media consolidation, and she responded with 'oh, so you're a conspiracy theorist now?'—Arbitrary Analogy Fallacy, using the stigma of conspiracy to avoid engaging with actual concerns."

Arbitrary Analogy Fallacy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Dry Flat Road Fallacy

A logical fallacy representing the opposite of the slippery slope—the unwarranted assumption that a present bad situation, negative trend, or harmful policy will inevitably lead to positive outcomes in the future, without evidence for this optimistic trajectory. Where the slippery slope argues that a small step will lead to disaster, the dry flat road argues that current troubles are just a flat, featureless stretch that will eventually deliver us to sunny uplands. "Yes, inequality is rising, but it will eventually force systemic change that leads to justice." "Yes, the environment is degrading, but necessity will drive innovation that saves us." "Yes, working conditions are worsening, but this will radicalize workers and bring revolution." The fallacy lies in treating "it could get better" as "it will get better"—projecting desired outcomes onto the future without mechanism, evidence, or timeline. Like a dry flat road that seems to promise an easy journey but may lead anywhere, this fallacy comforts without justifying.

Example: "He dismissed every concern about authoritarian trends with 'this will eventually lead to a popular uprising that restores democracy'—Dry Flat Road Fallacy, treating a hoped-for future as inevitable just because the present is bleak."

Dry Flat Road Fallacy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Whac-A-Mole Bias

A cognitive bias where a person focuses obsessively on the negative actions, flaws, or problems associated with minority groups or marginalized individuals, while systematically ignoring external factors, structural conditions, and the equivalent or worse actions of majority groups or society as a whole. Like the arcade game, the biased person's attention darts from one negative example to another, "whacking" each perceived problem with criticism—but never looking at the broader context or the behavior of the dominant group. A commentator who endlessly highlights crimes committed by immigrants while ignoring crimes committed by native-born citizens exhibits Whac-A-Mole Bias. A pundit who blames poverty on poor people's choices while ignoring systemic economic forces exhibits the same pattern. The bias lies in selective attention: problems affecting or caused by marginalized groups are hypervisible, while identical or worse problems among dominant groups are invisible. The result is a systematically distorted picture of social reality that reinforces existing hierarchies.

Example: "He could recite every statistic about crime in minority neighborhoods but had no idea about white-collar crime rates or political corruption—Whac-A-Mole Bias, whacking every visible mole while the whole lawn is infested."

Whac-A-Mole Bias by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Psychiatric Orthodoxy

The established, institutionalized set of beliefs and practices that define mainstream psychiatry—the often-unexamined assumptions about mental illness, diagnosis, treatment, and the role of psychiatry in society. Psychiatric orthodoxy includes commitments: that mental disorders are brain disorders, that diagnosis is objective, that DSM categories name real diseases, that medication is often the best treatment, that psychiatric authority is legitimate, that the current psychiatric system is basically sound, that critics are anti-science or anti-treatment. Like all orthodoxies, it provides frameworks for understanding and treating mental distress, but it functions as institutional power—determining who gets diagnosed with what, what treatments are covered, who counts as mentally ill, and what alternatives are marginalized. Psychiatric orthodoxy shapes not just how we treat mental distress but what we think mental distress is, making particular conceptions of illness seem natural and alternatives (social, psychological, spiritual) seem insufficient.

Example: "She suggested that some distress might be social rather than medical—and was accused of denying mental illness. Psychiatric orthodoxy had made its framework feel like the only way to take suffering seriously."

Psychiatric Orthodoxy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Psychological Orthodoxy

The established, institutionalized set of beliefs about human nature that dominate psychological discourse and popular understanding—the often-unexamined assumptions about how people work, what drives behavior, what mental health means, and how change happens. Psychological orthodoxy includes commitments: that the individual is the unit of analysis, that early experience determines adult outcomes, that mental disorders are individual pathologies, that therapy should focus on individual change, that psychological categories (personality, intelligence, disorder) name real things, that Western psychological concepts are universal. Like all orthodoxies, it provides frameworks for understanding self and other, but it functions as ideology—making particular conceptions of personhood seem natural and universal, obscuring how psychological categories are culturally and historically specific, and delegitimizing alternative understandings (collectivist, spiritual, structural). Psychological orthodoxy determines what counts as "healthy" vs "pathological," what explanations are "insightful" vs "superficial," and who counts as "psychologically minded" vs "naive."

Example: "He explained social problems in terms of individual psychology—as if inequality were a matter of personal growth. Psychological orthodoxy had made the individual feel like the only level of analysis."

Psychological Orthodoxy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026

Psycho-Orthodoxy

The established, institutionalized set of beliefs that dominate mainstream psychology—the often-unexamined assumptions about how to study mind, what counts as psychological knowledge, what methods are valid, and what theories are acceptable. Psycho-orthodoxy includes commitments: that quantitative methods are superior, that laboratory experiments reveal psychological truth, that statistical significance matters more than effect size, that Western populations represent humanity, that individual behavior is the right level of analysis, that psychological findings are universal, that replication crises are methodological rather than theoretical. Like all orthodoxies, it provides a framework for psychological research, but it functions as gatekeeping—determining what research is published, what theories are taught, who gets tenure, and what questions are worth asking. Psycho-orthodoxy shapes not just what we know about mind but what we think it's possible to know, making certain approaches feel scientific and others "soft" or "unscientific."

Example: "Her qualitative research on lived experience was rejected as 'not real psychology'—psycho-orthodoxy, where method defines the field rather than questions. The orthodoxy's power is making its preferences feel like standards."

Psycho-Orthodoxy by Dumu The Void March 17, 2026