General Picking

The standard form of cherry-picking: selectively choosing data or examples that support a general claim while ignoring a significant portion of relevant, contrary data. It’s the most common method of constructing a misleading yet seemingly reasonable argument, where the selected evidence is truthful but the resulting picture is false because it’s incomplete.

Example: "The ad used general picking to sell the supplement: 'Studies show increased vitality!' It picked the two small, company-funded studies with positive results and ignored the fifty independent studies showing no effect beyond a placebo. The general claim was built on a specially picked foundation."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Special Picking

A more insidious form of selection that focuses on extraordinary, anomalous, or extreme cases and presents them as representative of the whole. It often involves picking the most emotionally charged or bizarre examples to provoke outrage or fear, making rational assessment of the typical case impossible.

Example: "The debate turned into special picking when he argued against immigration by focusing solely on the one, highly publicized crime committed by an immigrant last year. By specially picking this extreme, traumatic outlier, he painted a picture of universal threat, drowning out all statistical reality."

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Bending Picking

The selective curation and presentation of data in a way that not only omits contrary evidence, but actively twists or misrepresents the chosen data points to force them to fit a predetermined narrative. It goes beyond cherry-picking into data-wrangling; it’s putting the facts on a rack to stretch them into the desired shape. Charts with manipulated axes, quotes taken grotesquely out of context, or statistics presented with misleading comparisons are all tools of the bending picker.

*Example: "The lobbyist's report was a masterclass in bending picking. He took a study showing a 2% risk reduction in a specific lab mouse model, presented it as a '20% relative improvement' on a logarithmically-scaled graph, and declared the chemical 'virtually risk-free' for humans."*

by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026

Logical Picking

The fallacy of constructing a logical argument (syllogism, deduction) that is formally valid but begins with premises that are themselves cherry-picked, biased, or arbitrarily defined to force a desired conclusion. It's the illusion of sound reasoning built on rigged foundations. You follow the rules of logic perfectly, but you started the game with a stacked deck of premises. The argument is valid, but not sound.

Logical Picking *Example: Premise 1 (Cherry-picked): Major cities run by Party X have high crime rates. Premise 2 (Arbitrary): High crime is the only metric of governance. Conclusion (Logically picked): Therefore, Party X is inherently bad at governance. The logic is flawless, but the premises ignore cities' unique contexts and all other governance metrics, like education or infrastructure.*

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026

Academic Picking

The scholarly malpractice of selectively citing only the literature, methodologies, or data that support one's hypothesis or theoretical allegiance, while ignoring or dismissing significant contrary work. This creates an artificial consensus within a publication or field, making a position appear more robust and uncontested than it is. It's cherry-picking with footnotes, using the veneer of academic rigor to disguise intellectual dishonesty.

Academic Picking Example: A psychologist writing a paper on the benefits of a strict parenting style cites ten studies showing correlations with high achievement, but academically picks by omitting five major, peer-reviewed studies linking the same style to increased anxiety and depression in children. The resulting literature review presents a skewed, non-representative "state of the field."

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026

Cognitive Picking

The inherent, unconscious operation of the human brain to selectively attend to, remember, and process information that confirms existing beliefs, expectations, or emotional states (Confirmation Bias), while filtering out dissonant data. This is the biological and psychological root of all cherry-picking; our wetware is wired to be a prejudiced curator. We don't just pick facts; our perception itself is a picky editor.

Example: After buying a red Honda, you suddenly see red Hondas everywhere. This is Cognitive Picking. Your brain has tuned its perceptual filter to notice confirming instances (other red Hondas) while ignoring the thousands of other cars you pass. Your reality becomes a curated exhibit of your own recent choices.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026

Scientific Picking

The deliberate or institutionalized practice within scientific research of selecting only hypotheses, experimental designs, data, or analyses that are likely to yield a preferred, publishable, or fundable result. This includes p-hacking, HARKing (Hypothesizing After Results are Known), and the file drawer problem (not publishing null results). It corrupts the scientific process by making the literature a curated museum of "successes," not an accurate map of reality.

Scientific Picking *Example: A pharmaceutical company runs 20 trials on a new drug. The two that show a mild positive effect (likely by chance) are published. The 18 showing no effect or harm are filed away. This Scientific Picking creates a public, peer-reviewed "fact" of the drug's efficacy that is a complete statistical mirage.*

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026