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."

General Picking by AbzuInExile January 31, 2026