Words at Play : Top 10 Words for Useful & Intriguing Concepts
#5: Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
Definition:
the logical mistake that one thing caused another just because it happened first
Example:
"Jen blamed the onset of her headache on the arrival of her in-laws, but that might just have been post hoc, ergo propter hoc."
About the Word:
This Latin phrase literally means "after this, therefore because of it." This error in logic is sometimes summed up as "correlation doesn't equal causation."
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