Steelman
Personal incredulity
Also called argument from incredulity, argument from lack of imagination.
“I can’t imagine how that could be true, so it isn’t.”
What it is
Rejecting a claim because it is hard to understand or imagine, or accepting an alternative because one can’t imagine how else things could be.
The pattern
I can’t see how X could be true. Therefore X is false.
An example
“I just can’t see how a tiny change in the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide could affect the whole planet’s climate. It must be exaggerated.”
Difficulty picturing a mechanism isn’t evidence against it. The physics has been measured and tested.
Why it fails
How easily one person can picture something is a fact about that person, not about the world. Much of science (quantum physics, deep time, germ theory) seemed unimaginable before the evidence came in.
When it’s not a fallacy
Most lists skip this part. Calling a fair point a fallacy is a mistake too.
It can be fair when
- Surprise prompts you to ask for evidence or an explanation. That’s healthy skepticism; the error is treating the surprise itself as evidence.
Try one
A question from the app. The wrong answers are its usual look-alikes.
Group chat. Ava: “Esports take real physical skill. Pro StarCraft players hit 300 to 400 actions a minute. The game logs every click, and you can watch the replays slowed down.” Ben: “Four hundred a minute? That’s six or seven every second, for a whole match. Nobody’s hands move like that, and that stat is padded somehow. I’d still watch a final with you, though.”
What’s the flaw?
Ava gave the number and where it comes from: the game’s own logs and replays anyone can slow down. Ben rejects it only because the speed sounds impossible to him, without checking either one.
A fair reply
“Watch a replay at quarter speed with me, and if the clicks aren’t there, I’ll drop the number.”
Often confused with
- Appeal to ignorance
Appeal to ignorance points to a lack of proof. Personal incredulity points to a lack of imagination.
Where the name comes from
Incredulity means being unable to believe something, from the Latin for “not believing”, the same root as “incredible”. “Personal” is the clue: the doubt comes from one person’s gut, not from the evidence. “Argument from lack of imagination” puts it bluntly: I can’t picture how it works, so it can’t be true.
Sources
- Argument from incredulity, Wikipedia
In the app
Practice spotting it on arguments that sound real.
Steelman has more examples of personal incredulity, how to answer it in a real conversation, and practice rounds that mix it with its look-alikes, so you learn the difference, not just the name. Coming soon to iPhone and Android.
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