https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gish_gallop

Gish gallop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Dubious debating technique

The Gish gallop is a rhetorical technique in which a debater attempts
to overwhelm an opponent by excessive number of arguments, without
regard for the accuracy or strength of those arguments. The term was
coined by Eugenie Scott, who named it after Duane Gish. Scott argued
that Gish used the technique frequently when challenging the
scientific fact of evolution.^[1]^[2] It is similar to a method used
in formal debate called spreading.

[ ]

Contents

  * 1 Technique and countermeasures
  * 2 See also
  * 3 Citations
  * 4 General sources

Technique and countermeasures[edit]

During a Gish gallop, a debater confronts an opponent with a rapid
series of many specious arguments, half-truths, and
misrepresentations in a short space of time, which makes it
impossible for the opponent to refute all of them within the format
of a formal debate.^[3]^[4] In practice, each point raised by the
"Gish galloper" takes considerably more time to refute or fact-check
than it did to state in the first place.^[5] The technique wastes an
opponent's time and may cast doubt on the opponent's debating ability
for an audience unfamiliar with the technique, especially if no
independent fact-checking is involved^[6] or if the audience has
limited knowledge of the topics.

Generally, it is more difficult to use the Gish gallop in a
structured debate than in a free-form one.^[7] If a debater is
familiar with an opponent who is known to use the Gish gallop, the
technique may be countered by preempting and refuting the opponent's
commonly used arguments first, before the opponent has an opportunity
to launch into a Gish gallop.^[8]

See also[edit]

  * Brandolini's law - Difficulty refuting bullshit
  * Filibuster - Political stalling tactic
  * Firehose of falsehood
  * Proof by intimidation - Method of convincing someone by using
    jargon or claiming it as clear
  * Sealioning - Type of trolling or harassment

Citations[edit]

 1. ^ Scott 2004, p. 23
 2. ^ Scott 1994
 3. ^ Logan 2000, p. 4
 4. ^ Sonleitner 2004
 5. ^ Hayward 2015, p. 67
 6. ^ Grant 2011, p. 74
 7. ^ Johnson 2017, pp. 14-15
 8. ^ Grant 2015, p. 55

General sources[edit]

  * Grant, John (2011). Denying Science: Conspiracy Theories, Media
    Distortions, and the War Against Reality. Prometheus Books. ISBN 
    978-1-61614-400-5.
  * Grant, John (2015). Debunk it: How to Stay Sane in a World of
    Misinformation. San Francisco: Zest Books. ISBN 978-1-936976-68-3
    .
  * Hayward, C. J. S. (2015). The Seraphinians: '"Blessed Seraphim
    Rose" and His Axe-Wielding Western Converts. The Collected Works
    of C.J.S. Hayward. San Francisco: Zest Books.
  * Johnson, Amy (2017). Gasser, Urs (ed.). "The Multiple Harms of
    Sea Lions" (PDF). Perspectives on Harmful Speech Online. Berkman
    Klein Center for Internet & Society. p. 14.
  * Logan, Paul (25 February 2000). "Scientists Offer Creationist
    Defense". West Side Journal. Albuquerque Journal. 120 (56). p. 4
    - via Newspapers.com.
  * Sonleitner, Frank J. (November-December 2004). "Winning the
    Creation Debate". Reports. National Center for Science Education.
    24 (6): 36-38.
  * Scott, Eugenie (2004). Confronting Creationism. Reports of
    National Center for Science Education. 24/6. Archived from the
    original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  * Scott, Eugenie (1994). "Debates and the Globetrotters". Talk
    Origins Archive. Retrieved 2017-10-06.

                * v
                * t
                * e

      Propaganda techniques
  * Ad hominem
  * Appeal to fear
  * Atrocity propaganda
  * Bandwagon effect
  * Big lie
  * Blood libel
  * Buzzword
  * Censorship
  * Cherry picking
  * Code word
  * Demonizing the enemy
  * Disinformation
  * Dog-whistle politics
  * Doublespeak
  * Fake news
  * Flag-waving
  * Framing
  * Gish gallop
  * Glittering generality
  * Historical negationism
  * Historical revisionism
  * Ideograph
  * Indoctrination
  * Lawfare
  * Loaded language
  * Newspeak
  * Obscurantism
  * Plain folks
  * Propaganda of the deed
  * Public relations
  * Rally 'round the flag effect
  * Slogan
  * Spin
  * Weasel word
  * Whataboutism

*
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=
Gish_gallop&oldid=1061806686"
Categories:

  * Debating
  * Informal fallacies

Hidden categories:

  * Articles with short description
  * Short description is different from Wikidata

Navigation menu

Personal tools

  * Not logged in
  * Talk
  * Contributions
  * Create account
  * Log in

Namespaces

  * Article
  * Talk

[ ]

Variants expanded collapsed

Views

  * Read
  * Edit
  * View history

[ ]

More expanded collapsed

Search

[                    ] [Search] [Go]
 

Navigation

  * Main page
  * Contents
  * Current events
  * Random article
  * About Wikipedia
  * Contact us
  * Donate

Contribute

  * Help
  * Learn to edit
  * Community portal
  * Recent changes
  * Upload file

Tools

  * What links here
  * Related changes
  * Upload file
  * Special pages
  * Permanent link
  * Page information
  * Cite this page
  * Wikidata item

Print/export

  * Download as PDF
  * Printable version

Languages

  * Deutsch
  * Espanol
  * Italiano
  * `bryt
  * Norsk bokmal
  * Polski
  * Portugues
  * Romana
  * Svenska
  * Zhong Wen 

Edit links

  * This page was last edited on 24 December 2021, at 02:54 (UTC).
  * Text is available under the Creative Commons
    Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By
    using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
    . Wikipedia(r) is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
    Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

  * Privacy policy
  * About Wikipedia
  * Disclaimers
  * Contact Wikipedia
  * Mobile view
  * Developers
  * Statistics
  * Cookie statement

  * Wikimedia Foundation
  * Powered by MediaWiki