Can you outsmart the apples and oranges fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 28, 2026 · 8 MIN

Can you outsmart the apples and oranges fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Dig into the false analogy fallacy, which assumes that because two things share a characteristic, they must be alike in other respects.--It’s 1997. The United States Senate has called a hearing about global warming. Some expert witnesses point out that past periods in Earth’s history were warmer than the 20th century. Because such variations existed long before humans, they claim the current trend is also the result of natural variation. Can you spot the problem with this argument? Elizabeth Cox explores the false analogy fallacy.Lesson by Elizabeth Cox, directed by TOGETHER.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-apples-and-oranges-fallacy-elizabeth-coxDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/can-you-outsmart-the-apples-and-oranges-fallacy-elizabeth-cox#digdeeperAnimator's website: https://wearetogether.ca/----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Ryan Weiler, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Itay Levi, Cameron Chakraverty, Petr Vacek, Rhys Patterson, Dennis, Margaret King, Olivia Fu, Katrina Adams, Regina Post, Mary Collins, Kari Teffeau, clumsybunnie, Adam Leos, Jeremy Laurin, Cindy Lai, Liz, Hannah Nommé, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Alejandro Gomez, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Isorn Sookwanish, Iryna Panasiuk, Diane Gallin, Aaron Torres, Janice ESL, Vasundhar, Dessislava Vassileva, Denka Wee, Daru Bhargav, Brett Kaufman, Amy, Michael Clement, Christopher Lye, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Max Salas, Xavi Ramos, Khoa Nguyen Anh, Ron Kakar, Jennifer Heald and flóra lili donáti. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Can you outsmart the apples and oranges fallacy? - Elizabeth Cox

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