meaning - A word that describes a statement that is untrue based on anecdotal evidence


SO if someone tells you that they took cough syrup and they don't have a cough anymore so therefore cough medicine works. I have kept a virus scanner and malware scanner on my computer and never got a virus so it works.


There is a word that I know describes these false correlations but its all about the fact that they cannot prove it. You can't go back in time and then not take medicine and see if the same thing happened. You cannot go back in time and do the exact same thing with your computer to see if you still don't get a virus.


I am struggling to find the word that describes this and cannot remember what its called. Wondering if someone else can help.



Answer



There is an exact expression for the circumstance you describe.



Post hoc ergo propter hoc



No, I know: it is not a word. And, yes, it is Latin, not English.


It means



After this, therefore because of this.



It is, even now, the expression for a logical fallacy.


No standard English expression has replaced this precise description of the logical howler.


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