Logic watch

Since it seems that logical argument is the flavour of the minute here at Spleen Central, I've decided to introduce a new segment -- "Logic Watch" -- dedicated to finding the flaws in advertisements and other general public releases.

First up, the Sydney Home Loan Centre. For those of you who aren't in the know, this series of advertisements concludes with the business owner standing outside (in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, no less), with a throng of people behind him.

In an attempt to convince us that his product is the best one, he points to this large group of people and says, "That many people can't be wrong."

Well, actually, they can. This is an argumentum ad populum, and one needs to look no further than the Pussycat Dolls to see the holes in this argument -- just because a large number of people like (or accept) something, it doesn't necessarily make it good/right.

In other news, I was looking at my tube of toothpaste recently. Instead of telling me the ingredients, it stated: "No Colgate toothpaste contains sugar." I thought this was pretty neat -- the manufacturers were relying on me to make the link that this particular tube of toothpaste was manufactured by Colgate, and, therefore, didn't contain any sugar. Stuff like that is what keeps the general populace on their toes.