One of the ways we can reason erroneously is when we generalize from a sample that is either too small, or unrepresentative of the whole, or both. These fallacies are pretty self- explanatory: *Small Sample = To base a general conclusion on a sample that is too small relative to the population as a whole. *Unrepresentative sample = To base a general conclusion on a sample that is unrepresentative of the population as a whole. You’d be committing the small sample fallacy, for instance, if you concluded that Delaware is unusually rainy because the only two times you drove through the state it was raining. Indeed, this points to perhaps the main source of the small sample fallacy, which is that we have a natural tendency to overrate the importance of things we experience personally. I know in a sense this flies in the face of a piece of common wisdom, namely that we learn and grow through personal experience, that it’s important to get out and see and experience things for ourselves rather than rely on what we’re told via books, classrooms, the Internet, etc. It’s certainly not that I disagree that it’s valuable to directly experience as much as you can of the world. But it’s important also to be aware how it can lead one astray in drawing conclusions about that world. Let’s say you’ve owned two cars manufactured by Nissan in your life, and they were both lemons. Unreliable, constantly breaking down, always having to spend money on them, etc. Real headaches. If you’re like most people, this is going to give you a very negative impression of Nissan cars, to where you almost certainly won’t buy another one. (Indeed, having even one lemon like that, let alone two, would cause most folks to swear off buying another.) But think about what a trivial, miniscule amount of evidence you’d be basing your decision on. You’re familiar with two of the millions of cars Nissan has manufactured, and you’re treating that as if it’s significant evidence of the performance of the next one you would buy. In the grand scheme of things, your measly two cars count no more and no less than two Nissans owned by your family, two owned by people you barely know, or two owned by complete strangers in Timbuktu. Yet the closer the experiences are to you, likely the more weight you give them, because the experiences are more vivid, easier to call to mind. So the performance of the two cars you owned makes the strongest impression on you, followed by those you’re nearly as familiar with because Category:Home › Other • Pomegranates: A newly discovered superfood • Where did the joke why did the chicken cross the road come from and why is it funny? • Can mothers diagnosed with bipolar disorder make good parents? • Spiritual evolution of human consciousness • Tips for getting a college basketball scholarship • Living with Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) • Caring for the caregiver • Technologys impact on society