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No. 279 · Evidence · Fallacy

Equivocation

A statement can be technically true and still built to mislead.

Equivocation is the use of slippery language: a word means one thing when it helps the speaker and another when that helps more. Each statement may be technically true while the overall message misleads.

Whenever a key word carries a lot of weight, like "unlimited", "soon" or "guaranteed", ask what it means in practice and get it in writing. In your own promises, say plainly what you can and can't commit to.

In the Almanac

“The meaning of “is””, 1998 · “Verizon”, 2018

Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.

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Equivification

Questions

What is Equivocation?

Equivocation is the use of slippery language: a word means one thing when it helps the speaker and another when that helps more. Each statement may be technically true while the overall message misleads.

How do you avoid Equivocation?

Whenever a key word carries a lot of weight, like "unlimited", "soon" or "guaranteed", ask what it means in practice and get it in writing. In your own promises, say plainly what you can and can't commit to.

When does Equivocation matter?

Equivocation is one of the 68 mental models for evidence, the situations where you ask: Is this really true? Within that, it belongs to “Spotting a bad argument”, alongside Ad Hominem, Appeal to Authority and Appeal to Emotion.

What is an example of Equivocation?

Two stories show it at work: The meaning of “is” (1998) and Verizon (2018). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Equivocation?

Bait and Switch, Dark Patterns and Framing. Equivocation itself comes from fallacy.