Drought for Activist Dummies

We wonder if irrigation causes droughts, too. Gordon?

Perhaps the most common logical fallacy known to man is the assumption that correlation implies causation. This form of oversimplification of complex events is a favorite of demagogues and politicians, right up there with post hoc, ergo propter hoc: "after the fact, therefore because of the fact." Freelance dummies like to trot out this sort of simple-minded logic, too. Take the example of Gordon Rupe (writing under the pen name gordon) at DailyTwoCents.com when he penned a little note he called "Did Fracking Cause California’s Drought?"¹

Gordon did some homework and a little math. Then he drew a conclusion based on his math -- or, rather, he pointed his readers at the conclusion he wanted them to draw. Here's how it went down, with our comments

Fracking for the Utter Dummy

Horizontal drilling schematic

One of the most ironic – in the real, non-hip sense of the word – things about good old eHow.com (more recently being parceled into niche sites under the moniker "Leaf Group") is that content writers are forbidden to cite existing eHow content as sources for their "work." Isn't that a kick? Then again, perhaps the site's managers are aware of just how useless a good portion of the older articles are, especially if they were written by dumbasses like Jorina Fontelera. Take for example Jorina's tasty little article entitled "How Does Horizontal Oil Drilling Work?"¹

Oil and Gas, the Dummies Version

Drilling rig on site

Today’s example of a woefully unqualified boob expounding on something about which he (or perhaps it’s a she?) knows squat comes from another paragon of quality, HubPages.com. The Dumbass of the Day goes by the pen name jmccas1, posting his/her thoughts on the topic of “Unconventional Resources.”¹ With luck, J didn't make any money off this one, though in all probability s/he made more than we'll make by correcting him. Ah, well, such is life.