Hello, Universe

by Erin Entrada Kelly

Virgil sighed. He thought for a moment. “Okay. Let’s say you’re running a race. It’s a really, really long race, too. And you sign up because you think you can do it. You practice running for months, maybe even years. And then the big race comes and you’re running and running. And suddenly your legs are really tired. And you’re dehydrating. And you can hardly breathe. And the finish line is still way down the road and stuff. But you just can’t make it. You start throwing up or something. If you keep going, you know you’ll drop dead. So you stop. And you sit on the side of the road so you don’t die. You have to give up, or else.” “That’s a terrible example,” said Ruby immediately. Virgil’s eyebrows bunched together. He glared into the darkness. “No it’s not.” “Yes it is.” “What makes it a terrible example?” “Because the person in your story didn’t give up. Giving up would have been never starting the race at all.”

Ruby combines the "No True Scotsman" and "False Dilemma" logical fallacies.