What is a Logical Fallacy?
A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning common enough to warrant a fancy name. Knowing how to spot and identify fallacies is a priceless skill. It can save you time, money, and personal dignity.
What is The Strawman Fallacy?
This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a "straw man") to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar -- but ultimately not equal -- version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you.
Example 1:
“Senator thinks we can solve all our ecological problems by driving a Prius.”
Example 2:
John: "I think we should hire someone to redesign our website."
Lola: "You're saying we should throw our money away on external resources instead of building up our in-house design team? That's going to hurt our company in the long run."
Example 3:
"I will never be a Republican because Republicans don't care about school shootings"
Example 4:
"I will never be a Democrat because all Democrats want to open immigration to foreign criminals."
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In this context you are correct.
In my profession though when you have to solve a very complex technical problem, it does help to start with a bare minimum setup to test a few assumptions and their impact on the overall design "A straw man" prototype if you will.
Of course by no means that is final solution so, thinking it through, if you just limit yourself to the straw man prototype you will be the victim of this fallacy!
So, to summarize my long-winded discourse, your statement applies here as well!
Sounds like you are trying to build a steelman - which is an attempt to accurately represent the opposition to come up with the right solution.
lol yess steelman!
oh yesss this fallacy happens wayyyyy too often. people fail to read properly
like when liberals always say republicans just want trickle down economics as a “give away to the rich” which is a strawman of the actual argument for lower taxes.
This is true.
It's also a strawman fallacy to say "liberals always say republicans just want trickle down economics as a 'give away to the rich' which is a strawman of the actual argument for lower taxes."