what is the definition of "non-sequitur" ?

[chickenscratching]

1. An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises or evidence.
2. A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.


It's from the website, www.dictionary.com, (it's a little too wordy for me to quite follow).
can Anyone take the two Definitions, and narrow it down a bit for me?

Thanks. :hi:

[indy_azcat]

1. try wikipedias flavor

:party: 600!!!

the examples are easier to follow:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non_sequitur

1) Any argument that takes the following form is a non sequitur:

1. If A then B. (e.g. If I am a cat, I am a mammal.)
2. B. (e.g. I am a mammal.)
3. Therefore, A. (Therefore, I am a cat.)

Even if the premises and conclusion are all true, the conclusion is not a necessary consequence of the premises. This sort of non sequitur is also called affirming the consequent.

2) Another common non sequitur is this:

1. If A then B. (e.g. If I am in Tokyo, I am in Japan.)
2. Not A. (e.g. I am not in Tokyo.)
3. Therefore, not B. (e.g. Therefore, I am not in Japan.)

The speaker could be in all kinds of other places in Japan. This sort of non sequitur is called denying the antecedent.

[chickenscratching]

4. Can you tell me what 'Wikipedia' is?

I've heard of it. Is it a website? :shrug:

[indy_azcat]

5. www.wikipedia.org = becoming the best place for reference work/info diggin

http:\\www.wikipedia.org

Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wikipedia is a Web-based, free-content encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers and sponsored by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. It has editions in roughly 200 different languages (about 100 of which are active) and contains entries both on traditional encyclopedic topics and on almanac, gazetteer, and current events topics. Its purpose is to create and distribute a free international encyclopedia in as many languages as possible. Wikipedia is one of the most popular reference sites on the internet,<1> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia#endnote_PopularityRef) receiving around 60 million hits per day.

Wikipedia contains approximately 1.6 million articles. More than 600,000 of these are in English, more than 240,000 in German, and more than 100,000 each in Japanese and French. It began as a complement to the expert-written Nupedia on January 15, 2001. Having steadily risen in popularity,<2> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia#endnote_Popularity) it has spawned several sister projects, such as Wiktionary, Wikibooks, and Wikinews. It is edited by volunteers in wiki fashion, meaning articles are subject to change by nearly anyone. Wikipedia's volunteers enforce a policy of "neutral point of view" whereby views presented by notable persons or literature are summarized without an attempt to determine an objective truth. Because of its open nature, vandalism and inaccuracy are problems in Wikipedia.

The status of Wikipedia as a reference work has been controversial, and it is both praised for its free distribution, free editing and wide range of topics and criticized for alleged systemic biases, deficiencies in some topics, and lack of accountability and authority when compared with traditional encyclopedias. Its articles have been cited by the mass media and academia and are available under the GNU Free Documentation License. Its German language edition has been distributed on compact discs, and many of its other editions are mirrored or have been forked by websites.

[chickenscratching]

10. Thanks for the helpful link!

:hi:

[progmom]

2. i want to go shoe shopping

:)

[indy_azcat]

3. Is this a follow-up to the nekkid day thread?

:spank:

[mistertrickster]

6. Actually, just about everything that comes out of George Bush's

mouth is a "non-sequitur."

EXAMPLES--

"Terrorists attacked us on 9-11, so we must invade Iraq."

The conclusion--that we must invade Iraq--does not follow from the premise. Even W. knows that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9-11 attacks.

"Because of WMD's, Saddam is a growing and a gathering threat." Based on what--W.'s crack smoking memories? You can't draw a conclusion without evidence, so that too is a kind of non-sequitur.
Also, even if Iraq had WMD's (which they didn't), it was still no more of a threat now than in the past so "growing and gathering threat" is utterly unwarrented.

"America needs more oil. That's why I'm going to okay drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)." There's an unspoken premise here which is "America needs more oil and ANWR WILL PROVIDE MORE OIL." It is the unspoken premise which is false--the amount of oil provided even under best case scenario is miniscule to America's needs.

So this is also a kind of non-sequitur because the conclusion does not follow from the REAL premises.

[asthmaticeog]

7. My poot smells like pumpkin.

Daddy was an accountant.

[dbt]

8. Earl Scruggs is God.

[msanthrope]

9. Peanut butter is yummy. n/t

[SOteric]

11. One of these things is not like the others...