---
title: "Straight and Crooked Thinking: avoidable errors"
subject: "Communication English"
chapter: 2
key: "semester_5/communication_english:straight-crooked-thinking-avoidable-errors"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/communication_english/straight-crooked-thinking-avoidable-errors
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Straight and Crooked Thinking: avoidable errors

Communication English · Chapter 2: Extensive Reading

- Asked in: 2074 Ashwin, 5 marks; 2076 Ashwin, 5 marks (asked 2 times)
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_5/communication_english/straight-crooked-thinking-avoidable-errors
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_5/communication_english/chapter-2

## Question

Why do people make avoidable errors? And what sorts of people make them? (Straight and Crooked Thinking)

## Short answer

Avoidable errors arise from faulty habits of thinking, not from lack of intelligence or facts: careless use of words, failure to distinguish varieties, emotion and prejudice, hasty generalisation, confusing cause and effect, and accepting authority without testing. Nearly everybody makes them, including scientists when they stop checking their reasoning.

## Answer

People make avoidable errors because they fail to reason correctly. These mistakes are not due to lack of intelligence or facts but to faulty habits of thinking, and nearly everybody makes them.

#### Why people make avoidable errors
1. **Careless use of words.** The same word is used by different people with different meanings (for example "intelligence" or "oxygen"), and a single word is used for several different things. Arguments then become confused.
2. **Failure to distinguish varieties.** Things that differ are treated as the same because they have the same name.
3. **Emotion and prejudice.** People accept what they wish to believe and reject facts which they dislike.
4. **Hasty generalisation.** Conclusions are drawn from too few cases.
5. **Confusing cause and effect.** Because one event follows another, people assume the first caused the second.
6. **Accepting authority or common opinion** without testing the claim.

#### Who makes them
- **All kinds of people**: individuals and groups, scientists and non-scientists alike. Ordinary people are especially likely to be confused by technical words used in daily speech, but even trained scientists may fall into error when they stop checking their reasoning.

#### Remedy
Define terms clearly, look for evidence, test conclusions, separate fact from feeling and remain willing to correct oneself. Straight thinking is a skill that can be learnt and practised.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What are avoidable errors due to?
   A. Failure to reason correctly, i.e. faulty habits of thinking
   B. Lack of intelligence only
   C. Lack of facts only
   D. Bad luck
   Answer: A. They are not due to lack of intelligence or facts. (Key point: Cause)

2. How does careless use of words cause error?
   A. Words are always exact so no confusion occurs
   B. People use too many words
   C. The same word is used with different meanings, so arguments become confused
   D. Words are spelled wrongly
   Answer: C. Examples are 'intelligence' and 'oxygen'. (Key point: Careless words)

3. What is hasty generalisation?
   A. Drawing conclusions from too few cases
   B. Testing many cases carefully
   C. Refusing to conclude
   D. Quoting an authority
   Answer: A. It is one of the listed causes. (Key point: Hasty generalisation)

4. Who makes avoidable errors?
   A. Only uneducated people
   B. Only scientists
   C. All kinds of people, scientists and non-scientists, individuals and groups
   D. Only children
   Answer: C. Even trained scientists err when they stop checking their reasoning. (Key point: Who)

## Related in Communication English

- [Interpret: avoidable errors and use of words](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Ainterpret-avoidable-errors-in-reasoning) — Communication English, chapter 1
- [Why "oxygen" and "intelligence" confuse people](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Aoxygen-intelligence-confusing-words) — Communication English, chapter 2
- [Cause and effect confusion in thinking](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_5%2Fcommunication_english%3Ascientist-cause-effect-confusion) — Communication English, chapter 2