--- title: Check the claim, not the person — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Check the claim, not the person», a lesson of the world course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: A claim is true or false all by itself: two plus two is four whether a professor says it, a six-year-old says it, or your most annoying cous --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/) / Check the claim, not the person # Check the claim, not the person Lesson 188 of the world course of Mova's primary school: 24 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/0/) — A claim is true or false all by itself: two plus two is four whether a professor says it, a six-year-old says it, or your most annoying cousin says it. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/1/) — So when someone answers an idea with "You're six, what would you know?", "You don't even recycle at home" or "You're not my friend", they have dodged the idea and hit the person. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/2/) — Grown-ups call it attacking the person (ad hominem). - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/3/) — Tom tries it on his little sister. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/4/) — Mum: "Is she wrong, Tom? - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/5/) — Two plus two? - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/6/) — Go on, check." Tom: "...It's four." - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/7/) — It works the other way too: having a scientist for a mum doesn't make Ava right about the weather. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/8/) — Being related to an expert, or being popular, isn't evidence. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/9/) — The fair way is always the same: ask "Is the claim true? - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/10/) — What are the reasons?" and leave the person's age, looks, habits and friends out of it. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/11/) — A true thing is true whoever says it, even a little kid. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/12/) — Attacking the person instead of the claim is called ad hominem. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/13/) — Pointing out that someone doesn't do what they say ("you too") may show they are unfair, but it doesn't make their idea wrong. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/14/) — The Moon's gravity pulling on the oceans is the main cause of the tides; the Sun causes smaller tides too. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/15/) — Good posture can help your back feel better, especially if you sit for a long time, and moving around often matters even more. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/16/) — Being related to an expert doesn't make you one, and an expert on frogs isn't an expert on weather. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/17/) — Chocolate is poisonous to dogs because it contains theobromine, which dogs can't handle well. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/18/) — Studies show that play and exercise during the day can help children concentrate. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/19/) — Small slips in speaking don't change the facts; judge a project on its facts. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/20/) — Some zoos run breeding programmes that have helped animals such as the Arabian oryx and the California condor, though people still argue about zoos. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/21/) — The Earth goes round the Sun once a year. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/22/) — Good ideas can come from anyone, whether or not they are your friend. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/188-check-the-claim-not-the-person/23/) — Words people use: "spot on" means exactly right; "sound" (Liverpool, Manchester) means good, reliable; "Scouse" means from Liverpool; "la" (Liverpool) means mate; "dead" (Liverpool) means very; "delulu" (young people) means believing something that isn't real; "skibidi" is a word kids shout that means nothing; "do the needful" (Indian English) means do what needs doing; "babe" is a friendly word between friends. - ← previous: [One counterexample is enough](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/187-one-counterexample-is-enough/) - next →: [Fighting fair: no straw men, no moving goalposts, no either-or](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or/) - ↑ back to [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/)