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Masked-man fallacy

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The masked man fallacy is the error of assuming that a person who is both known and recognised and a person who is known but unrecognisable must be different people. In reality, it is possible, provided that the two are not seen in the same place at the same time, that the recognised man and the 'masked man' are the same person.

The fallacy may be summarised as follows:

  • Fact 1: I know who X is.
  • Fact 2: I do not know who Y is.
  • Conclusion: Therefore, X is not Y.

The fallacy is that the conclusion does not necessarily follow from the facts.

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