why the relevance (red-herring) fallacies are known by this name?

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
10th Edition
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Chapter1: Introducing Social Psychology
Section: Chapter Questions
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why the relevance (red-herring) fallacies are known by this name? 

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The red herring fallacy is a logical fallacy in which irrelevant data are allowed to shape our judgments about something. For instance, "Tommy claims Bob hit him last night, but that can't be real! The red herring fallacy is demonstrated by the statement, "Bob is the best student in my class. Bob's academic achievement had nothing to do with his anger management skills or the specific circumstances that prompted him to punch the other youngster. The fact that he is an excellent student is a red herring that catches the speaker's attention and shapes their perception of the situation.

Intentional deployment of red herrings is not usually the result of nefarious motives. It is used as a stylistic strategy by authors to maintain the sense of mystery in their stories. Furthermore, producers of exam questions in many professions frequently utilise red herrings to test students' thinking skills.

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