# Hasty generalization

*Also called: Faulty generalization, insufficient sample*

- **Cluster:** Evidence and sampling — The data that was gathered, and the data that was not
- **Page:** https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/hasty-generalization/
- **In Arabic:** https://fallacy.wiki/ar/fallacy/hasty-generalization.md
- **Licence:** CC BY 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

## What it is

Generalizing from a sample too small or too narrow to support the conclusion.

## In the wild

> All three people I asked liked the new logo, so everyone likes it.

## How to answer it

Ask how many cases were seen and how they were chosen.

## Origin and naming

The medieval logicians knew it as 'secundum quid' — the converse of the fallacy of accident, which over-applies a rule; hasty generalization over-builds one. Modern textbooks call it the fallacy of insufficient sample. Every cliché about 'all politicians' and 'all journalists' is its handiwork.

## More places it shows up

- After two bad rides with one app, a commuter declares the whole ride-share industry is a scam.
- A manager interviews three candidates from the same university, finds them unprepared, and tells HR to stop shortlisting that school.
- A tourist has one rude encounter in a new city and posts that 'people here are unwelcoming'.
- A developer's first attempt with a new framework hits a bug, and the team chat concludes the framework is 'not production ready'.

## How to spot it

- The conclusion arrives with 'all', 'every', 'always' — and the evidence fits in one hand.
- Ask 'how many have you actually seen?' and the answer is usually a number you can count on your fingers.
- The sample is self-selected: people the speaker happened to meet, posts the algorithm happened to surface.

## Nearby

- [Anecdotal evidence](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/anecdotal.md)
- [Cherry picking](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/cherry-picking.md)
- [Fallacy of accident](https://fallacy.wiki/fallacy/accident.md)

## Read more

- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasty_generalization)
- [The Fallacy Files](https://www.fallacyfiles.org/hastygen.html)

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From fallacy.wiki — a bilingual field guide to 91 logical fallacies, published by phi holdings. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): reuse freely with attribution to fallacy.wiki.