A field guide to the ways reasoning breaks
Distraction and distortion
Also called Inconsistent defence
Piling up defences that contradict each other, each undermining the others.
I never borrowed it, it was already broken, and I returned it fine.
List the defences side by side and ask which one is being claimed.
Named after an example in Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1900): a man accused of returning a borrowed kettle damaged replies that he never borrowed it, that it was already broken when he got it, and that he returned it intact. Three defences, each canceling the others.
A contractor accused of overbilling insists the invoice was never sent, that the extra hours were pre-approved, and that the client actually asked for the upgrades.
An MP caught at a lobbyist's dinner says he wasn't there, that it was a public fundraiser, and that he paid for his own meal.
A student whose essay matches a website claims she wrote it herself, that great minds think alike, and that the site probably copied her draft.
A driver denies hitting the parked car, adds that the dent was old anyway, and mentions his bumper has been scratched since last winter.