Chronological Snobbery Fallacy

The chronological snobbery fallacy is an argument that distracts by rejecting or accepting a belief or practice merely on its age. This fallacy can involve either new or old ideas.

To distract by making the audience want to repel new beliefs or ideas is called the appeal to tradition.

To distract by making the audience want to repel old beliefs or ideas is called the appeal to novelty.

The chronological snobbery fallacy is an argument that distracts by making the audience want to either be part of an old tradition or part of the latest new thing.

In this commercial you see the sleek new 2016 Buick. The commercial ends with the tag line “Not your Grandpas Buick”, implying that an older Buick would be slower, uglier, and outdated. There might be evidence that this car is better, but to claim that it is better solely because it is newer is an Appeal to Novelty and a violation of the Chronological Snobbery Fallacy

In this clip you hear a 100-year-old teach argue against common core math. She argues that this new math has not had enough time to be proven and the old way makes more sense. There may be a valid argument that common core is flawed, but to argue against it merely because it is new is an appeal to tradition and a violation of the chronological snobbery fallacy

In this clip you hear Gene Wilder’s frustration with the 2005 remake of the 1971 movie Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory. He implies that it is an insult to think anything new could be better. His argument is an appeal to tradition and a violation of the Chronological Snobbery fallacy.

The chronological snobbery fallacy is an argument that distracts by rejecting or accepting a belief or practice based merely on its age.