black swan fallacy

English

Noun

black swan fallacy (plural black swan fallacies)

1. The logical error of discounting the possibility of something because no evidence has yet been observed for it.
   • 2015, Robert V Kozinets, Netnography: Redefined, page 163:

     The black swan fallacy holds that if all you have ever observed in your field research are white swans, you might be tempted to conclude 'All swans are white'. However, a black swan was discovered in Australia. Therefore, all it takes is one black swan to falsify the general statement about the universality of white swans.

See also

• falsifiable