Post hoc ergo propter hoc (often shortened to “post hoc”), is an archaic logical fallacy that, when utilized in mathematics, can be used to disguise a less impressive statistic. The fallacy states that since B happened after A, A caused the outcome of B. An example of this is marketing techniques to deter teenagers from smoking cigarettes. Since smoking and low grades often go together, the marketing team can say that smoking causes low grades. What the propagandists don’t reveal is that perhaps students that perform poorly are more likely to smoke away their troubles regarding their grades. In reality, neither of these have likely caused the other and they are both probably the product of a third factor unknown to the audience receiving the
