B happens after A, therefore A caused B.

Maybe it’s the way the human brain works and it is hardwired into our consciousness. We are highly sophisticated pattern recognition machines. Not only can we detect relationships and patterns anywhere from inkblots to market prices, we also detect patterns and relationships that may not actually exist.

Especially in areas where there is natural variance, like golf scores or winning bingo cards, our mind constantly seeks reasons for this variance. Does randomness exist? Or is randomness the word we give for events where we haven’t yet discovered the underlying pattern?

Take for instance, back pain. People have good days and bad days. If you wear a magnetic bracelet and your back pain subsides, is the power of magnetism working? Or would you be experiencing some reduced pain days anyway without the bracelet?

Examples of Post Hoc Fallacy:

1) Ever since I took these special vitamins, I started losing weight. These vitamins work. (Did you also start eating less and start exercising?)

2) Once I started to eat less fat, I started losing weight. Fat makes you fat. (Maybe just eating less of anything makes you lose weight)

3) Once I started to eat less carbs, I started losing weight. Carbs make you fat. (Maybe just eating less of anything makes you lose weight)

4) This person called me and I got into a car accident. This person is bad luck. (Maybe you shouldn’t be driving while on your mobile).

5) Every time I drink beer first then go to whiskey, I get hammered. Don’t mix beer with whiskey. (Maybe you’re drinking your whiskey like beer)

6) When I think of a song, I turn on the radio and that song is playing. I have psychic powers. (Maybe that song just gets played a lot)

7) You held a forked stick in both hands as you walked around and found water. The stick led me to water. (Maybe there’s a lot of water around)

8) You put ketchup on a pimple and two weeks later, the pimple disappeared. Ketchup removes pimples. (How long do pimples last anyway?)

9) An ancient looking chinese man poked some needles into my back and my muscle pains vanished. Acupuncture works! (Muscle pains can vary from day to day. Aromatherapy on the other hand …)

10) Our entire church prayed for Christie who had cancer and now she is cured! Prayer works! (Cancers do actually just go away sometimes).

11) I lit incense at the Buddhist shrine for my kids and they made a lot of money this year. (Maybe you have industrious kids that also happened to get lucky)

If given a choice, people would rather live in a world where justice exists. People get rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad behavior. How many people have you heard say that they believe everything happens for a reason? The thought of a world with divine order is a lot more attractive to most people than one where shit just happens .