N is for non sequitur

A non sequitur in formal logic is a logical fallacy where the conclusions do not follow the premises. Assume the following statement is true: “if A is true then B is true”. Logical fallacies include “if B is true then A is true” and “if A is false then B is false”.

In conversation, a non sequitur occurs when a statement begging for some kind of reply is followed by something totally unrelated. For example, Jan says, “have you seen the new 3 series?”, and Jace replies, “Zorak’s break dancing is epic “.

Here’s a logical non sequitur as it applies to driving. Let’s take the following statement as fact: “if I take an early apex, then I run wide at the exit”. The following argument is a non sequitur: “if I ran wide at the exit, then I took an early apex”. Well, no. In a decreasing radius turn, you can run out of room at the exit whether or not you take an early apex. The tricky thing about decreasing radius turns is that you have to keep slowing down long after your instincts tell you to add throttle. Case in point below.

Here’s a conversational non sequitur. Person-A: “do you want to join me for a touge run?” Person-B: “John Hetrick invented the airbag in 1952”.

Observant readers may have already noticed that this blog post is out of sequence with the others. Yeah, it’s a blogging non sequitur.

Here’s another non sequitur. Check out this kickstarter for an awesome new gizmo for racing and track driving. The Race Capture is a high precision GPS, accelerometer, and OBDII/CAN interface that talks to your phone/tablet/cameras over wifi. Stop drooling and start backing.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/autosportlabs/racecapture-and-podium-race-it-share-it-prove-it