Cherry picking

Cherry picking, suppressing evidence, or the fallacy of incomplete evidence is the act of pointing to individual cases or data that seem to confirm a particular position, while ignoring a significant portion of related cases or data that may contradict that position. It is a kind of fallacy of selective attention, the most common example of which is the confirmation bias. Cherry picking may be committed intentionally or unintentionally. This fallacy is a major problem in public debate.

The term is based on the perceived process of harvesting fruit, such as cherries. The picker would be expected to only select the ripest and healthiest fruits. An observer who only sees the selected fruit may thus wrongly conclude that most, or even all, of the fruit is in such good condition. This can also give a false impression of the quality of the fruit (since it is only a sample and is not a representative sample).

A concept sometimes confused with cherry picking is the idea of gathering only the fruit that is easy to harvest, while ignoring other fruit that is higher up on the tree and thus more difficult to obtain (see low-hanging fruit).

Cherry picking (disambiguation)

Cherry picking is the fallacy of selecting evidence that supports an argument while ignoring evidence that contradicts it.

Cherry picking may also refer to:

See also

Cherry picking (basketball)

Cherry picking, in basketball and certain other sports, refers to play where one player (the cherry picker) does not play defense with the rest of the team but remains near the opponents' goal.

If the opponents do not designate a player to stay near the cherry picker, they will have a 5-on-4 advantage as they try to score, but if the defense steals the ball, it could make a long pass to the cherry picker for an uncontested goal. Acquiring the ball by a violation or foul, or after a made basket, the cherry picker is less relevant, as the opponents have more time to put their own defense in place.

Disapproval of cherry picking stems from the fact that the cherry picker is not playing the "complete" game and accumulates statistics for points scored that exaggerate the player's prowess.

Legality

Cherry picking is uncommon but legal in organized basketball. In some amateur leagues, cherry picking — defined as a defender remaining in the opponents' backcourt after the opponents have advanced the ball to their forecourt — is a violation, penalized by loss of possession and of any resulting points.