{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.misconception","code":"thing-misconception","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/misconception/","name":"misconception","alternateNames":["alchemy","pseudoscience","fallacy","false belief","logical fallacy","hysteron proteron","ignoratio elenchi","pathetic fallacy","petitio principii","petitio","post hoc","post hoc ergo propter hoc"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"noun.cognition","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.KNW"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{"substance":"information","origin":"conceptual","agency":"inert","mobility":"not-applicable","scale":"not-applicable","affordances":["readable"]}},"whatItIs":"In the WordNet sense, a misconception is an incorrect conception, a mistaken belief or understanding of something, with related terms the registry aliases name such as a false belief and a fallacy or logical fallacy, a flaw in reasoning, and hysteron proteron, a rhetorical reversal of logical order; the aliases also list alchemy and pseudoscience, which are historical or non-scientific bodies of belief rather than misconceptions themselves and appear loosely filed. Misconceptions are common in learning, and education research studies how to identify and correct them, while common misconceptions are collected and debunked with sources.","purpose":"Let an agent explain misconceptions, relay how they arise and are corrected and related terms from education and reasoning sources, describe the named terms and flag the loosely filed ones, and distinguish a misconception from a lie, a fallacy, ignorance and pseudoscience.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Incorrect belief","Often unintentional","Common in learning","Correctable"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a misconception is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a misconception, and how does it differ from a lie, a fallacy, ignorance and pseudoscience?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about a mistaken belief, faulty reasoning or a body of non-scientific claims?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"terms","name":"Terms","description":"Named terms.","findings":[{"id":"terms-finding","name":"Terms","description":"Terms.","questions":[{"text":"What do false belief, fallacy and hysteron proteron mean, and why are alchemy and pseudoscience different?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific term?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learning","name":"Learning","description":"Learning.","layers":[{"id":"origins","name":"Origins","description":"How misconceptions arise.","findings":[{"id":"origins-finding","name":"Origins","description":"Origins.","questions":[{"text":"How do misconceptions arise in learning?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"correction","name":"Correction","description":"Correcting misconceptions.","findings":[{"id":"correction-finding","name":"Correction","description":"Correction.","questions":[{"text":"How does education research suggest correcting misconceptions?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"reasoning","name":"Reasoning","description":"Reasoning.","layers":[{"id":"fallacy","name":"Fallacy","description":"Fallacies.","findings":[{"id":"fallacy-finding","name":"Fallacy","description":"Fallacy.","questions":[{"text":"How does a logical fallacy differ from a misconception?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits logical fallacy?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"rhetoric","name":"Rhetoric","description":"Hysteron proteron.","findings":[{"id":"rhetoric-finding","name":"Rhetoric","description":"Rhetoric.","questions":[{"text":"What is hysteron proteron?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the information accurate?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Debunking.","layers":[{"id":"common","name":"Common","description":"Common misconceptions.","findings":[{"id":"common-finding","name":"Common","description":"Common.","questions":[{"text":"How are common misconceptions collected and debunked with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"backfire","name":"Backfire","description":"Correction pitfalls.","findings":[{"id":"backfire-finding","name":"Backfire","description":"Backfire.","questions":[{"text":"How can repeating a misconception reinforce it, as research reports?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Correct a misconception politely with reliable evidence and sources.","Distinguish a misconception from a reasonable disagreement or open question."],"mustNot":["Label a view a misconception when the evidence is contested.","Ridicule people for holding a mistaken belief.","Spread misconceptions as fact, including through invented sources.","Exploit a known misconception to persuade or sell."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing corrections that name a specific person as holding a false belief."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Calling a belief a misconception can silence legitimate dissent.","Persistent misconceptions about health and safety cause real harm."],"affectedParties":["People holding the belief","Audiences of corrections","Learners"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; each speaker answers for what they assert.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"oewn-05842164-n","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"error","type":"related","note":"in WordNet terms"},{"target":"lie","type":"related"},{"target":"logical fallacy","type":"related"},{"target":"pseudoscience","type":"related","note":"loosely filed alias"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.misconception","Open English WordNet: oewn-05902260-n","WordNet: oewn-05842164-n hypernym of misconception"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["WordNet hypernym: error or misjudgment note","common in: learning and science education note","registry parents: error note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["An incorrect conception or belief","Alchemy, pseudoscience, fallacy, false belief, logical fallacy, hysteron proteron","A lie is deliberate; a fallacy is faulty reasoning; ignorance is lack of knowledge; pseudoscience is a body of non-scientific claims","Not a physical object; a mistaken belief held by a person."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain how misconceptions arise","relay correction","describe named terms and flag loosely filed ones","distinguish related concepts"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing misconceptions with lies or fallacies","Loosely filed alchemy and pseudoscience aliases","Reinforcing misconceptions by repetition"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Naming an incorrect belief or understanding.","scientific misconceptions","common misconceptions","false beliefs"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-05902260-n","url":"https://en-word.net/id/oewn-05902260-n","note":"sense and gloss of the concept"},{"title":"Wiktionary: misconception","url":"https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/misconception","note":"word senses and usage"}],"openQuestions":["The registry aliases alchemy and pseudoscience should be reviewed as bodies of belief","Should logical fallacy be a separate entry?","How should common misconceptions be sourced?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-misconception/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-misconception/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-14T02:43:53Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T12:16:27+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: WordNet gloss; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}