Didit fallacy

{{bronze}}{{logic}}{{cquote|"I can't explain it" becomes "It can't be explained" becomes "It has been explained; the gods did it" — or more succinctly — "[[Argument from ignorance|I don't know, therefore I do know]]".|||[[TheraminTrees]]<ref>[http://youtu.be/jwjAX_r2kIU "'there are no gods' (3/3)"] uploaded by TheraminTrees on September 15, 2011</ref>}}
A '''didit fallacy''' (alternatively, '''"fake explanation'''") is an [[Informal fallacy|informal]] [[logical fallacy|fallacy]] that occurs when a complex problem is [[handwaved]] away by [[ad hoc|invoking (without reason)]] the intervention of some powerful entity.

In essence:
#Something happened, I'm not sure why.
#'''X''' did it!
It's that simple.

All didit fallacies are essentially [[golden hammer]]s, because they propose a simplistic solution for a range of complex and unrelated problems.

==Form==
{{syl
|2=Event '''X''' occurred.
|4=I'm not quite sure why Event '''X''' happened.
|6='''Y''' did it!
}}

==Problems==
Because all didit fallacies are both fundamentally [[ad hoc]] and unnecessary, they function as little more than unscientifically "relabelling" a problem.

===Lack of simplicity===
{{main|Occam's razor}}
One of the main reasons that the argument is popular is its apparent simplicity. It is essentially the simplest possible explanation for everything that happens in the [[universe]] &mdash; why bother with complex equations, [[evidence]], or anything when X-didit will, in one word, sufficiently explain everything in the known universe? It is, thus, the answer to every and all questions taken to their extreme end.

However, all didits are necessarily less [[parsimony|parsimonious]] than their "normal" alternative, because they add unnecessary assumptions. For example, Goddidit assumes that an omnipotent (or at least ''really, really'' powerful) God exists. From the viewpoint of [[Occam's Razor]], a creator would have to be ''incredibly'' complex, more complex than the universe, so invariably, a naturalistic explanation can only be simpler. For another example, NWOdidit assumes that an almost completely secret and well-structured organization is able to pull the strings on anything happening at any time anywhere, without evidence for such a bureaucratic behemoth.

===Lack of explanatory power===
{{main|Occam's razor}}
An old science joke gets this point across nicely:

{{cquote|A research student came to her supervisor with a graph showing the latest experimental results. The old wizened academic looked at it for a moment before saying "Aha! This makes perfect sense!" before rattling off his explanation of why the graph made sense. The student thought for a moment before noticing the mistake. "Oh, sorry" she said, "I had it upside-down!" The research student took the piece of paper, inverted it, and handed it back to the professor. After a second or two, he spoke again. "Aha! This makes perfect sense!"}}

The "goddidit" card can be used to effectively [[ad hoc|explain]] any phenomena presented. Take the [[YEC]] variant of "{{sl|flooddidit}}" for a moment: Why is the Sahara a desert? The flood. Why is the [[Grand Canyon]] a canyon? The flood. Two completely different pieces of evidence with the ''same'' explanation. However, something that remains the same no matter what evidence is presented, is no real explanation at all.<ref>[http://lesswrong.com/lw/ip/fake_explanations/ Less Wrong - Fake explanations]</ref> A creationist or [[religious]] apologist putting forward "goddidit" as an answer has made no attempt to make a model of what such a [[belief]] entails, and what they could observe from it. While this works well in someone's own head to protect themselves from ever being wrong &mdash; and suffering [[cognitive dissonance]] &mdash; it means that they have no chance at adapting their views to suit [[reality]], and actively try to prevent such a thing happening. While it's fair enough to say people are allowed to believe what they want, it's worth questioning the value of an idea like this.

===Lack of falsifiability===
{{main|Falsifiability}}
In a true didit fallacy, it's impossible to test whether some entity "did" the event. Interchangeability: a corollary to the lack of falsifiability is that any didit works just as well as any other didit, and explains [[Zero|just as much]]. [[Fun:Didit generator|Don't believe us?]]

===Lack of uniformitarianism===
{{main|Uniformitarianism}}
Didits are perhaps the definition ''par excellence'' of a violation of uniformitarianism. Taking a system which functions in stable, known rules, and then inserting a sudden, radical change -- for no reason -- allows any scientific rule to instantly become utterly meaningless.

==Common types==
Several didit fallacies are very common.

===Goddidit===
{{hatnote|Not to be confused with an [[Act of God|act of God]].}}
{{youtube|_NskF3dbfa0}}
{{cquote|A theory which introduces [[miracle]]s on an [[ad hoc]] basis every time it runs into trouble would certainly be inferior.|||[[Russell Humphreys]], [[YEC]], pissing on his own feet<ref>https://www.icr.org/i/pdf/technical/Reversals-of-Earths-Magnetic-Field-During-the-Genesis-Flood.pdf</ref>}}
'''Goddidit''' is one of the masterstrokes and trump-cards that [[creationist]]s and other [[Biblical literalism|biblical literalists]] have at their disposal when debating points with [[methodological naturalism|naturalists]] and [[rationalist]]s.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20211130035448/https://atheism.fandom.com/wiki/God_did_it God did it] 
funny
 article from Atheism Wiki</ref><ref group=note>[[:File:Kingme.png|''Checkmate'', atheists!]]</ref> It proposes that ''anything'' is and was possible because of the omnipotence of [[YHWH|God]] &mdash; specifically the ability to bend the laws of [[time]], [[logic]], and [[physics]]. This means that [[argument]]s that focus on the feasibility of a [[global flood]], for instance &mdash; complicated analyses of [[Hydroplate theory|how much water would be required]], if [[Life and the global flood|food]] could be provided for [[Noah]]'s animals and the construction of his ark &mdash; can be [[Handwave|swept away and ignored]].

The concept of 'God did it' can be used to create [[falsifiability|unfalsifiable]] theories. A [[creationist]] need never doubt creation because God could have made anything. It may also be used as a [[euphemism]] to indicate something that cannot yet be explained by [[natural law]]s, most likely due to [[absence of evidence|lack of information]] or [[knowledge]].

Despite the convenience of the Goddidit explanation, entire reams of literature have been written by creationists to avoid it, attempting to present a [[creation science|scientific-sounding narrative]] instead, with Goddidit called in to whitewash over the flaws.

*There are a few small gaps in most [[fossil record]]s linking one species to another. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*No one knows what is the (if there is any) force carrier of [[gravity]]. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*Love is a strong and mysterious emotion. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*The universe appears rather [[Anthropic principle|fine-tuned for life on Earth]]. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*We cannot explain how [[memory]] works. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*This chicken mayonnaise sandwich is [[Fun:Delicious|delicious]]. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>
*There is no way God did it. <big>'''''Goddidit!'''''</big>

====''Deus ex machina''====
A ''deus ex machina'' ([[Latin]] for "god from the machine"<ref group=note>Not [[ghost in the machine]].</ref>) is an improbable plot device that has been employed in fiction (often in the [[fantasy]] genre) to abruptly resolve problems within a story, and operates in a very similar fashion to Goddidit and the [[god of the gaps]] argument. ''[[Ad hoc]]'' reasoning may be employed in attempts to justify the intervention, since these events by their nature will often appear inconsistent with the narrative.

The phrase is Latin, but the concept is [[Greek]] in origin, and derived from the practice of introducing [[divine intervention]] into stories that have reached some kind of impasse. In Greek theatre, actors representing the [[gods]] would be winched onto the stage from a crane (hence the "machine" in this phrase).  The gods of Greek [[mythology]] were highly anthropomorphic, like [[Yahweh]] of the [[Old Testament]], and would meddle frequently in the affairs of mortals.<ref group=note>Zeus enjoyed transforming himself into animals in order to have [[sex]] with mortals. Kind of makes Yahweh and [[Jesus]] seem a bit dull.</ref> This in some ways helped justify the arbitrary actions of gods in Greek plays, but overuse of this construct could lead to poorly structured stories with little scope for clever twists. It is difficult for readers to feel any sense of concern for characters in difficulties if they know that a convenient deity was always waiting in the wings.

Conventional storytelling usually has an element of justice: good characters overcome difficulties, and wicked or corrupt characters get their comeuppance. Often this occurs organically through strengths or flaws of the characters determining the outcomes of their interactions, but in ''deus ex machina'' solutions, the tensions are resolved by an unexpected factor which (usually) restores the balance in a similar way. In the case of gods, justice was imposed from above, rather than by the protagonists.

===Falldidit===
'''Falldidit''' is the first of a trio of arguments used by creationists when it is inappropriate to use goddidit due to conflict with [[Omnibenevolence]]. This is an example of a [[Problem of evil|theodicy]]. Falldidit is the primary rebuttal for any inconvenient [[Medicine|medical]] or [[Biology|biological]] fact, or even social principle that suggests that [[God]]'s design is less than perfect. It is rooted in the concept of [[Original sin]], and how "the Fall" instigated a general breakdown of the processes that underpin God's perfect creation. 

Usage is as follows:
# Scientist: Here's a bad thing we discovered.
# Creationist: God's design is perfect, so your evidence is flawed.
# Scientist: Here's more evidence.
# Creationist: You are misinterpreting the evidence.
# Scientist: Here's more evidence, which will show the existence of the bad thing [[Moving the goalposts|even if you interpret it your way]].
# Creationist: ''Falldidit''.

The [[Bible|biblical]] [[evil]]s that occurred as a result of [[Original sin|Eve's misbehavior]] are well-documented; however, the Bible fails to mention all of the other horrible things that directly resulted. 

'''[[Disease]]''': All disease is easy to explain using falldidit. First there was no disease, then there was [[Original sin|Eve's misbehavior]], [[Post hoc, ergo propter hoc|then disease]]. Fortunately, microbiology was founded by Christians, all beneficial research was done by Christians, and microbiology disproves [[evolution]]. Sadly, most progress against disease had halted because there are not enough creationist microbiologists: ''In today’s world, there is a failure of scientists to recognize the clear evidence of the Creator’s hand in the world around us… If a biblical worldview comes back, we might again have more medical discoveries and an increase the quality of life of mankind.''<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/aid/v4/n1/creation-germ-theory Who else? Answers in Genesis]</ref>

'''Oncogenes''': Oncogenes are genes in humans (and other animals) which create cancer. They were discovered in chickens in the 1970s, and their presence in humans was confirmed in the 1980s. As they are essentially "self-destruct" buttons, their purpose seems to not fit in with God's design. Hence falldidit.<ref>[http://christiananswers.net/q-eden/cancer.html Christian Answers - Cancer]</ref> Oncogenes actually exist to give us (and, presumably, chickens) a physical reminder of the true wages of sin. The jury is still out on why God elected to use [[AIDS]] as [[divine retribution]] for [[homosexuality]] (accidentally targeting many other people in the process) to allow gays to catch Kaposi's sarcoma, but hey, mysterious ways.

'''[[Virus]]es''': If God created everything, and the fall turned all of God's good things bad, what did viruses do before the fall? Answer: before the fall they brought happiness and joy, and survived on God's love. Then falldidit,<ref>[http://christiananswers.net/q-aig/aig-c008.html Christian Answers - Disease]</ref> and viruses became little killing machines. This is wrong in itself because viruses do not need to 'survive' - they blur the line between life and non-life, and we honestly don't know what to call them (are they life or not?). They lack the ability to grow, create waste products, and reproduce independently. Therefore the explanation itself is invalid.

'''[[Parasite]]s''': As per viruses just above, except that the fall supposedly turned them into animals unable to live except messing with their hosts. Included here are animals as mosquitoes turned into evil blood-sucking insects or those that can live only in a diet of blood as {{wpl|Cimex lectularius|bed bugs}}, when they would be nice, happy, creatures without the fall.

'''[[Neanderthal]]s''': What about Neanderthals? Answer: falldidit<ref>[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/a_neands.html Talk Origins - neandertals]</ref> &mdash; they were just normal people who got attacked by viruses.

'''Nociception''': Nociception refers to the entire set of mechanisms in the body that communicate and monitor [[pain]]. It includes the entire {{wpl|Afferent nerve fiber|afferent nervous system}} as well as multiple regions of the [[brain]]. However, before the fall, there was no pain. Hence our entire neurology for dealing with pain was a case of falldidit. No one seems to be able to explain rationally when or how it got installed; presumably, God was in a charitable mood, and massively altered our neurology for the sake of completeness.

'''[[Mutation]]s''': Because of falldidit, God's perfect creation is turning to shite. Apparently God builds stuff like Ikea, it looks good for a while but falls apart much more quickly than you expect. Since the fall, all sorts of genetic conditions have come about because DNA is like a Lego spaceship being handed to a 3-year old. Tay-Sachs? ''Falldidit''. [[Down syndrome]]? ''Falldidit''. Fortunately for creationists, evolution is impossible because mutations cannot ever be positive; they can only corrupt and destroy healthy things!<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cfl/mutations Answers in 
Self-delusion
 Genesis]</ref>

'''[[Incest]]''': ''Falldidit''. Prior to the Fall 
you could
 [[RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Genesis#Genesis 1:28|God commanded you to]] bang 
[[incest|your sister]]
 [[Masturbation|whatever your rib has become]]<ref group=note>Or what used to be [[Adam|the rest of the body]], if you happened to be [[eve|the rib]].</ref> ({{bible|Genesis|2|22}}).<ref group=note>Holy founder effect, Batman!</ref> But then the Fall came, and because of the potential genetic defects, you now have to stop lusting after your sibling and yourself. Hmm… How did [[Cain]]'s wife ({{Bible|Genesis|4|17|}}) come into existence again? But banging your rib until Adam died is still okay, for some odd reason. As [[Answers in Genesis]] explains;

{{cquote|It's considered unwise nowadays (and illegal in many states) to marry someone too closely related to you. Why? Because you greatly increase the odds that bad genes will show up… That would not have been a problem, by the way, shortly after creation (no problem for Cain and his wife, for example).|4=Answers in 
[[Lot|Incest Porn]]
Genesis<ref>[http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cfl/mutations Answers in 
Incest porn
 Genesis]</ref>}} Why incest would have been ok ''for a while after the Fall'' remains a bit of a mystery, however.

Why it was 
still ok
 totally normal for Lot to have sex with his daughters ({{Bible|Genesis|19|30}}) or for Abraham to marry his half-sister ({{Bible|Genesis|20|12}}), long after the Fall, remains a mystery. But, then again, [[Escape_hatch#Theology|God works in mysterious ways]].

===Flooddidit===
'''Flooddidit''' is the second of a trio of arguments used by [[creationists]] when goddidit can't be applied, after Falldidit. ''Flooddidit'' is used to summarily dismiss the entire bodies of knowledge science has acquired in [[astronomy]], [[geology]], [[paleontology]], {{wpl|geophysics||,}} {{wpl|physical geography||,}} {{wpl|geomorphology||,}} {{wpl|climatology||,}} {{wpl|meteorology||,}} {{wpl|glaciology||,}} and {{wpl|hydrology||.}} It is primarily an attempt to argue that chapters 6 to 9 of [[Genesis]] represent literal fact, and hence [[Noah]] really did build a [[Noah's Ark|boat]], God really did flood the earth, and 99.9% of everyone and everything died as a result. In creationist publications, it is generally referred to as [[Flood geology]].

In the early days of the [[Enlightenment]], genuine efforts were made to come up with a naturalistic interpretation of the events recounted in Genesis. However, by 1830, the scientific community had largely abandoned the attempt. This was because the geological actions of localized floods had been studied and well-documented by then, and everyone (including the Reverend {{wpl|William Buckland}}, the 'father' of modern geology who had originally been an influential advocate of biblical accuracy) conceded that there was simply no similarity with large scale geology.

''Flooddidit'' as we know it today was born in 1961 when Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb, Jr. published {{wpl|The Genesis Flood|''The Genesis Flood: The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications''|.}} This book was heavily based on the 1954 book ''The Christian View of Science and Scripture'' by Douglas Ramm (which also acted as the source for most of the footnotes). Throughout the 1960s the book languished in obscurity, but it began to become popular with [[evangelical]]s in the late 1960s. Morris went on to establish the [[Institute for Creation Research]] in 1970.

As with ''falldidit'' and ''satandidit'', ''flooddidit'' requires an [[Cherry picking|incredibly inconsistent]] application of certain processes, in this case specifically to do with erosion, sediment deposition, bacterial growth rates, and volcanoes. Essentially, all geological formations can be explained by a huge amount of water rising, lots of volcanoes, a massive amount of erosion, a lot of volcanoes dying mysteriously, and then water pushing rocks around, while [[bacteria]] decide to behave in ways never observed since. In the case of the so-called "zenithic" rocks, the rocks were actually created by the water itself.<ref>[http://biblicalgeology.net/Model/Development-of-Model.html Biblical geology - flood model]</ref> 

Once relieved of the need for any actual evidence, ''flooddidit'' is a supremely powerful explanatory tool. Chalk beds don't take millions of years to build up, because ''"…under cataclysmic Flood conditions, explosive blooms of tiny organisms like coccolithophores could produce the chalk beds in a short space of time."''<ref name=bgnet>[http://biblicalgeology.net/General/QA-Topics.html Biblical geology - Q&A]</ref> Fossil forests? ''"…the geological evidence is more consistent with the trees having been uprooted from another place, and carried into position by catastrophic volcanic mudflows"''<ref name=bgnet></ref> Why is there so much sedimentary rock and why is it so diverse? Because ''"…moving water transports sediment into a ‘basin’ and, once deposited, it is isolated from the system. The same volume of water can pick up more sediment as it is driven across the continents, for example, by earth movements during the Flood."''<ref name=bgnet></ref>

Oh, and by the way, there was an [[ice age]] immediately afterwards. The [[Bible]] accidentally forgot to mention it.

===Satandidit===
'''Satandidit''' (or '''Luciferdidit''') is the last of a trio of arguments used by [[Christian]] [[creationist]]s when applying goddidit leads to conflicts about some of the perceived attributes of [[God]], after Falldidit and Flooddidit. Satandidit is primarily used when falldidit and flooddidit are not applicable. The argument stems from the story of the [[angel]] [[Lucifer]] daring to [[skepticism|question]] the will of [[Jehovah|God]] and being permanently outcast from [[Heaven]]. Apparently because Lucifer (later referred to as [[Satan]], although the link crosses testaments and does raise some questions of whether the two names are the same, and some of these people claim the Lucifer's/Satan's original name as an angel is unknown as the Bible is silent on it instead.) was a bad guy, humanity will be punished instead. Seems fair. This also ignores the opinion that most theologians hold {{---}} that is, Satan has no actual means of affecting the world other than directly planting temptations in people's heads.

By most accounts, "Satan" needs human collaboration ([[sin]]) to do the worst, even if he is derived from old or rejected "nature gods". In Abrahamic religions, Satan is not the cause of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, epidemics, infestations, man-eating creatures, meteorological extremes, or crop failures that can overwhelm human frailties. Human corruption may put more people in danger. Satan may not be heroin, but he might be its ultimate pusher. Satan is not {{wpl|Zyklon-B}} or the machine guns of {{wpl|Einsatzgruppen|''Einsatzgruppen''|,}} but he did get [[Nazism|evil people to hijack a State]] and find pretexts and means for [[Holocaust|applying it to people rendered powerless to avoid murder with those tools]].    

'''Examples:'''

*[[Alvin Plantinga]] is a serious and widely-renowned Christian philosopher whose explanation for animal suffering is, literally, Satanic influence on the evolutionary process.{{efn|
{{quotebox|If so, however, perhaps all the best possible worlds contain incarnation and atonement, or at any rate atonement. But any world that contains atonement will contain sin and evil and consequent suffering and pain. Furthermore, if the remedy is to be proportionate to the sickness, such a world will contain a great deal of sin and a great deal of suffering and pain. Still further, it may very well contain sin and suffering, not just on the part of human beings but perhaps also on the part of other creatures as well. Indeed, some of these other creatures might be vastly more powerful than human beings, and some of them—Satan and his minions, for example—may have been permitted to play a role in the evolution of life on earth, steering it in the direction of predation, waste and pain. (Some may snort with disdain at this suggestion; it is none the worse for that.)<ref>''Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism'' (2011, Oxford University Press)</ref>{{rp|59}}}}

Jerry Coyne made fun of this.<ref>[https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/sophisticated-theology-plantinga-explains-why-god-makes-animals-suffer/ Sophisticated Theology: Plantinga explains why God makes animals suffer] Why evolution is true, 13 August 2012</ref>}}

* Some Christian fundamentalist preachers have suggested that Satan is responsible for spreading fossils across the globe, in order to "deliberately deceive" scientists into doubting the existence of [[God]].

* Flat Earthers of the fundamentalist variety believe that Satan is responsible for deceiving people that the world is round.

===Aliensdidit===
[[File:Alienscavemen.jpg|thumb|"Umm, Captain Prometheus, are you ''sure'' this is part of the mission objectives?"]]
[[File:Spideraliens.jpeg|right|upright|thumb|The go to explanation for everything]]
{{quote|For all I know we may be visited by a different extraterrestrial civilization every second Tuesday, but there's no support for this appealing idea. [[Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence|The extraordinary claims are not supported by extraordinary evidence]].|[[Carl Sagan]], {{wpl|Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage#Episodes|''Encyclopedia Galactica''}}}}
'''Aliensdidit''' postulates that [[extraterrestrial]]s are responsible for 
[[Ancient Aliens|literally everything]]
 interfering with human history, usually by genetically engineering us to be more intelligent, giving us technology, or by [[abiogenesis|starting life itself]]. As a hypothesis for [[abiogenesis]], this is known as [[panspermia]]; when the aliens did a little bit more and actually affected evolution, it's [[directed panspermia]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091016055629/http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/10/it_was_an_alien_intervention.php Pharyngula &mdash; ''It was an Alien Intervention!'']</ref>

Like most odd-ball conjectures about how the universe works and came to be, there is no actual evidence that aliens did anything to the planet, ever. The only "evidence" is that there are currently things that [[naturalist]]ic [[science]] hasn't fully explained yet, or things that it has explained but the aliensdidit-proponents didn't understand. Consequently, that leaves us with "aliens of the gaps" instead of [[God of the gaps]]. 

Ultimately, the argument comes down to "[[Argument from incredulity|I can't figure this out]], so aliens must have done it". The problem, of course, is that attributing something to some celestial beings doesn't make understanding it any easier.

With respect to the origin or diversity of life on Earth, aliensdidit is a subset of [[intelligent design]] (ID). However, it should be considered something of an illegitimate stepchild of ID, since ID was never meant to be anything other than a simple redress of ''Goddidit''. By leaving the "designer" vague and obfuscated, yet still supernatural, it allowed for [[fundamentalist]] interpretations to be made by implication while masquerading as science. Aliensdidit therefore provides a handy [[secular]] 
excuse
 version of ID to try and show that it isn't ''just'' [[creationism]] in a cheap lab coat. By pinning the designer down to be aliens, ID becomes [[Methodological naturalism|naturalistic]]; advanced alien race created or seeded life on [[Earth]], which is vaguely plausible as the laws of the universe don't exclude alien life ''existing'' and interfering with us. The claim must ultimately revert back to [[evolution]] and [[natural selection]] &mdash; i.e., in order to explain how the aliens themselves developed. Still, the evidence points to an undirected evolution, via [[natural selection]] &mdash; there is no evidence that actively suggests alien involvement in the development of life. It's plausible (or at least not ''im''plausible), but just highly unlikely and it has no evidence to back it up (obviously).

Put simply, aliensdidit is the naturalistic version of Goddidit for people who still can't deal with things they find difficult to understand, but still want to act smug because at least they don't believe in [[God]].

[[Francis Crick]], who co-discovered the structure of [[DNA]], never strongly held the aliensdidit view, but only advanced it as a possibility. [[Richard Dawkins]], despite what was claimed in the ID film [[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed|Expelled]] by the smug narrator [[Ben Stein]], does ''not'' believe in aliensdidit; he specifically stated that it was the ''most plausible'' mechanism by which Intelligent Design can be true. Not "I believe in space aliens" as Stein disingenuously suggested after that segment of the film. (Though even if, hypothetically, Dawkins ''did'' believe this, it's quite unclear on what grounds Stein justifies ridiculing the idea of "space aliens" — a ragingly unlikely possibility, yes, but at least theoretically bound by known physical laws — while blithely accepting without question the existence of a deity with the unfathomable power to rework the very mechanics of the universe at whim.)

Aliensdidit doesn't actually explain the origin of life, because where did the aliens come from? If they say the aliens just evolved without help, then the same thing can be said about humans. How can an even more complex form of life evolve without help, but not humans?

'''Examples:'''
*[[Zecharia Sitchin]] suggested that, since some human [[gene]]s have no homologs in other species, they were inserted into the human [[genome]] by aliens.<ref>http://www.sitchin.com/adam.htm</ref>
*Sam Chang suggested that, since some human DNA sequences have homologs in other species, they were inserted by "extraterrestrial programmers".<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20060118120121/http://www.gewo.applet.cz/health/DNA_1e.htm</ref>
*'''[[Ancient astronauts]]:''' While there is a crowd that suggests that life here began "out there", one of the key aliensdidit type beliefs is that human ''civilisation'' began due to alien intervention. [[Erich von Däniken]]‎ even credits aliens with altering early man's DNA to create the first "intelligence" by taking sperm from a man, genetically engineering it and placing it in a woman, an event he says formed the basis of the Biblical story of [[Adam and Eve]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070317093030/http://youtube.com/watch?v=VaJgsxFX_mE Erich von Däniken explains his "fairytale".]</ref> This argument, however, relies heavily on the [[Argument from incredulity|credulousness]] of the listener. The proponent begins by claiming that early man lived in caves, hitting things with rocks, and "suddenly" started building large stone structures with advanced technology using information they could not possibly have worked out for themselves, such as the positions of stars and the location of the North pole. By reinforcing the false perception that ancient people were not capable of deep intellectual thought, proponents of alien interventions claim that things like [[Stonehenge]], the [[Pyramid]]s and the Mayan calendar are mysteries that science can't explain. So after creating their own mystery, they provide their own answer: aliensdidit.<br /><br />The much simpler explanation, and the one generally accepted by mainstream science due to the evidence available, is that humans were still evolving and becoming more intelligent up until the end of the last [[ice age]]. At the beginning of the Holocene era, the most recent geological epoch, humans began to form permanent settlements, developing language which enabled the sharing of information. As these settlements grew larger, more information was shared and a greater number of people were available for large undertakings. The "ancients" merely did in stone what we do today in steel and concrete: build large structures for the powerful in our groups, so they can advertise and maintain their status.
*'''Modern technology:''' The final category of aliensdidit has nothing to do with jump-starting life or human evolution, but deals with today's technologies. This view argues that revolutionary technologies like transistors, fiber optics, digital computers, cell phones, and military technology like night vision and stealth aircraft weren't developed after years of research here on Earth, but rather it was {{wpl|reverse engineering|reverse engineered}} after the [[Roswell]] crash.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20040619010350/http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread59681/pg1</ref> Because of the interaction required between aliens and established governments, this belief crosses into the territory of [[conspiracy theory]]. These [[conspiracy theorist]]s claim that in exchange for advanced technology the aliens are allowed to [[alien abduction|abduct]] us (and stick probes up our butts).<ref>http://www.stopabductions.com</ref> 
*'''Clarke's laws:''' [[Arthur C. Clarke|Clarke's third law]] dictates "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from [[magic]]." While this is not a formal law of the universe by any stretch of the imagination, Arthur C. Clarke was quite perceptive about this one. The idea that advanced technology appears "magical" may go most of the way to explain aliensdidit beliefs; people lacking the ability to understand advanced technology or how biology can lead to complex evolution just view the whole thing as magical, and therefore attribute it to an equally magical, otherworldly origin.

===Gaysdidit===
'''Gaysdidit''' is a neologism, most often seen as a sarcastic  [[Twitter]] hashtag, referring to the tendency of certain activists on the [[religious right]] to blame tragedies on the fact that [[homosexuals]] are treated with a modicum of decency, claiming that it's either [[goddidit|divine retribution]] or otherwise the result of moral decadence making people [[evil]].

It is a specifically [[homophobia|homophobic]] form of the didit fallacy.

'''Examples:'''
*Floods in the [[United Kingdom]] in 2007 (according to the Bishop of Carlisle).<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556131/Floods-are-judgment-on-society-say-bishops.html Floods are judgment on society, say bishops], ''[[Daily Telegraph]]''</ref><ref>[http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2007/07/01/bishop-claims-floods-are-punishment-for-gay-rights/ Bishop claims floods are punishment for gay rights], ''Pink News''</ref>
*[[Hurricane Sandy]]<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2012/10/29/pastor_blame_gays_for_hurricane_sandy/ Pastor: Blame gays for Hurricane Sandy]</ref>
*[[Hurricane Katrina]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110711081356/http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2008/04/23/22152/hagee-katrina-mccain/ Katrina struck New Orleans because it was planning a sinful homosexual rally]</ref>
*[[School shooting]]s<ref>[http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/james_dobson_blames_gays_abortion_for_shootings/ James Dobson blames gays, abortion for shootings]</ref>
* [[9/11]]<ref>[[Jerry Falwell]] and [[Pat Robertson]] both said as much soon after the attacks. Even [[Rush Limbaugh]] [http://www.metafilter.com/10544/Rush-Limbaugh-says-Robertson-and-Falwell-Were-Wrong thought they were going too far.]</ref>
*Everything that the [[Westboro Baptist Church]] has ever said.
*Every case of [[child sexual abuse|boys being sexually abused by men]] (including [[Child sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church|the ones from the church]] as well).
*[[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory|JFK's assassination]], as originated by [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theorist]] Jim Garrison.<ref>[http://www.whale.to/b/homo_international.html Homo International] ''[[Whale.to]]'' {{quotebox|Klimov's discovery of a sado-homo-cidal{{sic}} mafia at the top levels of power whether East or West coincides with Jim Garrison's 1967 independent investigation into the Kennedy Assassination. Garrison was told of the Washington DC 'homosexual elite' which constitutes the secret government.  Garrison concluded that a primary reason Kennedy was so blatantly and brutally murdered before the American public was their contempt for Kennedy's heterosexuality.}}</ref>

===Sorosdidit===
'''Sorosdidit''' is a neologism referring to the [[alt-right]]'s tendency to blame [[George Soros]] for everything. This is usually [[antisemitism|antisemitic]],<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/how-anti-semitic-conspiracy-theory-about-george-soros-fueling-allegations-n1094886]</ref> as Soros is a successful, famous [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Economics|economist]] and therefore a go-to target for stereotypical representations of Jewish people. This has allowed him to become a [[scapegoat]] for [[wingnut]]s and [[Trumpism|Trumpists]]. These [[Conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]] also frequently enter [[not even wrong]] territory, as he'll be blamed for the actions of organizations he never funded.

===Others===
*[[NWO|'''NWOdidit''']]: Anything in any government anywhere changes in any way? ''NWO did it!''
*[[International Jewish Conspiracy|'''Jewsdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but the NWO isn't racist enough? ''Jews did it!''
*[[Rothschilds|'''Rothschildsdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but the [[antisemitism]] isn’t specific enough? ''Rothschilds did it!''
*'''[[Atheism|Atheistsdidit]]''': Got a mysterious event, but the Jews aren't immoral enough? ''
[[Recipe:Tips for preparing and serving human babies|Baby-eatin']] commies
 Atheists did it!''
*[[David Icke|'''Reptoidsdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but atheists aren't lizard enough? ''Reptoids did it!''
*[[Argumentum ad Monsantum|'''Monsantodidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but the reptoids aren't megacorporate enough? ''Monsanto did it!''
*[[Ghost|'''Spiritsdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but Monsanto isn't ectoplasmic enough? ''Spirits did it!''
*[[Social Darwinism|'''Evolutiondidit''']]: Got a prejudice you want to present as [[Appeal to nature|justified by nature]]? Say, you want to argue that women are fitted by nature to stay home barefoot and pregnant? Go quote-mining the literature of human evolution: ''Evolution did it!''
*[[Prayer|'''Prayerdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but ghosts aren't knee-bendingly painful enough? ''Prayer did it!''
*[[Quantum woo|'''Quantumdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but prayer isn't "spooky action-at-a-distance" enough? ''Quantum did it!''
*[[Contrails|'''Contrailsdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event or general malaise, but poorly understood science isn't dispersed-from-planes enough? ''Contrails did it!''
*[[Leftism|'''Leftdidit''']]: Any poverty, crime, death, etc. that exists ANYWHERE that could be caused by policies that are considered to be leftist only by American conservatives? ''The left did it!''
*[[Antifa|'''Antifadidit''']]: Any poverty, crime, death, etc. that exists ANYWHERE that could be caused by policies that are considered to be leftist only by American conservatives but the left isn’t specific enough? ''Antifa did it!''
*[[NewsTarget|'''Cancerindustrydidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, but contrails aren't tumorous enough? ''Cancer industry did it!''
*'''[[Transphobia|Transdidit]]''': Got a mysterious event, and want an excuse to justify your transphobia (particularly [[Transmisogyny]])? ''Transgender people did it!''
*[[Pastafarianism|'''FSMdidit''']]: Got a mysterious event, and it's mouth-wateringly delicious? ''FSM did it!''
*[[Skepticism|'''Skepticsdidit''']]: Banned for trolling? ''Skeptics did it!''
*'''[[Social media|BigTechDidIt]]''': Banned for using [[Racism|h]][[Misogyny|a]][[Homophobia|t]][[Transphobia|e]] [[Anti-Semitism|sp]][[Islamophobia|ee]][[Ableism|ch]], [[COVID-19 pandemic|spreading pseudoscience about COVID-19]], or [[US Capitol insurrection|inciting a riot?]] ''Big Tech did it!''
*[[Barack Obama|'''Obamadidit''']]: None of the above? "Thanks Obama!"
*'''[[Bill Clinton|Clintons]][[Hillary Clinton|didit]]''': Want to blame a Democratic politician, but Obama isn't sleazy enough for you? ''The Clintons did it!'
*'''[[Simulated reality|SimulationDidit]]:''' It's the simulators experimenting on us!
*'''[[Trump]]didit''': Anything bad or good during 2016-2021? Trumpdidit! The Left and the Right can fall into this fallacy.
*'''[[Biden|Bidendidit]]''': Anything bad, good, or whatever happened after 2021? Bidendidit! Can be used by people regardless of political position, though it is most frequently used by people on the [[far-right]].
*'''[[Biblical literalism#HolySpiritDidIt?|HolySpiritDidIt]]:''' Any contradiction in the Bible? Let the Holy Spirit interpret and [[handwave|explain it away]]!
*'''[[Pseudopsychology#StressDidIt|StressDidIt]]''': Are you suffering from depression, anger, concern fear, gloom, despair, etc? Well, StressDidIt! 
*{{trope|AWizardDidIt||"A wizard did it."}}: 
Xena
 Lucy Lawless, ''[[The Simpsons]]''.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDuMp2kDxos "''Simpsons'' did it."]: Dougie, ''[[South Park]]''.
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdocQHsPCNM "Magic man done it."]: Robin Ince, [[British]] comedian.
*[[Cthulhu]]: Did someone go [[insane]]? Cthulhudiddit!
*[[Eric Jon Phelps|Jesuitsdidit]]: [[Jesuits]] are part of every [[unified conspiracy theory]]
*[[Hamas|Hamasdidit]]: Want to explain why Palestinians are living in what can be amounted to hell-on-Earth yet [[Zionist|you]] [[United States|just]] can't help but bootlick an [[apartheid]] [[Israel|state]]? Well just blame the terrorist organization. Bonus points if you straight up fucking say the [[United Nations]] is affiliated with the organization.

==See also==
{{Div col|2}}
*[[Escape hatch]]
*[[God of the gaps]]
*[[Magical thinking]]
*[[Ancient astronauts]] 
*[[Directed panspermia]]
*[[Essay:What "Goddidit" means]]
*[[Fun:Didit generator]]
{{Div col end}}
{{otherlang
|es=Falacia de atribución}}

==External links==
*[http://skepdic.com/dvinefal.html divine fallacy (argument from incredulity)], [[Skeptic's Dictionary]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{logfal}}

[[Category:Ancient aliens]]
[[Category:Creationism]]
[[Category:Global flood]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Ufology]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[ru:Так пожелал Бог]]

Categories: Ancient aliens, Creationism, Global flood, Pseudoscience, Ufology, Homophobia