Information AboutRed Herring |
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A red herring is a Metaphor for a Diversion or Distraction from an original objective. An example can be found in academic examinations, particularly in Mathematics and Physical Sciences . In some questions, information may be provided which is not necessary to solve the given problem. The presence of extraneous data often causes those taking the exam to spend too much time on the question, reducing the time given to other problems and potentially lowering the resulting score. Red herrings are frequently used in literature and cinema mysteries, where a character is presented to make the reader/viewer believe he/she is the perpetrator, when in reality it is someone far less suspect. ETYMOLOGY The phrase may relate to saving a hunted fox by dragging a says it is unlikely that any such act ever occurred.1 The use of a red herring in this way is described by James Rodwell in 1863 book against the rat. Here he describes the red herring as a "kind of witch", which when dragged along the floor to make a scented trail, is a method "commonly used for charming rats" and removing them from certain places (pp 194). SEE ALSO NOTES |
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