# 49. Manipulation of bias and heuristics in decision making ## 49.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 49.5.31. Illusion of validity This is the likelihood that very consistent but weak data will lead to confident predictions. A manipulator delivers an invalid argument by emphasizing only the consistency of the data and correlations, without also describing the weaknesses of the data - e.g. a small sample size, or a non-random sample.