DMcG, no need to explain it to us, but to the originators of the "odd ideas" if you feel that the situation requires you to correct them. When I wrote "you", I did not only mean you (DMcG), but Bill and others as well. I know quite a number of married couples where one partner complains that the other keeps correcting her or him in a mortifying style. Often both partners of a couple pronounce this complaint ...

Your examples b) and c) are matters of definition, so that a dictionary suffices for explaining. Example a) is more tricky, because it involves physics and even philosophy ("What is a cause?"...). An encyclopedia should be convincing enough, though.

The crucial point is: lack of knowledge is something distinct from lack of logic. Sneerers who confuse the two are guilty of fallacy themselves. Nevertheless, I feel that people who boast a degree in humanities should be demanded to acquire a good knowledge in all sciences, since these do have consequences even in the softest of all humanities. I for one treasure my school education.