The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-six lessons on how to recognize bad reasoning [Paperback]

Nathaniel Bluedorn (Author), Hans Bluedorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2002

What is a fallacy? A fallacy is an error in logic a place where someone has made a mistake in his thinking.

A cloud is 90% water. A watermelon is 90% water. Therefore, since a plane can fly through a cloud, a plane can fly through a watermelon.

This book meets the needs of parents who want a do-able text for introducing logic and critical thinking to their children.

-Fun to use -- not dry like a math textbook.

-Self-teaching -- not intimidating, starts students with skills they can use right away.

-Each lesson has exercises for students, with an answer key at the back.

-Covers logical fallacies and propaganda techniques.

-Geared for ages twelve and older.

-Includes cartoons to illustrate the logical fallacies discussed, including Peanuts, Dilbert, Calvin and Hobbes.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I love your book! I never knew how much fun logic was until I read your book. P.S. I am 12 years old. - Paul Muenzler --Student

My family and I are really enjoying your book. Even my youngest son, who is eight, enjoys attempting to answer the questions. Your book was a great introduction to another program that I had purchsed. Going directly into that program probably would have bored my children to tears but now they are interested in the concepts of logic. My children became instantly attracted to the program because of the the comic segments but later couldn't put it down. - LaVera, MD --Parent

I'm always delighted when two sides that seem mutually opposed come together in harmonious agreement. I'm even more delighted when I've taken one of those sides. In this case, I write of the efforts of Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn, brothers from Iowa who advocate homeschooling and create educational materials from a Christian worldview. The fruit of the latest Bluedorn effort is a short text, The Fallacy Detective, designed to be a primer in logic for older children, specifically homeschooled Christian children, though the book is intended for anyone who wants to explore the subject. . . .

. . . I find it wonderful that the Bluedorns, among others, are actively reinvigorating the religious world with a healthy dose of independent thought . . . - Andrew C. Thomas (The Tech) --The Tech, Massachusetts Institute of Technology --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

In 1999 Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn decided to try to turn their interest in logic into a livelihood by starting Christian Logic.com. Since then, they have written two books on logic for children and adults, The Fallacy Detective and The Thinking Toolbox. They have recently produced their first DVD, Logic in 100 Minutes. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: Christian Logic; 2nd edition (2002)
• ASIN: B0006S2TXW
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,143,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great For Kids or Adults, June 6, 2005

By 

Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-six lessons on how to recognize bad reasoning (Paperback)

The Fallacy Detective, written by Hans and Nathaniel Bluedorn, is a book designed for teens or adults that teaches how to spot common errors in reasoning. The goals for this book are clearly laid out in the introduction. When the reader has completed this book he should be able to put a high value on good reasoning, know how to spot many forms of bad reasoning and know how to avoid using many fallacies in his own reasoning.

The authors provide a vision of Christian logic in which they appeal to the need for Christians to strive for a higher standard of reasoning, in order to attain greater ability in discernment. Logic is an important foundation for the science of discernment. Thus they seek to define good reasoning in a biblical way. "Logic is the science of thinking the way God thinks - the way Jesus taught us to think" (page 14).

The book contains thirty-six lessons which progress from the most common and basic fallacies, to statistical fallacies and even propaganda. All those terms I have not heard since my university Critical Thinking courses are present as well as some that are commonly used and misused: red herring, ad hominem, tu quoque, appeal to the people, part-to-whole, whole-to-part and so on. Each lesson is followed by several questions which allow the reader to apply what he has just learned. I was glad to see that the questions are cumulative, meaning that what has been taught in previous lessons is continually reviewed in the application questions for subsequent chapters.

The authors write in a style that will appeal to teens and young people. The text is interspersed with comics (such as Calvin & Hobbes, Peanunts and Dilbert) and anecdotes. It is also a funny book, as there are many places where the authors turn to humor to make the book enjoyable. A typical lesson may begin similar to this one, which discusses weak analogies: "Let's say...you are a budding scientist wanting to write your graduate thesis on the long term effects of Pop-Tarts on humans. The only problem is, you can't find enough people who are willing to eat thirty-four Pop-Tarts a day for one year" (page 131).

Can learning logic be fun? With The Fallacy Detective it appears that it can be. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to improve his reasoning skills. While its primary usefulness will be for teenagers, adults will also enjoy it and benefit from the lessons. If you homeschool your children, this may be a useful title. You can read more about it at christianlogic.com.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cute with a critical thinking point, February 21, 2005

By 

E. Johnson (El Cajon, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-six lessons on how to recognize bad reasoning (Paperback)

The Fallacy Detective cannot be a good book because it was written by homeschoolers.

Ooops, there I go again, using a genetic fallacy. It's what you'll learn from a couple of home-school educated detectives who aim their book at those 13 and older. There are a number of cartoons--from Peanuts and Dilbert to a cartoon written by the authors' sister--that help keep interest in the simple, straightforward book as it deals with several dozen common fallacies. The exercises will help keep the student on the straight and narrow, making sure the ideas are solidified in the mind. I do recommend this book for kids as well as adults who would like to sharpen their critical thinking skills.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious and educational, August 11, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Fallacy Detective: Thirty-Six Lessons on How to Recognize Bad Reasoning, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

A wonderful little logic book, that can be enjoyed on several levels. First of all it is a great homeschooling resource. Second, it's a useful way to get research if you're stuck on a logic test. Thirdly, it is peppered throughout with great cartoons from the classics "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Peanuts" as well as the less classic "Dilbert." Lastly, it's just plain hilarious! You'll laugh your head off with anecdotes about putting a smoke detector in the fireplace. Absolutely, don't miss.