Customer Reviews

Logic Made Easy: How to Know When Language Deceives You

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish I could say I agreed with this title 100%. As a teacher of math and science, I am always looking for books that can make these subjects a little easier for my students. I am also a big believer in math and science books for the general reader. Unfortunately, I don't think this book qualifies.

That is not to say that this is not a good book. For a college student in a logic course, this book is a godsend. It is certainly a clear and concise development of the subject. Indeed, for anyone with a solid background in college level math who is interested in the subject of logic, this book is excellent. It is full of historical background (which I love) and it gives a lot of practical examples in logic, many from standardized exams but also some everyday stuff. And Ms. Bennett does point out many common logical fallacies, which is important.

However, when it comes right down to it, this is a book in pure logic. If you're not familiar with the p's and q's of symbolic logic, this is going to be tough going after awhile. By the time we reach the truth tables, the book will seem to be a flurry of variables. The fact is, no general reader is going to make it this far.

It's unfortunate, because I can see in places that Ms. Bennett has the ability to write a book about logic that anyone could pick up, read and enjoy. But this is not that book. If you are interested in mathematics and have the background, read this book. Otherwise, this book is not for you.

I really enjoyed this book. I've taken Critical Thinking, Philosophy, and Discrete Math at University but this book clarified ideas to me that I found difficult in formal classes. The book is a friendly, popular version of formal logic. The author presents history, nuances, and examples of logic that we easily misunderstand. Please realize the book is a readable subject of logic and not meant to replace expensive course textbooks. Afterall, look at the difference in price. If you truly love logic as I do, you'll find the book interesting and informative. If you read this book, then you will learn more about logic than you already know.

As a professional LSAT tutor/blogger in NYC, I can say that although it's not explicitly written for test-prep purposes, this book contains several logical reasoning-type questions and reviews several common fallacies. The author is clearly familiar with the LSAT, and this makes the book more relevant for our purposes. I highly recommend reading this because it is clear, full of simple examples, and concise. You can skip the parts on the history of logic.

When to read: Before you begin LSAT prep or when you need a break from practice exams.

If you read this book, you'll be sure to understand that 'All S are P' does not imply that 'All P are S.' If you don't read this book, you may understand this anyway. But if you don't understand this, then you must not have read this book (modus tollens!). Most of the book covers basic syllogisms and All/Not/Some/If statements.

Throughout the book are a number of logic problems from standardized tests. The book discusses modus ponens and affirming the consequent, and gives an overview of common fallacies, such as begging the question. I would have liked to see more of the latter, however. Bennett further spends many pages addressing the issue of why people are illogical, frequently citing recent research. This is nice, but repetitive. How many times does she have to mention the common problem caused by bringing external knowledge into logical reasoning?

I disagree with those who say this book is advanced. It seems simple enough to me. For example, although Bennett mentions Barbara, Celarent, etc., she clearly doesn't think the average reader needs to memorize this. Nor does she spend much time on symbols used in formal logic.

I have to say this book on logic is excellent but i found it a bit difficult at times, especially as it pogresses further & deeper into the subject. I feel at times the writer could have explained it better by using shorter & simpler ways. Some of the example tests are awfully interesting & will indulge many i'm sure who are interested to know about the basics of Logic. I would have given it a 4 or 5 but i feel the title is not as easy as it sounds but i do recommend it none the less.

This book is a clear, concise, well-written analysis of many of the most important concepts in modern logic. Probably its greatest virtue is the light it sheds on the numerous logical errors we make in conversation and on paper and on how best to overcome these errors. I would recommend this book as a primer or supplement to introductory and intermediate courses in logic, or as a supplemental LSAT preparation tool.

The selection of topics for discussion in this book is a bit mystifying. One would think that this book would attempt to make logic simple. Bennett has chosen to discuss mnemonics for 64 moods of syllogisms (of which only 4 are valid), but does not elaborate (significantly) on such concepts as "maldistributed middle" or the fallacy of four terms, which seem to me to be much more relevant to avoiding errors in logic. There is a lot of historical discussion about who invented what method of diagraming syllogisms and the psychological problems with being logical, but there is relatively little about informal fallacies. Perhaps the problem is that the title of the book should be "The Topic of Logic Made Simple" instead of one that implies "Being Logical Made Simple."

The study of logic is very different from the logic that we use in our everyday lives, and this book gives a good introduction to the basic rules. It was an easy and fun read (Deborah's writing style is very playful) and gives good historical references and examples using laymen's terms. Deborah deepened my interest and respect for the many logicians before our time such as Aristotle, Lewis Carroll (famous for writing Alice in Wonderland, but whom I was surprised to find was a big logician!), and so on.

If you are looking for a book to help specifically prepare you for the logic section of the LSATs, then you might prefer going straight to an LSAT prep book instead. (Only a few examples from standardized tests are listed in this book, but their sole purpose is to help exemplify some theory.) However, if you would like to hear a little bit more on the history behind the theory (and can afford the time), then I highly recommend reading this book. I read this book before starting my studies for the LSATs and it made tackling LSAT problems more fun since now that I knew a little bit about the theory and history, I developed an appreciation for logic-type questions, and could now focus on improving my technique using the LSAT prep books.

I had taken logic in college so I had a bit of a understanding of the subject before picking this book up a couple of years later to refresh the concepts.

The author does a good job of setting forth the principles of logic and how to "think logically" which I found helpful.

For me is was understandable and reinforced/refreshed concepts that I had become hazy on. I now thumb through the book now and again to review chapters to keep the things in mind.

I was studying logic for a grad course in Abstract Algebra, and ran across this book in a library. Looked useful, so I gave it a try. Excellent Introduction! It was a fun book to read, and it was well worth the time -- I would recommend this for others who want a good, overall introduction to the subject.

The title is pretty dumb, though. Easy??? Not quite. It is a very good book, anyway.