Symbolic Logic and the Game of Logic (Paperback)

by Lewis Carroll (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Yes, this is the Lewis Carroll who wrote Alice in Wonderland, and these two works show the same quirky humor. Here you see Carroll the mathematician at his playful best. Don't let the title of the first work mislead you--this isn't about modern symbolic logic but about ways of expressing classical logic with symbols. It's loaded with amusing problems to delight any mathematical puzzler. In the second work he turns logic into a game played with diagrams and colored counters, giving you hundreds of challenging and witty syllogisms to solve. Great mind-stretching fun.

Product Description
Over 350 ingenious problems involving classical logic: logic is expressed in terms of symbols; syllogisms and the sorites are diagrammed; logic becomes a game played with two diagrams and a set of counters. Two books bound as one.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1958)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486204928
• ISBN-13: 978-0486204925
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #159,806 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #38 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > British > Classics > Carroll, Lewis
  #52 in	Books > Science > Mathematics > Logic

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book to teach logic to children, May 25, 1999

By	Sergei Mikhelson ([e-mail]) "ssm21" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This book by Lewis Carroll is a wonderful source to learn the basics of logic in a funny and natural way. It can be used as a self-study guide or as a manual for educators teaching elements of logic to schoolchildren. It is very clear and consequent and gives the basic idea of propositions and syllogisms. The theory is framed in an unusual game that makes it much more understandable. As always Carroll's examples are a little bit absurdic but this is exactly what makes them humorous, attractive and involving. The book is also a great brain teaser for readers of all ages. Unfortunately it is not as well known as Alice in Wonderland but it has been translated into many foreign languages. I widely used the Russain translation when teaching logic to schoolchildren in St. Petersburg, Russia. Currently being a doctoral student in the States I try to introduce it to my colleagues.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reminds us that math can be FUN, January 20, 2000

By	fishanthrope "Philip Welsh" (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews

Math is fun, but the rhetoric of most 'taught' (probably an overstatement) math (and, by extension, logic) is so incredibly dry that the forest is rarely seen for the bark on the trees. But here Carroll, with tongue lodged firmly in cheek, turns the rhetoric (and by extension, the way we think about math problems) on its ear, and the result is an often incredibly funny approach to math and logic problems which stays with you and ultimately worms its way into your quotidian. I'll also say that, as an atrociously poor student in high school, this book allowed me to ace the SATs, and then ten years later the GREs.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This ain't Wonderland, July 21, 2006

By	KnottyFella (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Some books you read to relax, some to learn, and some...well, some will make you think and wonder and grow. This is one of those.

The problems here have been around for more than a century, and yet they are still as effective in teaching logic as the day they were written.

If you are getting ready for the LSAT, this is not a bad place to start. If you just want to tease your intellect, this is a great source for hours of amusement.