Recommended Book: An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

 An illustrated book of bad arguments

By: Ali Almossawi

ILLUSTRATED BY: Alejandro Giraldo

ISBN:978-1615192250

QUESTIONS EXPLORED:

• Is your reasoning sound?
• Have you bought into a false choice?
• What opinion truly makes the most logical sense?

WHAT I LOVE:

Blending whimsy and practicality, this book asks a fundamental question. It’s one I try to consider daily. Am I thinking clearly? So often, when I ask this question, I realize that the answer is no. I’ve been fuzzier in my thinking than I want to be.

While logic is important in public discourse, for me, it’s of daily importance. Why? I know that my thoughts cause my feelings. My feelings play out in my actions. Those actions create my day-to-day results. So, if I allow illogical thoughts to run my life, my results (creative, professional, personal) will be haphazard, too.

I love this book with its easy-to-skim reminders of how logic works, plus fun-loving reminders of common pitfalls to avoid.

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION:

“A flawless compendium of flaws.” —Alice Roberts, PhD, anatomist, writer, and presenter of The Incredible Human Journey

The antidote to fuzzy thinking, with furry animals!

Have you read (or stumbled into) one too many irrational online debates? Ali Almossawi certainly had, so he wrote An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments! This handy guide is here to bring the internet age a much-needed dose of old-school logic (really old-school, a la Aristotle).

Here are cogent explanations of the straw man fallacy, the slippery slope argument, the ad hominemattack, and other common attempts at reasoning that actually fall short—plus a beautifully drawn menagerie of animals who (adorably) commit every logical faux pas. Rabbit thinks a strange light in the sky must be a UFO because no one can prove otherwise (the appeal to ignorance). And Lion doesn’t believe that gas emissions harm the planet because, if that were true, he wouldn’t like the result (the argument from consequences).

Once you learn to recognize these abuses of reason, they start to crop up everywhere from congressional debate to YouTube comments—which makes this geek-chic book a must for anyone in the habit of holding opinions.

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