logic

A Cabinet of Philosophical Curiosities is a colorful collection of puzzles and paradoxes, both historical and contemporary, by philosopher Roy Sorensen. Taking inspiration from Ian Stewart's Professor Stewart's Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities, which assembled interesting "maths" from outside the classroom into a miscellany of marvels, these puzzles are ready to be enjoyed independently but gain mutual support when read in clusters. The volume ranges from simple examples to anomalous anomalies, considers data that seems to confirm a generalization while lowering its probability, and argues that we are doomed to believe infinitely many contradictions-and that the pain of contradictions can be profoundly stimulating. Inside this book you will learn of John Eck, who debated Luther in 1519. He devised a sequence of contracts that sidestepped usury laws, and German bankers made a fortune from this Triple Contract. Sorensen also recounts how Voltaire set himself up for life by exploiting a fallacy in the construction of a Parisian lottery. There is logic for altruists, too. You will discover how General Benjamin Butler used other-centric reasoning to protect runaway slaves. There are historical snapshots of logic in action, and the book contains tributes to Lewis Carroll, Arthur Prior, and Peter Geach. In addition to short essays, there are dialogues, cures and insults.

In this fully updated and revised edition, coauthors Nicolas Capaldi and Miles Smith take an original approach to teaching critical thinking. By cataloging and outlining for readers tactics on how to develop the skills of deception and manipulation, the authors demonstrate that this is a foolproof way to avoid falling for the fallacious and fuzzy logic of others. They also show how to improve our own deficits in making careful decisions about our word choices, why we hold the opinions that we do, and how we form arguments. Readers will learn to apply these skills to everyday situations, whether debating politics with friends or evaluating the pitch of a persuasive salesman.

Provides a guide, illustrated with animals, on how to properly have an argument.

Presents a collection of puzzles that require creative and alternative problem-solving skills, rated from easy to very difficult, and includes clues and answers.

Examines the history of the scientific method and describes each of its components, including observation, research, making an hypothesis, designing and conducting an experiment, and analyzing the results.

Describes how scientists learn about the natural world by developing hypotheses from their observations, testing their theories, and understanding basic scientific laws.

In What Makes Your Brain Happy and Why You Should Do the Opposite, science writer David DiSalvo reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. In fact, much of what makes our brains "happy" leads to errors, biases, and distortions, which make getting out of our own way extremely difficult. DiSalvo's search includes forays into evolutionary and social psychology, cognitive science, neurology, and even marketing and economics?as well as interviews with many of the top thinkers in psychology and neuroscience today.