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A review by nostalgia_reader
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi
2.0
Probably more like 2.5.
Logical fallacies can be difficult to define and explain in laymen's terms. In my experience in various composition classes, it's not until we get to the examples of the fallacies that it finally clicks. I was hoping that, since this was a short book, it would word things in a way that were less technical and easier to understand. Essentially something that dumbed things down a bit for the sake of shortness.
However, this book, sadly, is no different than many textbook chapters on the topic. The author uses lots of "jargon" that had me reading and rereading the descriptions to try and understand what was trying to be defined. It wasn't until the example(s) were given that I understood "OH, you mean this kind of argument/statement!" Although they were short definitions, I had to read everything slowly, out loud, to really focus on the definitions. I understand that, while many fallacies may be easy to recognize or understand, they can be difficult to put into words. But that doesn't mean that the only way to describe and define them is with the technical terms--it may be proper, but it's not the only way. It seems as if the book itself is a bit of a fallacy!
That all being said, this was an enjoyable refresher on fallacies, and it gave some great examples. While I certainly wouldn't say that this should be required reading for every English class, it would be fun to see it used in some instances. Fallacies always seem to me a bit of a paradox--like, arguing something is a fallacy by using a fallacy--and I do enjoy learning about them, despite the sometimes confusing definitions.
The illustrations were fun, but it was their captions--not the actual pictures themselves--that gave another example of the fallacy. And despite the inclusion of pictures, this definitely isn't written as a kids book. Which is unfortunate, because politicians could definitely use something like this. They helped bump the rating up a half star.
I read this online: https://bookofbadarguments.com/#
Logical fallacies can be difficult to define and explain in laymen's terms. In my experience in various composition classes, it's not until we get to the examples of the fallacies that it finally clicks. I was hoping that, since this was a short book, it would word things in a way that were less technical and easier to understand. Essentially something that dumbed things down a bit for the sake of shortness.
However, this book, sadly, is no different than many textbook chapters on the topic. The author uses lots of "jargon" that had me reading and rereading the descriptions to try and understand what was trying to be defined. It wasn't until the example(s) were given that I understood "OH, you mean this kind of argument/statement!" Although they were short definitions, I had to read everything slowly, out loud, to really focus on the definitions. I understand that, while many fallacies may be easy to recognize or understand, they can be difficult to put into words. But that doesn't mean that the only way to describe and define them is with the technical terms--it may be proper, but it's not the only way. It seems as if the book itself is a bit of a fallacy!
That all being said, this was an enjoyable refresher on fallacies, and it gave some great examples. While I certainly wouldn't say that this should be required reading for every English class, it would be fun to see it used in some instances. Fallacies always seem to me a bit of a paradox--like, arguing something is a fallacy by using a fallacy--and I do enjoy learning about them, despite the sometimes confusing definitions.
The illustrations were fun, but it was their captions--not the actual pictures themselves--that gave another example of the fallacy. And despite the inclusion of pictures, this definitely isn't written as a kids book. Which is unfortunate, because politicians could definitely use something like this. They helped bump the rating up a half star.
I read this online: https://bookofbadarguments.com/#