Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders by Jamie Whyte
|
Book Summary Author: Jamie Whyte Edition: Paperback Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published) Published: 2004-09-12 ISBN: 0071446435 Number of pages: 176 Publisher: McGraw-Hill |
| New | ---superbookdeals | New Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served. Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $6.53 | |
| New | shirleyclerk7 | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $6.54 | |
| Used | ---superbookdeals | Used, mint Brand New, Perfect Condition, Please allow 4-14 business days for delivery. 100% Money Back Guarantee, Over 1,000,000 customers served. Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $6.73 | |
| New | -dvdlegacy- | New Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $6.85 | |
| Used | toastyinva | Used, verygood minor shelf wear on the cover Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.00 | |
| New | thermite-media | New Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.23 | |
| New | bookrackrh | New *n INTERNATIONL SHIPPING!!! SHIPS from 5 locations based on your Zip Code and availability! (PA TN IN OR SC) *-* Gift Quality *-* Orders Processed Immediately! - We get your book to you Very Quickly! 47.46 Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.23 | |
| New | smokymtnbooks | New GREAT BUY!Brand New From US Distributor! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3,500,000 BOOKS SOLD!!! OVER ~ 675,000 FEEDBACKS ~ POSTED!!! Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.24 | |
| New | a1books | New Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20090105231050T Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.40 | |
| New | the_book_depository_ | New Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail Usually ships in 1-2 business days | $7.45 |
Your purchase is protected by the A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee. Amazon.com automatically transfers your payment to the merchant so you'll never need to pay a merchant directly. Amazon.com A-to-z Safe Buying Guarantee covers both the delivery of your item and its condition upon receipt.
Book Reviews of the Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders
Customer Review: Faith in Logic
Summary: 4 Stars
As a senior citizen I found it refreshing to see there are still some younger people out there who believe that there is such a thing as truth, and that logic is the true path to finding it.Jamie Whyte has written this very entertaining book in his crusade to unmask the humbug often presented by politicians, journalists, priests and his parents in their versions of the truth. He does this by effectively exposing the logical flaws in what people believe to be rational thinking.
In his chapter "Prejudice in Fancy Dress" he uses the example of how priests deal with the doctrine of the unity of the holy trinity. How can three things equal one? The answer is explained as being a mystery. This of course is simply a ploy to abolish the problem without addressing it, and effectively avoids facing the absurdity of the statement. He acknowledges that some people are greatly impressed by mystery. It "gives them a thrilling fit of the cosmic heebie-jeebies".
In another section, he illustrates how verbosity can shroud the banality of ideas, and claims that playing with words is much easier than tackling reality. He makes this statement without any apparent sense of irony, in that he is using his words to attack a reality that, as he grows older, he will have to acknowledge does not exist - that the human animal is a logical creature.
He observes that authority figures or celebrities are often treated as experts in fields in which they know nothing about, and that victims of crime are often given more weight by politicians in assessing changes to criminal law, than those who have given a lifetime of study to the subject.
In his discussion of the misuse of statistics, his example of the promiscuity of British women when on holiday in Spain is a very amusing example of sampling selection bias.
To enjoy this book, it does help to ignore the reality of human nature and assume that people really should behave logically. I believed this myself once upon a time, but eventually lost the faith. Even if you don't believe humans should be logical, this book is a lot of fun.
Regretfully, Jamie Whyte is on a Don Quixote quest. Human behavior is governed by emotions and self interest, not logic. Even Star Trek's Mr. Spock acknowledges that humans are illogical. Unfortunately in the end, faith in logic is really just another form of religion, but it is a better occupation of the mind than counting the angels on the head of a pin.