Best of
Logic

2018

Quantitative Social Science: An Introduction


Kosuke Imai - 2018
    This textbook is a practical introduction to data analysis and statistics written especially for undergraduates and beginning graduate students in the social sciences and allied fields, such as economics, sociology, public policy, and data science.Quantitative Social Science engages directly with empirical analysis, showing students how to analyze data using the R programming language and to interpret the results—it encourages hands-on learning, not paper-and-pencil statistics. More than forty data sets taken directly from leading quantitative social science research illustrate how data analysis can be used to answer important questions about society and human behavior.Proven in the classroom, this one-of-a-kind textbook features numerous additional data analysis exercises and interactive R programming exercises, and also comes with supplementary teaching materials for instructors.*Written especially for students in the social sciences and allied fields, including economics, sociology, public policy, and data science*Provides hands-on instruction using R programming, not paper-and-pencil statistics*Includes more than forty data sets from actual research for students to test their skills on*Covers data analysis concepts such as causality, measurement, and prediction, as well as probability and statistical tools*Features a wealth of supplementary exercises, including additional data analysis exercises and interactive programming exercises*Offers a solid foundation for further study*Comes with additional course materials online, including notes, sample code, exercises and problem sets with solutions, and lecture slides

Thinking and Being


Irad Kimhi - 2018
    Logic does not describe how we actually think, but only how we should. Yet by thus sundering the logical from the psychological, Frege was unable to explain certain fundamental logical truths, most notably the psychological version of the law of non-contradiction--that one cannot think a thought and its negation simultaneously.Irad Kimhi's Thinking and Being marks a radical break with Frege's legacy in analytic philosophy, exposing the flaws of his approach and outlining a novel conception of judgment as a two-way capacity. In closing the gap that Frege opened, Kimhi shows that the two principles of non-contradiction--the ontological principle and the psychological principle--are in fact aspects of the very same capacity, differently manifested in thinking and being.As his argument progresses, Kimhi draws on the insights of historical figures such as Aristotle, Kant, and Wittgenstein to develop highly original accounts of topics that are of central importance to logic and philosophy more generally. Self-consciousness, language, and logic are revealed to be but different sides of the same reality. Ultimately, Kimhi's work elucidates the essential sameness of thinking and being that has exercised Western philosophy since its inception.

Introduction to Logic (Student)


Jason Lisle - 2018
    

Brain Games: Big Book of Boredom Busters


Stephanie Warren Drimmer - 2018
    Write-in pages include both games and short explanations of the neuroscience at work. Have fun and challenge yourself as you unleash your inner creativity and become the genius we all know you are.The activity book is a companion to the popular television show, book series, board game, and other Brain Games products.

What Can Be Computed?: A Practical Guide to the Theory of Computation


John MacCormick - 2018
    Crafted specifically for undergraduates who are studying the subject for the first time, and requiring minimal prerequisites, the book focuses on the essential fundamentals of computer science theory and features a practical approach that uses real computer programs (Python and Java) and encourages active experimentation. It is also ideal for self-study and reference.The book covers the standard topics in the theory of computation, including Turing machines and finite automata, universal computation, nondeterminism, Turing and Karp reductions, undecidability, time-complexity classes such as P and NP, and NP-completeness, including the Cook-Levin Theorem. But the book also provides a broader view of computer science and its historical development, with discussions of Turing's original 1936 computing machines, the connections between undecidability and G�del's incompleteness theorem, and Karp's famous set of twenty-one NP-complete problems.Throughout, the book recasts traditional computer science concepts by considering how computer programs are used to solve real problems. Standard theorems are stated and proven with full mathematical rigor, but motivation and understanding are enhanced by considering concrete implementations. The book's examples and other content allow readers to view demonstrations of--and to experiment with--a wide selection of the topics it covers. The result is an ideal text for an introduction to the theory of computation.An accessible and rigorous introduction to the essential fundamentals of computer science theory, written specifically for undergraduates taking introduction to the theory of computationFeatures a practical, interactive approach using real computer programs (Python in the text, with forthcoming Java alternatives online) to enhance motivation and understandingGives equal emphasis to computability and complexityIncludes special topics that demonstrate the profound nature of key ideas in the theory of computationLecture slides and Python programs are available at whatcanbecomputed.com

Models for Critical Thinking: A Fundamental Guide to Effective Decision Making, Deep Analysis, Intelligent Reasoning, and Independent Thinking


Albert Rutherford - 2018
    Apply logic and analysis to your everyday life. Detect hidden assumptions, spot inconsistencies, and recognize dishonesty.The quality of our lives is determined by the quality of our thinking. And the quality of our thinking is often determined by the quality questions we ask from ourselves. Critical thinking is the art of asking relevant, necessary, and meaningful questions to discover the objective truth behind words, events, and opinions in general. Critical thinking is the ability to think objectively and rationally about a particular situation without letting your emotions hijack you. Like any other skill, critical thinking can be learned through rigorous practice and commitment.Today we have more access to information than ever before. Information influences our worldview and decisions often without us noticing it. Following wrong idols can lead us to bad decisions which lead to unhappiness and a dissatisfying life. When what's "right, beautiful, successful, and cool" gets dictated around us by ads and through "influencers" we often forget to think for ourselves and make our own choices. Thus we make bad decisions based on the opinion of others - not even our own.Models for Critical Thinking provides you with unique insights into the nature of thinking and reasoning - why are we often so wrong, why are we so inclined to avoid the responsibility of thinking for ourselves and how can we develop solid, objective thinking patterns. Models for Critical Thinking lays out: - the function of critical thinking; its main impediments, the social counterfeits of ethics, - the elements of critical reasoning, - important abilities and traits of critical thinkers, - the vocabulary of critical analysis, - and the models essential to critical thinking.The most secure way of making good decisions is to have well-practiced and predictable strategies that you can use when you are faced with a problem that requires deeper analysis. This book will provide you with helpful information and exercises tips, which if you follow, you can find better solutions to your problems. - Learn the essential critical thinking skills when reading, writing, and speaking;- Be on your guard to hidden cognitive traps when shopping and interacting with advertisers. - Find out what tools and strategies can help you become a more disciplined thinker, developing your analytical, reasoning, and reflective thinking skills.Be ready to learn. Be ready to argue intellectually. - Learn to read between the lines, assess the validity of statements.- Identify and separate logical reasoning and illogical reasoning. - Learn how to construct a fair, well-reasoned argument with the help of formal and informal logic. As a physicist and computer scientist, I was always looking for logical, well-founded answers to questions. Yet, I needed to stay open to question my knowledge fairly often, revise my beliefs held, and unlearn some -to that point - objective, universal facts to keep up, and keep my job, in the ever-changing, ever demanding IT industry. Without critical self-analysis, and objective assessment, I couldn't have done it - couldn't have worked in this industry for 30 years. In this book, I share the best knowledge of the best critical thinkers - intertwined with my own - to help you develop this essential skill that the contemporary job market so keenly demands. I will help you create thinking patterns that lead to a critical and more objective understanding of the world.

Logical Fallacies: Do You Make These Mistakes in Reasoning?


Scott Lovell - 2018
     “Everybody argues; not everybody knows how to argue.” This phrase is incredibly accurate. You see, logical fallacies are everywhere. They can be used to manipulate people or turn an argument sour, derailing it from the get-go. This book will give you the tools to fight logical fallacies and make your arguments completely bulletproof logically. Moreover, if you want to be a great debater, it will help you learn all the ins and outs of logical fallacies so you can laugh (inside) as your opponent gets stuck in them. This will most likely be a revolutionary read for you, and once you are finished, your critical thinking skills will have grown tenfold. Logical Fallacies: Do You Make These Mistakes in Reasoning? contain three sections: Logic Formal Fallacies And informal Fallacies So if you want to stop getting stuck in logical fallacies and avoid making a fool of yourself, click "buy now"!

The Misguided Mind: Correct Everyday Thinking Errors, Be Less Irrational, And Improve Your Decision Making


Steven Schuster - 2018
    The Misguided Mind book will tell you why and also how can you correct it. We make thinking errors on a day-to-day basis. They come naturally, thus we don’t think that we think in a distorted way, however, they can have a severe negative effect on our lives. Knowing what they are and how to identify them, we can help ourselves making better choices. In what area of life? All of them: personal relationships, business choices, spending habits, health-related engagements. Our minds don’t work the way we think they do. The book presents the scientific background of thinking errors related to behavior, social relations, and memory through the most famous psychology experiments, behavioral economics research, neuropsychology, and the author’s own observations. What remains is an entertaining but practical and informative guide to clear your mind. Become less irrational. This book aims to help you think about your thinking and find better solutions to your problems. • Why are first impressions so powerful and permanent? • Why do we rely on the first thought that pops into our mind? • How can certain advertisements make us open our wallet immediately? • How and why does our memory fool us on a daily basis? Again and again, we think we experience and understand the world as it is, but our thoughts are beset by everyday illusions. The Misguided Mind reveals the many ways our intuition can deceive us, why we succumb to these everyday brain tricks and what we can do to inoculate ourselves against their effects. Simple, clear, and always surprising, this indispensable book will change the way you think and transform your decision making. Correct the errors in your thinking habits and resist falling into your mental ambushes. • Why we take bad decisions following the opinion of the masses, • How we underestimate the power of emotions in rational decisions, • Why we need instant confirmation to support our ideas, • How ego distorts the sense of reality? Mental clarity will boost your cognitive performance and smart decision making to heights you didn’t expect before. Don’t let the irrationalities of your brain sabotage the life you deserve. Make fewer mistakes in your thinking – prevention is easier than correction. Improve your beliefs, social biases, and memory mix-ups by understanding how your brain works and solve your life.

Introduction to Logic (Teacher Guide)


Jason Lisle - 2018
    

All the World's a Simulation


Stephen Moles - 2018
    All the World's a Simulation is a metafictional tour de force featuring Shakespeare, Snow White and an infinite number of evil Stephen Hawkings. While its main characters attempt to escape from it, the book constantly rewrites itself before the reader's gaze to reveal a profound secret about the power behind this and all other literary works. Thoroughly playful yet deeply serious, this extraordinary novel offers a personality-altering reading experience and an initiation into the realm of dark meaning. (This edition includes as an appendix two related works, the novellas Fossil People and Life.exe.)

Philosophy and Model Theory


Tim Button - 2018
    But these wide-ranging uses of model theory have created a highly fragmented literature. On the one hand, many philosophically significant results are found only in mathematics textbooks: these are aimed squarely at mathematicians; they typically presuppose that the reader has a serious background in mathematics; and little clue is given as to their philosophical significance. On the other hand, the philosophical applications of these results are scattered across disconnected pockets of papers. The first aim of this book, then, is to explore the philosophical uses of model theory, focusing on the central topics of reference, realism, and doxology. Its second aim is to address important questions in the philosophy of model theory, such as: sameness of theories and structure, the boundaries of logic, and the classification of mathematical structures. Philosophy and Model Theory will be accessible to anyone who has completed an introductory logic course. It does not assume that readers have encountered model theory before, but starts right at the beginning, discussing philosophical issues that arise even with conceptually basic model theory. Moreover, the book is largely self-contained: model-theoretic notions are defined as and when they are needed for the philosophical discussion, and many of the most philosophically significant results are given accessible proofs.

The Logical Thinking Process: An Executive Summary


H. William Dettmer - 2018
    Goldratt. It explains what the LTP is and why it's useful to leaders, managers responsible for decision making at all levels, and interested individuals. This book contains examples of the LTP logic trees and descriptions of some actual applications.