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An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

by Ali Almossawi

Other authors: Alejandro Giraldo (Illustrator)

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7461829,932 (3.81)5
"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 hominem attack, 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.… (more)
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» See also 5 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
I enjoyed this concise collection of the types of logic failures so common in conversation and debate, and I found the explanations excellent (mostly) but I have to admit to finding the illustrations, skilful though they are, a bit obscure. Some worked, but others just failed to clearly illustrate the fallacy they were paired with.

Still, it's a book I'll enjoy referring to now and then, if only to remind myself not to fall down the slippery slope of logical fallacies. ( )
  murderbydeath | Jan 22, 2022 |
Entertaining, easy to remember, and logically sound - the perfect tool for learning about logical fallacies if you're short on spoons or short on patience for long winded dry writing. ( )
  wetdryvac | Mar 2, 2021 |
I wish they required everyone who was going to use internet chatrooms to read this first, and it should be required in all grammar schools- or at least junior high (where the argumentative brats would probably enjoy it). ( )
  Tchipakkan | Dec 26, 2019 |
This very short volume contains one-page descriptions of various logical fallacies people make in arguments, accompanied by whimsical illustrations in which cute animals play out the fallacies.

I'm afraid I like this idea of this book a lot more than I like the execution. The descriptions of the logical fallacies often aren't as clear as they could be, especially given that they're supposedly aimed at readers for whom this subject is new, and the examples Almossawi uses are sometimes kind of odd. And the illustrations are charming, sometimes even delightful, but some of them are a lot more apt than others. ( )
1 vote bragan | Oct 5, 2019 |
Nice breakdown of various insidious argument types (AKA Facebook Newsfeed). It could have been better developed with more examples, but this is a nice summary. ( )
  JeffV | Mar 24, 2018 |
Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Ali Almossawiprimary authorall editionscalculated
Giraldo, AlejandroIllustratorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
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The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool. - Richard P. Feynman
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To Danah-everything
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This book is aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning, particularly those who, to borrow a phrase from Pascal, are so made that they understand best through visuals.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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"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 hominem attack, 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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