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An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

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An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments
AuthorAli Almossawi
IllustratorAlejandro Giraldo
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCritical thinking
Publication date
2013
Publication placeUSA
Media typePrint (Hardback)
Pages64
ISBN978-0989931205

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments is a book on critical thinking written by Ali Almossawi and illustrated by Alejandro Giraldo. The book describes 19 logical fallacies using a set of illustrations, in which various cartoon characters participate.

The online version of the book was published under a Creative Commons license on July 15, 2013.[1] The print edition was released on December 5, 2013 and is also shared under a Creative Commons license. The book is part of a not-for-profit project aimed at raising awareness of the importance of critical thinking.[2]

Style

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Each "bad argument" is discussed on a double page, with a written explanation on one side and an illustration on the other. The book is written using terse prose that relies heavily on the use of examples.[3][4] The illustrations are done in a woodcut style and are said to be inspired by characters from Lewis Carroll's stories and poems.[5]

Editions

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Moscow-based Dodo Magic Bookroom published the Russian edition on November 24, 2013,[6] the Rome-based humanist non-profit association Uaar published the Italian edition as Nessun Dogma on November 20, 2014.[7]

The audiobook version is narrated by former BBC announcer and newsreader James Gillies. In it, illustrations have been replaced with short sketches.[8]

Reception

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The Omaha World-Herald's review said that "this little book takes a potentially ponderous subject (logical fallacies) and makes it wonderfully entertaining."[9] Jenny Bristol reviewed it for the community blog GeekDad, calling it "a great format for teaching kids about logic".[10]

L'Express reviewed the French version of the book, concluding that it is “a short and perfectly organized book that examines and dismantles a score of fallacious arguments … [with] illustrations largely inspired by allegories of Animal Farm by G. Orwell and the work of Lewis Caroll”.[11] The Spanish version of the book was reviewed by Rafael Martínez for Loffit, and it emphasized how effectively the book's lessons could be learned by listening to various debates heard every day on radio and television, identifying in them examples of logical fallacies that the book explains.[12]

In December 2016, the author announced the follow-on project, titled Bad Choices, describing it as an illustrated guide to algorithmic thinking.[13] The book was released on April 4, 2017.

References

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  1. ^ "An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments". bookofbadarguments.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013. An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments is a not-for-profit project. Its content is released under a Creative Commons BY-NC license, allowing anyone interested in sharing or adapting it for non-commercial use to freely do so with attribution.
  2. ^ "AIBOBA, The Book". bookofbadarguments.com. December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  3. ^ "Teach Your Kids Logic With An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments". GeekDad. September 18, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  4. ^ "A bit about beginnings, plus some early sketches". bookofbadarguments.com. August 21, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  5. ^ "Now More Than Ever, You Need This Illustrated Guide To Bad Arguments, Faulty Logic, And Silly Rhetoric". Fast Company. October 3, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  6. ^ "An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments (Russian)". Dodo Magic Bookroom. November 24, 2013. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  7. ^ Libro illustrato di argomentazioni errate (Italian ed.). Nessun Dogma. November 22, 2014.
  8. ^ "AIBOBA, The Audiobook". bookofbadarguments.com. December 5, 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2013.
  9. ^ Mertes, Micah (September 28, 2014). "Book review: 'Bad Arguments' will entertain, help you diagnose poor logic". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  10. ^ Bristol, Jenny (18 September 2013). "Teach Your Kids Logic With An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments". geekdad.com. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  11. ^ Poirson, Véronique (23 October 2015). "Halte aux arguments fallacieux ! Comment repérer et déjouer les pièges d'une discussion savonneuse". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 3 November 2015. De fait, voici un livre court et parfaitement organisé qui examine et démonte une vingtaine d'arguments fallacieux … les illustrations souvent savoureuses inspirées notamment des allégories de « La ferme des animaux » de G. Orwell et de l'œuvre de Lewis Caroll.
  12. ^ Martínez, Rafael (5 November 2014). "El libro de los malos argumentos". loffit.abc.es (in Spanish). Roche i Cabo. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2015. Quizás la forma más sencilla de ejercitarse en esto es escuchar los diferentes debates sobre temas diversos que podemos escuchar a diario en radio y televisión. En ellos encontramos ejemplos y más ejemplos de los malos argumentos que el libro nos desvela.
  13. ^ Bad Choices: How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter. Viking Press. April 4, 2017. ISBN 978-0735222120. Retrieved 2017-05-27. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
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