As S. Morris Engel alerts us in this eye-opening book, we risk falling into potentially harmful language traps every moment. Not just the occasional malapropism or grammatical faux pas, but a more sinister kind — distortions of meaning that would persuade us to believe something that may not be true. Sometimes these language traps are set for us deliberately by politicians, advertisers, journalists, lawyers or other professional persuaders. Sometimes they are set inadvertently by our friends, our loved ones — even ourselves. This work explains how and why these fallacies work, and how we may suffer the consequences when they do. Day after day we listen to government newspeak (our troops are called "peace-keeping forces"), exaggerated advertising claims from "leading authorities," twisted logic and misleading propaganda. We are treated to more and more euphemisms (slums are called "substandard housing"; dogcatchers, "animal welfare officers"). We encounter innumerable ambiguities ("I wish you all the good fortune you deserve") — and indulge in a few ourselves. The author wittily explores this verbal minefield, and tells us how to spot a language trap and how to avoid falling in. The book is not only a useful manual of verbal self-defense, it's an engrossing study of the nature of language and the subtle ways in which it operates. It will intrigue anyone interested in words, language, and the dynamics of modern culture.

A witty exploration of government newspeak, exaggerated advertising claims, misleading propaganda and other misnomers and how to combat them.

Rev. ed. of: Computer organization and design / John L. Hennessy, David A. Patterson. 1998.

“This short book makes you smarter than 99% of the population. . . . The concepts within it will increase your company’s ‘organizational intelligence.’. . . It’s more than just a must-read, it’s a ‘have-to-read-or-you’re-fired’ book.”—Geoffrey James, INC.com From the author of An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language, here’s 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.

Simply put, a logical fallacy is an error in reasoning. Learning to identify and avoid logical pitfalls is an important part of learning to think and communicate well. Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). Identifying bad reasoning can help us do that. It enables us to better discern and convey truth and protects us from errors. Pitfalls Volume 2 highlights even more ways fallacies fail to convey truth. Now, let's strengthen our minds!

The compiler of this dictionary of word and phrase origins and history was not only a linguist and a philologist but also a man of culture and wit. When he turned his attention, therefore, to the creation of an etymological dictionary for both specialists and non-specialists, the result was easily the finest such work ever prepared. Weekley's Dictionary is a work of thorough scholarship. It contains one of the largest lists of words and phrases to be found in any singly etymological dictionary — and considerably more material than in the standard concise edition, with fuller quotes and historical discussions. Included are most of the more common words used in English as well as slang, archaic words, such formulas as "I. O. U.," made-up words (such as Carroll's "Jabberwock"), words coined from proper nouns, and so on. In each case, roots in Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Greek or Latin, Old and modern French, Anglo-Indian, etc., are identified; in hundreds of cases, especially odd or amusing listings, earliest known usage is mentioned and sense is indicated in quotations from Dickens, Shakespeare, Chaucer, "Piers Plowman," Defoe, O. Henry, Spenser, Byron, Kipling, and so on, and from contemporary newspapers, translations of the Bible, and dozens of foreign-language authors.

Nontechnical survey helps improve ability to judge statistical evidence and to make better-informed decisions. Discusses common pitfalls: unrealistic estimates, improper comparisons, premature conclusions, and faulty thinking about probability. 1974 edition.