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comment by NotPhil
NotPhil  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Is Algebra Necessary?

This article describes logic. Don't be fooled by the title: it's hosted at a philosophy site, and philosophers distinguish between many different categories and forms of logic, but this is the general meaning of the term. It's what we mean when we say, for instance, that Mr. Spock is logical.





kleinbl00  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

No, that article describes "informal logic."

This article describes "symbolic logic."

NotPhil  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

The article I pointed to describes "logic."

I had assumed that you didn't really mean to say "symbolic logic" in your original response. For one thing, it's unrelated to algebra except in the sense that it takes a mathematical form; for another, it's useless for anyone who isn't interested in following some of the dead-ends that the 20th-century analytic philosophers ran down.

I hope you don't insist that your kid learn symbolic logic unless he's really fascinated by it. It certainly won't help him employ anyone. If you want him to learn formal deduction, try Aristotle's syllogisms. They're useful.

kleinbl00  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

It does not. It describes "informal logic" which is a philosophical term.

We're not having a philosophical discussion. We're having a mathematical one.

I

Fucking

Said

"Symbolic logic."

    I hope you don't insist that your kid learn symbolic logic unless he's really fascinated by it.

No for every fucking reason in my original post. The fact that you think "symbolic logic" and "informal logic" are the same thing is a strong indicator that not only do you need to focus on your rhetoric, you need to retake algebra.

NotPhil  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Well, the reason you

    Fucking

    Said

    "Symbolic logic."

is because you don't know what you're talking about.

Here's symbolic logic:

[(p ⊃ q) ∧ (q ⊃ r)] ⊃ (p ⊃ r).

And here's algebra:

(x² + y²)² = (x² - y²)² + (2xy)²

They are only vaguely related. You can't reasonably expect anyone to learn about one from being taught the other. And both are of limited utility if what you want is to learn to reason.

kleinbl00  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

...and ignored.

user-inactivated  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
kleinbl00  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Let's stop tripping over the term "logic," shall we?

IF it gets cold when it rains, AND it is raining, THEREFORE it will be cold. That's "logic." Technically it's "Boolean algebra" but FFS, it's also "logic."

"Algebra" doesn't mean "symbols." It means "solve for the unknown." "Solving for the unknown" is a daily activity for people who think. Not only that, but the argument isn't "let's stop teaching reasoning" it's "let's stop teaching ALGEBRA" which, by your logic, we don't need.

And, simply put, you're wrong. There aren't that many more ways I can illustrate the wrongness of your thinking because it requires a basic understanding of symbolic logic and I'm guessing you suck at algebra.

user-inactivated  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  
This comment has been deleted.
kleinbl00  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

You keep saying that, but you keep using arguments that do not hold up and that you make no effort to defend. And that is why this conversation will not continue.

user-inactivated  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  
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NotPhil  ·  4383 days ago  ·  link  ·  

No, what you just did is not boolean algebra, and it's not symbolic logic either. Why don't you just admit that you misspoke in the first place? You really meant "logic," didn't you?