"I don't know enough to go out into the world on my own."
"Don't worry too much about the things you don't know. What gets
you into trouble are the things you know for sure that ain't so!"

To get an idea of what Harry Lorayne explains about thinking
logically he starts with informing his readers that he doesn't want
to get into a 'technical treatise' about logic. Which as I read the
words he would have to use and their definitions it is not what I
want to get into either.

He explains that; 'Practical philosophy consists of two branches:
ethics and logic.' If this really interests you then maybe you should
consider taking a college course if you haven't already.

Lorayne talks about the two branches of 'logic': epistemology -
(too big a word for me!). The definition being - the discussion of
the nature of truth and certain knowledge of truth; and dialectics -
'consists of treating the correct ways of thinking in order that we
may reach truth.'

Dialectics consists of three main operations of the intellect:
(1). Simple Apprehension.
(2). Judgement.
(3). Reasoning.

(1). Simple Apprehension; understanding what something is-
'these are words on this page'.
(2). Judgement; is when you think- 'these are interesting words'.

To reach a Judgement, you need two Simple Apprehensions. The
words on the page, plus the interesting words on the page. To
Reason, you need two Judgements. If your two Judgements allow
you a third Judgement or Conclusion, that is Reasoning.

These are interesting words. (First Judgement)
These words make me think. (Second Judgement)
This must be a good article. (Conclusion) (I can hope can't I?)

Harry Lorayne states, "Correct Thinking Will Never Fail You". He
realizes there are two kinds of 'Reasoning' -- Induction and
Deduction. He is dealing with 'Deduction' in his book and only a
small part of deduction. Because he feels Logic is an art and a
science and takes more study than he is writing about, he suggests
there are books on the subject if you are interested.

He is only interested in the Syllogism of Deduction, which
thankfully he explains is 'the expression of the act of deductive
reasoning'. Which really just means, that I see this and this and
thus I come to a conclusion and then I also conclude or judge this
so I make a deduction.

We all do this every day and most of the time without even actually
thinking about what we are doing. There is a form of thinking that
concerns him in that sometimes it can lead us astray.

Here is one example based on proof:
(1). All men are mortal.
(2). Socrates is a man.
(3). Therefore Socrates is mortal.

Lorayne says. "that conclusions are always formed of three separate
steps, although we usually tend to think of the first two steps as
one; and sometimes of all three as one."

The trouble is, if all three steps aren't used in a thought out way
then they can lead to a false conclusion. Your reasoning could look
fine but if you don't have all the facts then you can jump to the
wrong conclusion. Some examples he uses are:
1. Soups are always served hot.
2. Vichyssoise is a soup.
3. Therefore Vvichyssoise is always served hot. (Which is not true,
because that soup is served cold)

So we are prejudging because of the first statement. Most soups
are served hot but because the word 'always' was inferred then it
brings about a false conclusion.

Another example would be and this one annoys me:
1. All women are bad drivers.
2. Jane Jones is a woman.
3. Therefore Jane Jones is a bad driver.

So before making a statement or coming to a conclusion make sure
you know all your facts and are very familiar with your subject. I
believe there is a saying, "Loose lips sink ships" , which has more to
do with giving away plans. The thing is, 'loose lips' can also destroy
someone if it is a lie that is repeated continuously. We never know
what harm we are doing when we make broad statements not
backed up by the true facts.

Don't take things for granted. As Robert Lynd (writer, essayist) has
said, "It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand
times than to believe a fact that one has never heard before." The
more something is repeated the more the tendency to believe it,
whether it is true or not. Continuously repeating something is a
good way to get people to remember what you want them to
remember, but make sure it is the truth.

To give you an idea about the rest of the chapter, I will leave you
with this riddle. Harry Lorayne believes there are many ways to
exercise your mind. He gives an example of a game that he calls
'solvems'. One person sets a scene and others have to ask questions
that result in answers of, 'Yes', 'No', or 'Immaterial'.

The riddle: John is lying in bed and he is having difficulty falling
asleep. He goes to the phone, gets a number, says, "Hello, Joe,"
hangs up, and then goes back to bed, where he now falls asleep
without any difficulty.

Questions are asked until it is discovered that Joe is the reason
John can't sleep. The answer is: John is in a hotel room, and can't
sleep because the fellow in the next room is snoring too loudly! He
picks up the phone and asks to be connected to the room next door.
This stops the snoring because Joe has to wake up and answer the
phone. John says, "Hello Joe" just to say something --- he doesn't
know the man at all. Thus the riddle is solved by people who are
thinking and asking questions.

Patricia Downing: member of the GJW Family of Programs.