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Loveandlogic:ThestoryoffallacyIhadmyfirstdatewithPollyafterImadethetradewithmyroommateRob.Thatyeareveryguyoncampushadaleatherjacket,andRobcouldn'tstandtheideaofbeingtheonlyfootballplayerwhodidn't,sohemadeapactthathe'dgivemehisgirlinexchangeformyjacket.Hewasn'tthebrightestguy.Pollywasn'ttooshrewd,either.Butshewaspretty,well-off,didn'tdyeherhairstrangecolorsorweartoomuchmakeup.Shehadtherightbackgroundtobethegirlfriendofadogged,brilliantlawyer.IfIcouldshowtheelitelawfirmsIappliedtothatIhadaradiant,well-spokencounterpartbymyside,Ijustmightedgepastthecompetition.Radiantshewasalready.Icoulddispenseherenoughpearlsofwisdomtomakeherwell-spoken.Afterabannerdayout,Idroveuntilweweresituatedunderabigoldoaktreeonahillofftheexpressway.WhatIhadinmindwasalittleeccentric.Ithoughtthevenuewithaperfectviewoftheluminouscitywouldlightenthemood.Westayedinthecar,andIturneddownthestereoandtookmyfootoffthebrakepedal.Whatarewegoingtotalkabout?sheasked.Logic.Cool,shesaidoverhergum.Thedoctrineoflogic,Isaid,isastapleofclearthinking.Failuresinlogicdistortthetruth,andsomeofthemarewellknown.Firstlet'slookatthefallacyDictoSimpliciter.Great,sheagreed.DictoSimplicitermeansanunqualifiedgeneralization.Forexample:Exerciseisgood.Therefore,everybodyshouldexercise.Shenoddedinagreement.Icouldseeshewasstumped.Polly,Iexplained,it'stoosimpleageneralization.Ifyouhave,say,heartdiseaseorextremeobesity,exerciseisbad,notgood.Therefore,youmustsayexerciseisgoodformostpeople.NextisHastyGeneralization.Self-explanatory,right?Listencarefully:Youcan'tspeakFrench.Robcan'tspeakFrench.LookslikenobodyatthisschoolcanspeakFrench.Really?saidPolly,amazed.Nobody?Thisisalsoafallacy,Isaid.Thegeneralizationisreachedtoohastily.Toofewinstancessupportsuchaconclusion.Sheseemedtohaveagoodtime.Icouldsafelysaymyplanwasunderway.Itookherhomeandsetadateforanotherconversation.SeatedundertheoakthenexteveningIsaid,OurfirstfallacytonightiscalledAdMisericordiam.Shenoddedwithdelight.Listenclosely,Isaid.Amanappliesforajob.Whenthebossaskshimwhathisqualificationsare,hesayshehassixchildrentofeed.Oh,thisisawful,awful,shewhisperedinachokedvoice.Yes,itsawful,Iagreed,butit'snoargument.Themanneveransweredtheboss'squestion.Insteadheappealedtotheboss'ssympathy-AdMisericordiam.Sheblinked,stilltryinghardtokeepbackhertears.Next,Isaidcarefully,wewilldiscussFalseAnalogy.Anexample,studentsshouldbeallowedtolookattheirtextbooksduringexams,becausesurgeonshaveX-raystoguidethemduringsurgery.Ilikethatidea,shesaid.Polly,Igroaned,don'tderailthediscussion.Theinferenceiswrong.Doctorsaren'ttakingatesttoseehowmuchtheyhavelearned,butstudentsare.Thesituationsarealtogetherdifferent.Youcan'tmakeananalogybetweenthem.Istillthinkitsagoodidea,saidPolly.Withfivenightsofdiligentwork,IactuallymadealogicianoutofPolly.Shewasananalyticalthinkeratlast.Thetimehadcomefortheconversionofourrelationshipfromacademictoromantic.Polly,Isaidwhennextwesatunderouroak,tonightwewon'tdiscussfallacies.Oh?shesaid,alittledisappointed.Favoringherwithagrin,Isaid,Wehavenowspentfiveeveningstogether.Wegetalongprettywell.Wemakeaprettygoodcouple.HastyGeneralization,saidPollybrightly.Orasanormalpersonmightsay,that'salittlepremature,don'tyouthink?'Ilaughedwithamusement.She'dlearnedherlessonswell,farsurpassingmyexpectations.Sweetheart,Isaid,pattingherhandinatolerantmanner,fivedatesisplenty.Afterall,youdon'thavetoeatawholecaketoknowit'sgood.XFalseAnalogy,saidPollypromptly.Yourpremiseisthatdatingislikeeating.Butyou'renotacake.You'reaboy.Ilaughedwithsomewhatlessamusement,hidingmydreadthatshe'dlearnedherlessonstoowell.Afewmorefalsestepswouldbemydoom.Idecidedtochangetacticsandtryflatteryinstead.Polly,Iloveyou.Pleasesayyou'llgooutwithme.I'mnothingwithoutyou.AdMisericordiam,shesaid.Youcertainlycandiscernafallacywhenyouseeit,Isaid,myhopesstartingtocrumble.Butdon'ttakethemsoliterally.Imeanthisisallacademic.Youknowthethingsyoulearninschooldon'thaveanythingtodowithreallife.DictoSimpliciter,shesaid.Besides,youreallyshouldpracticewhatyoupreach.Ileapedtomyfeet,mytemperflaringup.Willyouorwillyounotgooutwithme?Notoyourproposition,shereplied.Why?Idemanded.I'mmoreinterestedinadifferentpetitioner-RobandIarebacktogether.Withgreateffort,Isaidcalmly,HowcouldyougivemetheaxeoverRob?Lookatme,aningeniousstudent,atremendousintellectual,amanwithanassuredfuture.32333435363738394041424343Unit2TheconfusingpursuitofbeautyIfyou'reaman,atsomepointawomanwillaskyouhowshelooks.Youmustbecarefulhowyouanswerthisquestion.Thebesttechniqueistoformanhonestyetsensitiveresponse,thenpromptlyexcuseyourselfforsomekindofemergency.Trustme,thisistheeasiestwayout.Noamountofrehearsalwillhelpyoucomeupwiththerightanswer.Theproblemisthatmendonotthinkoftheirlooksinthesamewaywomendo.Mostmenformanopinionofthemselvesinseventhgradeandsticktoitfortherestoftheirlives.Somementhinkthey'reirresistiblydesirable,andtheyrefusetochangethisopinionevenwhentheygrowbaldandtheirfacesvisiblywrinkleastheyage.Mostmen,Ibelieve,arenotarrogantabouttheirlooks.Ifthetransientthoughtpassesthroughtheirmindsatall,theyliketothinkofthemselvesasaverage