The Thinking Toolbox

Thirty-Five Lessons That Will Build Your Reasoning Skills

by Nathaniel Bluedorn & Hans Bluedorn illustrated by Richard LaPierre
July 2005

Christian Logic

The Th inking Toolbox by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn Library of Congress Control Number: 2005901223 ISBN 0-9745315-1-0 Christian Logic P.O. Box 46 Muscatine, Iowa 52761 309-537-3464 www.christianlogic.com Copyright 2005 by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn. All rights reserved. Cartoon illustrations copyright 2005 by Richard LaPierre. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The Thinking Toolbox was published in July of the year two thousand ve by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn. The Thinking Toolbox is the private property of Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn. The right to reproduce or publish any portion of this material, in any manner, by any means, or for any purpose, is reserved as the sole right of the authors, who hereby grant permission for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, provided that the authors names and address are clearly cited and a copy of the publication containing the article or review is forwarded to the authors. Thou shalt not steal,Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Romans 13:9 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. 1 Timothy 5:18

Contents
|ntroduction
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Tools for Thinking

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A Thinking Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Discussion, a Disagreement, an Argument, and a Fight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 When It Is Dumb to Argue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fact, Inference, or Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Finding the Premises and Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 How to List Reasons Why You Believe Something . . . . 42 How to Defeat Your Own Argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 When Not to Use Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

3 Tools for Opposing Viewpoints

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Using the Opposing Viewpoints Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Opposing Viewpoints Are Everywhere. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Evidence . . . . . . . . . . 72 You Cant Believe Everything You Hear . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Are You Primary or Secondary? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Who Has a Reason to Lie? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Corroborating Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

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Mystery of the Stolen Manoot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Stir Plot until Thickened . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Gunght at the O.K. Corral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Does a Possibly Make a Probably? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Circumstantial Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Puzzling Developments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Tools for Science

22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Mole the Scientist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 Tools that Help Scientists Do Their Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 How to Be a Keen Observer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Brainstorming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Hypothesis Is a Huge Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 How to Prove You Are Wrong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 A Good Experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 How to Analyze Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Listen and Learn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Pseudoscience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 A Little Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

5 Projects
33 34 35 Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Herbal the Verbal Gerbil Game. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 The Mystery of the Large Letter Library . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

6 Answer Key

Lesson 2
A Discussion, a Disagreement, an Argument, and a Fight

ost conversations can be put into one of four categories a discussion, a disagreement, an argument, or a ght. Lets look at what we mean.

kathy: Hello, Roberta. How have things been going? roberta: Fine, but I wish it would rain. My petunias are nearly dried up. There isnt supposed to be any rain today. kathy: The extended forecast said wed have rain later this week.

This conversation is only a discussion. Kathy and Roberta are sharing information. They both might not have the same information, but they agree with one another.

A discussion 20

Tools for Th inking

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Here is a disagreement:
roberta: Oh, I hope so. Where did you hear it was going to rain? kathy: It was on The Weather Channel. I always watch The Weather Channel for my weather. roberta: Really? I prefer Accuweather.com.

Now Roberta has a dierence of opinion with Kathy. Roberta likes Accuweather.com better than The Weather Channel. They are still having a discussion, but now they disagree. However, neither feels that she needs to convince the other. Lets see what happens when they try to convince one another.

A disagreement
kathy: I think The Weather Channel is more accurate. It seems like every time they predict a storm, it happens. I wouldnt go to Accuweather.com if I were you. They dont seem to be as accurate. roberta: Not in my experience. Im sure The Weather Channel is a good source for weather news, but nothing beats Accuweather.com for accuracy. Accuweather.com received the Windy award from the National Meteorologists Association for being the most accurate weather source.

Now Roberta and Kathy are giving evidence for what they think. They are having an argument.

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An argument I know that sounds like a nasty word argument but it isnt bad. It just means that Kathy and Roberta think it is appropriate to use evidence and reasoning to convince one another. As long as they talk civilly, there isnt a problem. Someone is presenting an argument anytime he states a viewpoint and gives reasons to support it. Anytime two or more people are engaged in stating diering views and reasons for these views, they are having an argument. What gives the word argument a bad name is when it turns into something else a ght.
kathy: Oh, really. Ill bet you made that up. Ill bet theres no National Meteorologists Association. roberta: I didnt make it up. What are you insinuating? kathy: Youre always making things up to sound smart. If you ask me, you havent said a true word for years. roberta: At least Im not a little-hen-clucking-gossip like you. Ill take my hat and leave. kathy: I hope your petunias shrivel up and get eaten by a striped cucumber beetle.

Kathy and Roberta are ghting now. This type of conversation is never appropriate. Kathy and Roberta arent talking about where to go for a weather

Tools for Th inking

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forecast anymore; they are attacking and insulting each other. Kathy is calling Roberta a liar, and Roberta is calling Kathy a gossip both nasty names. There is no clear line where an argument becomes a ght, but anytime both people become strongly emotionally involved or start insulting each other, it is probably a ght.

A ght

1. People are having a discussion anytime they exchange ideas. 2. A disagreement is an exchange of differing views. 3. An argument is an exchange of differing views as well as reasons for these views. 4. A fight is an exchange of attacks and insults.

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Exercises
Identify each of the following examples as a discussion, a disagreement, an argument, or a ght. 1. mom: Joey, its time for you to go to bed. joey: I dont want to go to bed. I want to stay up. 2. fred: Ouch. That bee stung me. derf: That wasnt a bee; it was a wasp. You can tell because bees can y. That wasp just slithered along the ground. fred: No, it has to be a bee. It made a rattling noise. Wasps dont rattle before they sting, silly. derf: I still think its a wasp. Bees sting with their tails, and that wasp bit you. 3. suzy: Lets go play house. kabel: Id rather play store. 4. mr.: Honey, I bought you owers for your birthday. mrs.: Today isnt my birthday; that was last month. mr.: I mean our anniversary. mrs.: Thats next month. mr.: Sorry, honey, I forgot. mrs.: Thats okay. Thanks for the owers. 5. tom: Where should we go out to eat? susan: I like Steak and Shake; lets go there tom: Okay. 6. man with big hat: Good morning maam. I come from the county sheri s oce, and Im afraid weve had a report that you were threatening some salesmen with a shotgun. Is this true? mrs. oakley: It werent no shotgun. I was usin my express rie, .700 Nitro Magnum. 7. mr.: See, Honey, I bought you owers for our anniversary. Theyre blue, just like on our wedding day. mrs.: No, those were red. mr.: Blue.

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8. mr.: See, Honey, I bought you owers for your birthday. mrs.: Yeah right, youre just trying to be nice so I wont be mad at you for mowing over my delphiniums. You dont care about me. mr.: If you just wouldnt plant your ridiculous owers at odd places, perhaps I could remember where not to mow. mrs.: Dont give me that; you know I told you not to mow there. mr.: No you didnt. All you said was dont mow over the delwhatchamacallthems. How am I supposed to know what they look like?

Lesson 3
When |t |s Dumb to Argue
hile it is nearly always okay to have a discussion with someone, sometimes it is not appropriate to disagree, and sometimes it is not appropriate to have an argument. It is rarely appropriate to ght. For example, if the Queen of England walked up and introduced herself, it would be appropriate to have a pleasant discussion with her. However, it probably would not be proper to disagree with her at least not at that moment. And it certainly wouldnt be appropriate to argue or ght. But lets say you were a student in a classroom and the teacher said something very wrong. Lets say he said the king cobra of southeast Asia is not poisonous, but is really a cuddly snake who likes to be kissed on the nose. In this situation, it would be okay to stand up and disagree. And depending on the type of class you were in, it might be okay to argue with him explaining that the king cobra is poisonous, how it injects a powerful neurotoxic venom, and how without prompt medical aid, death is certain for its victims. Sometimes it is a waste of time to argue.
fred: What is the capital of South Dakota? I have no idea. derf: I dont know. Maybe its Tulsa? fred: I think its Los Angeles. That sounds Swedish, and I know there are lots of Swedish people in South Dakota. derf: No way. Its got to be Tulsa. My grandmother was Swedish, and she said she once visited Tulsa.

Both Fred and Derf admitted they didnt know what the capital of South Dakota was, but they are arguing about it anyway. Until one of them looks it up in an atlas, they are wasting their time. There are other times when we shouldnt argue.

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guy: Hey, you! I think you parked just a little too close to my car move it. hans: Actually, I was in this parking spot before you came. You were the one who parked close to me. guy: Dont be a smart-alec to me, Bub. Just move your car over.

Sometimes arguing can be dangerous. This man is obviously upset and isnt thinking clearly, so arguing about who was in the parking space rst would probably only make him more angry.
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him (Proverbs 26:4 NKJV).

When might it be dumb to argue? 1. When it wouldnt be socially appropriate at the time. 2. When neither person has any real knowledge about the subject being argued. 3. When one of the persons involved is angry or isnt thinking clearly.

Exercises
A. In the following situations, do you think it would be appropriate to argue? 1. atheist: There is no God, and I can prove it. If God created the earth, why is there so much death and destruction in the world? Either God doesnt exist or He doesnt care about us. you: I beg to dier with that. 2. hans: Good grief, this article is 1,400 words long and it is supposed to

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be only 700. Ill need to cut out a lot. nathaniel: Actually, I remember we were allowed 723 words. hans: No. I distinctly remember 700. nathaniel: 723. 3. judge: According to my information, you have been charged with jaywalking on a public street. How do you plead? plaintiff: Not guilty, your honor. 4. caller: I cant believe you think it is okay to use the term niggardly on the radio. Youre a racist. talk show guest: Actually, the term niggardly has nothing to do with race at all. It simply means to be covetous and miserly. You can look it up in the dictionary. caller: Yeah, right. Its obvious youre a racist. 5. austin: I got you. I shot you with my ray gun. Youre dead now. adam: But I have atomic armor on. It reects your ray gun back at you, so youre dead and Im not. austin: But my ray gun is armor-piercing. Youre dead. adam: But my armor has a special layer that stops armor-piercing rays. austin: My ray gun is special. It goes though that layer. 6. A blond Australian guy hands Queen Elizabeth an Australian death adder: Ere she is. Isnt she a beaut? Aye. Dont be scared. Shes perfectly harmless; she would never bite a queen. B. In the following examples, is the speaker presenting an argument? 7. I believe there is a God because if there wasnt a God there would be no purpose to life. 8. paul: What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. 9. mrs. oakley: Howdy. 10. jesus: Lazarus, come forth! 11. And God said to Noah . . . Make yourself an ark of gopherwood: make

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rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch. Genesis 6:14 12. You dirty rotten bum, why did you cut me o in trac like that? 13. Studying logical thinking skills isnt only about learning how to come up with mind-bogglingly good arguments to defeat an opponents argument and show him whats right. Learning when it is appropriate to argue is also very important. 14. Okay, this gun heres loaded, so everybody start emptying your pockets and purses and dont forget the jewelry.

Answer Key

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The Th inking Toolbox

Lesson 1: A Thinking Tool

1. We would trust the librarian. 2. We wouldnt believe him. 3. We would believe him. 4. We suggest you ask Your Mortal Enemy to pick it up rst. 5. Perhaps you should check one other book before picking up an Eastern tiger snake. 6. Derf doesnt think they are lost. 7. Answers will vary. 8. Pokerface Pete and The Kid both thought Rusty was the notorious criminal Deadeye Dan. They both tried to shoot him, and both missed. They shot each other instead.

2. Argument. 3. Disagreement. 4. Discussion. In the end, they didnt disagree on anything. 5. Discussion. 6. This might be a disagreement, but it is probably just a discussion. The Man With Big Hat said something, and Mrs. Oakley corrected him. 7. Disagreement. 8. Fight. They are not talking very nicely to each other.

Lesson 3: When |t |s Dumb to Argue

1. Argue, if you have a good argument. 2. This is a pointless argument. 3. Argue your case. 4. Dont argue. The person obviously doesnt want to listen to reason or to the dictionary. 5. This is another pointless argument. 6. Run! 7. Yes. 8. Yes.

Lesson 2: A Discussion, a Disagreement, an Argument, and a Fight

1. Disagreement.

Answer Key

211

9. No. 10. No. 11. No. 12. No. 13. Presenting an argument, or might just be making an assertion. 14. Presenting an argument for everybody emptying their pockets.

tic facts, or maybe opinion. 10. Statement of inference. 11. Probably a statement of opinion. 12. Statement of opinion. 13. Statement of fact. 14. Statement of fact. This could be checked by looking up city crime statistics. 15. A statement of opinion, or possibly a statement of inference, depending on why she thought it was on purpose. 16. Statement of fact followed by a statement of opinion. 17. Not warranted. The guy who isnt dead might have murdered the dead guy, and the dead guy shot back in self-defense before he died. 18. Not warranted. Bull elephants rarely gore people in saloons. 19. Warranted. 20.Not warranted. The teller was probably referring to the sheri who would track him down and arrest him later. 21. Felice is stating a fact; Hewey, inference; and Lamont, opinion.

Lesson 4: Fact, |nference, or Opinion

1. Statement of fact. We could verify this by comparing both books. 2. Bob is making an inference. 3. Statement of opinion. 4. Statement of opinion, or possibly statement of fact, depending on how it is meant. 5. Statement of inference made from facts. 6. Statement of opinion. 7. Statement of fact. This could be veried by examining a whale. 8. Statement of opinion. 9. Inference from observable scien-

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The book was designed by Nathaniel Bluedorn. design.bloomingthorn.com The fonts used were Adobe Caslon Pro and Coop by House Industries.