# Books that point out and explain common fallacies? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666 "2002-12-05T07:38:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/1 "2002-12-05T07:38:49Z")
I am looking for books that point out and explain common fallacies. So far I have [Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=55825UTMXV&isbn=0486296644) by Bryan H. Bunch and will soon get [Inevitable Illusions](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=55825UTMXV&isbn=047115962X) by Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini (look at the creepy choices made by other people who purchased **that** particular book!). Do any of you know of any good books that cover the same subject area? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/2 "2002-12-05T10:26:35Z")
_Straight And Crooked Thinking_ by Robert Thouless - it may not be in print any more, but it’s worth reading. Also _Water logic_ by Edward De Bono (although as might be expected this is more of an exploration of thinking processes than a treatise on ‘wrong’ thinking). ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/3 "2002-12-05T11:08:33Z")
**Gardner, Martin** : Fads and fallacies : in the name of science **Gardner, Martin** : The new age : notes of a fringe watcher **Gardner, Martin** : Science: good, bad and boogus **Burnam, Tom** : The dictionary of misinformation ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/4 "2002-12-05T12:37:31Z")
I agree with **Floater** ’s choices, and add a few oldies but goodies: **On the Spoor of Spooks** and **A Natural History of Nonsense** by Bergen Evans, the proto-Cecil **Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds** by Charles MacKay **A Budget of Paradoxes** by Augustus de Morgan ---
**Author:** ![zigaretten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/91b2a8/32.png) [@zigaretten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zigaretten)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/5 "2002-12-05T13:16:55Z")
[How to Lie With Statistics](http://energion.com/books/science/lie_with_statistics.html) It’s a classic. You can read it in a day (you don’t need to know anything about statistics) and you’ll see these “lies” for the rest of your life. They are everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/6 "2002-12-05T14:47:30Z")
Also, go to [www.skepdic.com](http://www.skepdic.com) and see “suburban myths” or “suburban legends”. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/7 "2002-12-05T15:00:37Z")
Since we’re here, I had an convo with someone who told me that the accident rate for trucks had dropped 3% since they started forcing trucks to use the far right lanes on some local bridges. How do statistics lie? Well, every year up to that the accident rate dropped 3% anyway. How can they lie further? Well, since many accidents are now truck to truck accidents (since they are all in the same lane) many truckers don’t report these accidents because they are working it out themselves and protecting eachother’s driving records. So, pushing all the trucks into one lane, and forcing them to make lane changes into that lane may have INCREASED the accident rate. Gotta love statistics! ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/8 "2002-12-05T15:13:22Z")
Somewhat related is “Why People Believe Weird Things” by Michael Shermer and “Flim Flam!” by James Randi. For the urban legend breed of fallacy, there’s “Too Good to Be True” by Brunvand. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/9 "2002-12-05T17:42:52Z")
_The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark_ by Carl Sagan ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/10 "2002-12-05T17:50:32Z")
John Paulos’ books, especially ‘Innumeracy’ are also worth looking at. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/11 "2002-12-05T18:43:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Muad’Dib \* > \*\*I am looking for books that point out and explain common fallacies. So far I have [Mathematical Fallacies and Paradoxes](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=55825UTMXV&isbn=0486296644) by Bryan H. Bunch and will soon get [Inevitable Illusions](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=55825UTMXV&isbn=047115962X) by Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini (look at the creepy choices made by other people who purchased **that** particular book!). > > Do any of you know of any good books that cover the same subject area? \*\* Hey! I just finished Bunch’s book about a month ago. I really enjoyed it. If you’re interested in _logical_ fallacies, you can check out this Logic & Fallaices web page. It has some links and book suggestions. > [@](#): > > **Inevitable Illusions by Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini (look at the creepy choices made by other people who purchased that particular book!).** Compare those choices to the ones on Amazon. I wonder if there is a big difference in the sorts of people who shop at the different stores… ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/12 "2002-12-05T20:20:54Z")
Look for an **Adams, Cecil**. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/13 "2002-12-05T21:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Floater \* > \*\ ***Burnam, Tom** : The dictionary of misinformation \*\* I have some problems with that book. Some of the entries seem to be accurate. But, others appear to be Burnam’s opinion. - Burnam claims that the play makes it clear that Hamlet is only pretending to be mad. He cites two seperate occasions when Hamlet tells other characters this. But, this only proves that Hamlet does not think he is insane. My view of the play is that at some point Hamlet passes from a sane man pretending to be mad, to a mad man who thinks he is still sane. Note that when the ghost first appears, the guards can all see it. Thus when Hamlet sees it, it is likely a real ghost. Later, however, Hamlet can see it although his mother cannot. This suggests that this time the ghost is a product of madness, just as Banquo’s ghost at Macbeth’s feast. My opinion is better researched and supported. But, it’s still an opinion In some other cases, Burnam is simply wrong. He states that Cinderalla’s slippers were originally fur and became glass only because a translator confused the French words for glass and fur. The Master has stated that the slippers were always glass. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/14 "2002-12-05T21:54:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Philster \* > \*\*Since we’re here, I had an convo with someone who told me that the accident rate for trucks had dropped 3% since they started forcing trucks to use the far right lanes on some local bridges. > > How do statistics lie? > > Well, every year up to that the accident rate dropped 3% anyway. > > How can they lie further? > > Well, since many accidents are now truck to truck accidents (since they are all in the same lane) many truckers don’t report these accidents because they are working it out themselves and protecting eachother’s driving records. > > So, pushing all the trucks into one lane, and forcing them to make lane changes into that lane may have INCREASED the accident rate. > > Gotta love statistics! \*\* With all due respect, statistics don’t lie–people do. Sometimes people make mistakes, too, like thinking that probability & statistics, as disciplines, are intuitively understandable and require no real training. And while it is easy to lie with statistics, it is _alot_ easier to lie with a few well chosen examples. I don’t dispute your conclusion that truck accidents have risen, merely that statistics are responsible for the misunderstanding rather than the people who use them without understanding how to do so properly. Best regards. ---
**Author:** ![racekarl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6bbea6/32.png) [@racekarl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racekarl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/15 "2002-12-05T22:27:42Z")
This maybe doesn’t fully qualify as far as exposing fallacies, but it helps expose common errors. I use it as a reference guide and love it. Just wanted to share [Common Errors in English](http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/errors.html#errors) ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2002, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-that-point-out-and-explain-common-fallacies/140666/16 "2002-12-06T04:17:21Z")
Thanks for your suggestions, I am going to look up many of these, but some of you have gotten misinformation mixed up with fallacies.