Ali Almossawi

This book is aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning, particularly those who, to borrow a phrase from Pascal, are so made that they understand best through visuals. I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice.

An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments

Learning th Lost Art of Making Sense

An introduction to algorithms and their problem-solving potential in the everyday world outlines alternative methods for managing twelve different scenarios using the same systems that underline a word processor, a Google search engine, or a Facebook ad.

How Algorithms Can Help You Think Smarter and Live Happier

Bad Choices

An accidental author reflects on five years in publishing and discovers the transformative power of hobbies. From the author: "Most of the book came together on the train over the course of several weeks. Though originally meant to be a field guide to publishing, it eventually evolved into something more introspective. This is a book for anyone who enjoyed my first two forays into publishing and wants to learn more about that process, or anyone who is looking for a story about achieving purpose in a complicated world."

The Point of Pointless Work

كتاب مصور عن المحاورة بالحيلة

"An illustrated, humorous guide to verbal and written rhetorical tricks, teaching readers to more competently analyze the hidden content behind words"--

Learn to Hear What's Left Unsaid

An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language

Alejandro Giraldo

'An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments' is aimed at teaching newcomers to the field of critical thinking - particularly younger ones - the importance of logical reasoning using a novel approach. It covers a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualises them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples.

A relatable, interactive, and funny exploration of algorithms, those essential building blocks of computer science - and of everyday life - from the author of the wildly popular Bad Arguments. Algorithms -- processes that are made up of unambiguous steps and do something useful -- make up the very foundations of computer science. Yet, they also inform our choices in approaching everyday tasks, from managing a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer to deciding what music to listen to. With Bad Choices, Ali Almossawi, presents twelve scenes from everyday life that help demonstrate and demystify the fundamental algorithms that drive computer science, bringing these seemingly elusive concepts into the understandable realms of the everyday. Readers will discover how: · Matching socks can teach you about search and hash tables · Planning trips to the store can demonstrate the value of stacks · Deciding what music to listen to shows why link analysis is all-important · Crafting a succinct Tweet draws on ideas from compression · Making your way through a grocery list helps explain priority queues and traversing graphs · And more As you better understand algorithms, you'll also discover what makes a method faster and more efficient, helping you become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges. Bad Choices will open the world of algorithms to all readers making this a perennial go-to for fans of quirky, accessible science books.

“This is a book for every thinking person, the perfect antidote to today’s culture wars.”—Hope Jahren The creators of An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments return with this desperately timely guide to how words can trick us. Learn to “hear” hidden bias, slant, and spin—from an irresistible cast of woodland creatures! Public discourse? More like public discord. The battle cries of our culture wars are rife with “loaded language”—be it bias, slant, or spin. But listen closely, or you’ll miss what Ali Almossawi finds more frightening still: words that erase accountability, history, even identity through what they leave unsaid. Speaking as wise old Mr. Rabbit, Almossawi leads us through a dark forest of rhetoric—aided by Orwell, Baldwin, and a squee-worthy cast of wide-eyed woodland creatures. Here, passive voice can pardon wrongdoers, statistics may be a smokescreen, gaslighting entraps the downtrodden, and irrelevant adjectives cement stereotypes. Emperor Squirrel isn’t naked; he has a clothes-free sartorial style. Mouse’s roof becomes flattened (Elephant’s foot just happens to be there at the time). And when keen-eyed Owl claims a foreign shore, he seems to be overlooking someone . . . Fans of Almossawi’s An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments couldn’t ask for a better primer on the less logical ways that words can trick us. It takes a long pair of ears to hear what’s left unsaid—but when you’re a rabbit in a badger world, listening makes all the difference.

“This short book makes you smarter than 99% of the population. . . . The concepts within it will increase your company's ‘organizational intelligence.’. . . It’s more than just a must-read, it’s a ‘have-to-read-or-you’re-fired’ book”—Geoffrey James, INC.com From the author of the forthcoming An Illustrated Book of Loaded Language, here’s the antidote to fuzzy thinking, with furry animals! Have you read (or stumbled into) one too many irrational online debates? Ali Almossawi certainly had, so he wrote An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments! This handy guide is here to bring the internet age a much-needed dose of old-school logic (really old-school, a la Aristotle). Here are cogent explanations of the straw man fallacy, the slippery slope argument, the ad hominem attack, and other common attempts at reasoning that actually fall short—plus a beautifully drawn menagerie of animals who (adorably) commit every logical faux pas. Rabbit thinks a strange light in the sky must be a UFO because no one can prove otherwise (the appeal to ignorance). And Lion doesn’t believe that gas emissions harm the planet because, if that were true, he wouldn’t like the result (the argument from consequences). Once you learn to recognize these abuses of reason, they start to crop up everywhere from congressional debate to YouTube comments—which makes this geek-chic book a must for anyone in the habit of holding opinions.

A relatable, interactive, and funny exploration of algorithms, those essential building blocks of computer science—and of everyday life—from the author of the wildly popular Bad Arguments Algorithms—processes that are made up of unambiguous steps and do something useful—make up the very foundations of computer science. But they also inform our choices in approaching everyday tasks, from managing a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer to deciding what music to listen to. With Bad Choices, Ali Almossawi presents twelve scenes from everyday life that help demonstrate and demystify the fundamental algorithms that drive computer science, bringing these seemingly elusive concepts into the understandable realms of the everyday. Readers will discover how: • Matching socks can teach you about search and hash tables • Planning trips to the store can demonstrate the value of stacks • Deciding what music to listen to shows why link analysis is all-important • Crafting a succinct Tweet draws on ideas from compression • Making your way through a grocery list helps explain priority queues and traversing graphs • And more As you better understand algorithms, you’ll also discover what makes a method faster and more efficient, helping you become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges. Bad Choices will open the world of algorithms to all readers, making this a perennial go-to for fans of quirky, accessible science books.

Diante das discussões cada vez mais absurdas nas redes sociais, Ali Almossawi resolveu resgatar uma dose – necessária e urgente – de lógica para a era da internet. O resultado é este livro acessível, que explica, com divertidas ilustrações, as 19 principais falácias que tornam insustentáveis tantos argumentos e debates. Você aprenderá a reconhecer frequentes abusos da razão, como a falácia do espantalho (em que se deturpa o argumento do outro para poder atacá-lo com mais facilidade), o apelo a uma autoridade irrelevante e a bola de neve (em que uma proposição é desacreditada sob a alegação de que levará inevitavelmente a uma sequência de eventos indesejáveis). Os desenhos mostram animais cometendo erros de argumentação. O coelho acha que uma estranha luz no céu só pode ser um disco voador porque ninguém consegue provar o contrário (apelo à ignorância). O leão não acredita que a emissão de gases do gado prejudica o planeta porque, se isso fosse mesmo verdade e tivéssemos que eliminar as vacas, ele teria que comer grama, um resultado altamente indesejável (argumento a partir das consequências). Assim, ficará mais fácil escapar das armadilhas da lógica que se espalham por todos os lugares, dos debates no Congresso aos comentários no Facebook. Indispensável para qualquer pessoa que cultive o hábito de ter uma opinião, esse livro é um antídoto contra raciocínios fracos. "Não consigo pensar numa forma melhor de aprender essas noções fundamentais de discurso lógico. Um livro encantador." — AARON KOBLIN, diretor criativo do Google Data Arts Team "Compartilhe esse livro com seus amigos. Incentive seus familiares a folheá-lo. Deixe alguns exemplares em lugares públicos." — JENNY WILLIAMS, do site GeekDad

Ali Almossawi

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