How to Recognize Bad Reasoning - The Fallacy Detective

I jumped at the chance to review the Fallacy Detective because I live with the Great Debators, otherwise known as my two sons.  All of a sudden, I have gone from knowing everything to not very much.  Well, we may as well put that faulty reasoning to the test.

The easy-to read Fallacy Detective is 38 lessons on how to recognize bad reasoning.  It was written by homeschooled brothers Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn.  The book doesn't look boring and there is plenty of white space and comic illustrations throughout.  The chapters and review questions are short, yet engaging and thought-provoking.  It's the kind of book that doesn't get the eye roll when you pick it up and announce that it's time for some lessons on logic.

What I love even more is that some of the expressions my children say "old people use," are included as lesson topics, for example,"Loaded Question, Straw Man, Slippery Slope" and my favorite "Bandwagon."  I can't tell you the number of times I have urged my children to not jump on the proverbial Bandwagon.

There is an answer key included, as well as game instructions in the back of the book for you to create your own Fallacy Detective games.  I used it on LionHeart just the other day.  We were visiting a new recreation center and he asked if he could walk to the nearby 7-Eleven with this "friends."  I gave him the you know this is going to be a long conversation look and began with a simple question.  Are you saying that because you played basketball with a boy for two hours he is now your friend?  LionHeart smiled sheepishly knowing the answer to the question: assuming someone you just met is a friend is most certainly employing faulty reasoning.

There are so many great topics in this book that will help young people become critical thinkers, such as "Red Herring, Analogy, Snob Appeal, Propoganda," and KingMan's favorite: "Generalization."  He loves to tell me, "mom you are making a generalization!"  The book is written for ages 12 an up, but we enjoyed reading it together as a family.  The Fallacy Detective is a must have to develop critical thinking skills in a fun way.

My First Bank Account

LionHeart's first savings account.

I'm pretty sure I was well past the age of 18 when I opened my first bank account.  But planting the seeds of saving, delaying gratification and setting achievable goals starts early.  It's even more important when you have a skill that earns you money.  Lionheart is a part of the Farafina Kan West African Drum Ensemble.  He's been drumming since the age of 3 and is blessed to be offered paid gigs that showcase his talents.  So Saturday morning we set off on foot for this monumental occasion.

The cover of the book written about the history of the bank.

I chose the Industrial Bank of Washington as the place where Lionheart would save his money.  It's  walking distance from our home, and more importantly, this bank is a part of our history, as written about in the book Images of America: Industrial Bank. It was founded on August 20, 1934, and is the oldest and largest African-American owned commercial bank in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. region. The Industrial Bank of Washington was founded in 1913 by laborer and entrepreneur John Whitelaw Lewis as the Industrial Savings Bank during the black business movement that began in the 1880s in downtown Washington and spread to the U Street area by the 1900s.  The history of the bank is so important that it is a part of the African American Heritage Trail, a 200-site trail in DC where explorers can learn, on foot,  about the African American people and places that shaped the city.   

While the history was intriguing to Lionheart, he had lots of questions about what was going to happen to his money in the bank.  Mr. Eric, the Branch Manager, happily answered.  What does the bank do with my money? Why do I have to wait until I am 18 to withdraw it? How will they know how to find my account when I come to put money in the bank? Why are you (mom) the only person who can withdraw my money? What happens if the bank burns down? Lol! That was a good one.  Now his interest in money and savings is at an all time high.  This is the perfect time to capitalize on his desire to know.

We will read the children's book, the History of Money and Starting a Business: Have Fun and Make Money so he understands not only how to save money, but how to have multiple streams of income

His first goal is a hover board.  He has probably shown me a million pictures and visited just as many website.  Lionheart's first deposit came from his drumming earnings.  He's already got another gig lined up for April and will be teaching a sports class at the Sankofa Homeschool Collective. This 10-year-old has big dreams and all I can do is support them.