Interviewee

Statements

Ahmed

First-year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA)

student

“First, I saw logic as applying meaningless rules. I did not see any relations between the logic rules and real-life meaning. I wasn’t [sic] able to apply logic rules to everyday phenomena before being exposed to class discussions and worksheets. In this class, I learned to go step by step to solve a problem. My solving method needs to be valid. Well, I can use these skills in various situations. Problem-solving is a universal job skill that applies to any position and every workplace. Your method of solving problems need to be valid… Let me share one of my experiences with you. Here on campus, you hear contradicting opinions about the same topic from your professors. First, I was very confused and had a difficult time processing all these contradictions. Now I can use logic to evaluate what I hear. Before, I had no idea what to do when faced by conflicting advice from experts. Now I know the tools to evaluate what I see and hear. When I read the news, I have more confidence to evaluate what I read without being an expert myself … I have a motorcycle and I was reading a CBC article about the detectors capturing noisy vehicles and motorcycles in Edmonton. There were many statements made by Ben Henderson about this issue in that article. The article pointed out a project about noise monitoring in Edmonton. The statements made by Henderson caught my attention since they were full of logical fallacies. In this article he talks about combating noise by banning all motorcycles from core neighborhoods in Edmonton or he says we will continue the project of detecting noise for another summer to tell us what we already know. Well, isn’t [sic] this the fallacy of begging the question, when the premise of an argument assumes a conclusion of its own in order to justify the final conclusion? I was able to criticize this article using what I learned in this class. Without knowing about logic, I wasn’t [sic] able to make good arguments to question this article.”

Bill

First-year chemistry student

“Logic helps me in assessing and upgrading my ability to judge well. We don’t [sic] take enough time for logical thinking, problem-solving, and reasoning skills in the other classrooms. Actually, I am more careful in writing essays and lab reports now that I know logic. In a chemistry lab for example, I could say that if this sample contains sulfuric acid, then it will turn blue litmus paper red. The blue litmus paper turned red. Therefore, there is sulfuric acid in this sample. Nobody would blame me for saying this in my lab report, but now I know that this argument is not valid. I am very careful now when I write a lab report. Now that I know logic, the textbooks make more sense … well, I go step by step to solve a problem. I make sure that every step makes sense, and the problem-solving method is consistent with logical rules.”

Catherine

First-year chemistry student

“Logical thinking skills are important to our success both in and out of the classroom. Worksheets and class discussion on logic helped me develop an essential problem-solving skill for math reasoning and real-life experiences. logic helps me in math and solving problems in science because logical thinking is sequential, I think. Mandy [Catherine’s course instructor] wrote down four steps to evaluate an argument and I can use these steps in solving problems. I learned to design sequential methods to solve a problem and my methods must be valid logically. To think logically about something means to think about it in steps. Math is a sequential process, I think. When you know logic, you can analyze a situation, understand the sequence, and ask yourself what comes next. Implementing logical thinking helps you to be rational, logical problem solvers, helps you see the world from many different angles.”

Dan

First-year science student

“When we started the logic topic, I had no clue how important the topic is until we worked on the class activities. In class activities I saw the application of logic in writing lab reports, evaluating people’s statements, evaluating articles, news, scientific papers, and you know, almost everything. What I see in my textbooks, are clear to me now. I want to become a scientist and logic has helped me answer many questions that I had about science, theory, and scientific method. I learned that science is not just empirical. You can’t [sic] just simply collect and analyze data if you want to predict and explain how the

universe works. I think most of us have had the experience of explaining a scientific phenomenon and hearing some people saying that it is just a theory. Well, just a theory! I was talking to a friend last year about global warming and she told me it’s just a theory. Theory is a misunderstood term used by many people. I myself misunderstood this scientific term when I was in high school. Class activities and discussions in this class improved my scientific knowledge … For example, if you ask what the sky color will be tomorrow, every person can predict that the sky will be blue. They have a lifetime of empirical that lets them make that prediction, but few can explain why the sky is blue. That needs an explanation, a theory. A theory to explain this must be logically consistent with other related theories. The theory itself is assessed in a variety of ways; one is internal logical consistency. Saying something is just a theory means we have no knowledge of the scientific method and logic. In this course, we learned that the theory should generate hypotheses that are logically derived from the theory’s premises and propositions. The hypotheses must be open to testing. A logical argument is needed to assess the quality and effectiveness of the testing processes, you know the methodology. Logic is central to every phase of the scientific method … When you are studying and solving a problem in science, you need to be careful about the problem-solving method that you design, just ask yourself if your method is consistent with logic rules. A is equal to B, B is equal to C, can I conclude that A is equal to C?”

Bob

First-year criminal justice student

“For me, logic was one of the harder units in this course. But there is an applicable aspect of it, I had enjoyed it and felt I was able to learn a couple of useful skills moving forward. As people, everything is a negotiation, and we will have lots of conversations whether with an employer, co-worker, or a partner. Being able to both interpret the arguments that others make to you and being able to make your position very logically sound will strengthen any claims that you may make. One of the biggest elements of logic is being able to detect logical fallacies. Looking at sales jobs or work environments people will try and manipulate you for their own best interest in a variety of ways, but if you possess the ability to breakdown the argument or point being presented then it can change how you deal with it. It is very important to understand the topic of logic and be able to implement it into your conversations as well as being able to identify those claims or arguments we are faced with in everyday life so you will not be manipulated into doing things and will have more truthful interactions … I also learned how to solve problems in my other courses. How to write down the information given and then design a valid methodology to come up with a reasonable conclusion … Learning about quantified statements and their negation, along with conditional and biconditional statements have given me a better understanding of the effect a statement can have. This understanding has been extremely beneficial within completing my essays in other courses, as it has allowed me to have a better understanding of the effect my statements have. The composition and effect of a sentence can be greatly altered based on the chosen words and their corresponding order. To apply the topic of conditional statements, which are if-then statements, if I were to confuse the order of an argument in my essay, it could have the opposite effect than which is desired. I must comprehend the p → q aspects of my argument and determine if they make sense within their sequential order. If I find that one of my statements is incorrectly ordered, therefore making it invalid, I can use the teachings from the topic of logic to help me correct my errors to ensure my essay remains valid. I believe logic will strengthen my communication in my essays and writing assignments and lab reports.”

Zara

First-year nursing student

“Logic is something that is part of everyday life. If one can construct good arguments, and train themselves to spot bad arguments, they will be better prepared for success in the majority of work environments as well as everyday life … Logic allows a person valuable skills to use in their everyday life. This skill allows a person to know if an argument is valid or weak and draw inferences that are useful in the situation. By using logic, we can make the best possible educated decision as we are steered in the direction of the truth and away from falsehoods presented … A person can become a critical reader, listener, and thinker by becoming more familiar with logic and truth tables. You can’t [sic] always believe