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A Whackadoodle discussion with my student
A Whackadoodle discussion in which my student challenges me to teach her about A River Worth Riding: Fourteen Rules for Navigating the River of Life. If you have entered this story in the middle, click here for the table of contents. _______________ “I think that we need to start talking more about your rules, and … Read more
A Whackadoodle discussion about prejudice, public health, mask mandates, why I will be wearing a mask for the rest of my life, even if you won’t. “For the first time in my life, I know what it’s like to feel prejudiced,” I blurted out. “What?” she exclaimed. “You don’t have a prejudiced bone in your … Read more
A Whackadoodle lesson in which we answer a Dear Navigator question: Do I need a website? Do I concentrate on selling stuff, or on building a list of followers? __________ “We have another one,” she informed me, busting passed my door. “Another what?” I asked, following her. “Another question from a blog follower,” she said, … Read more
A Whackadoodle lesson about the difference between Satirical and Ironic essays, with political examples of each. Including The Garlic’s Exclusive Interview with the Governor. “I’m supposed to write a satirical essay for my English 101 class,” she told me as soon as our lesson began. “Zowy,” I said. “Your teacher is quite ambitious.” “How do you … Read more
A Whackadoodle discussion regarding my student’s desire to write a school board proposal asking the school board to add American Sign Language to their K-12 core curriculum. “How do you write a proposal?” she asked me out of the blue. “Well,” I said, struggling to get my thoughts in order. “I suppose it depends on … Read more
A Whackadoodle logic lesson in which we discuss how people use deflection to win arguments; sometimes by just talking people to death. “So how does deflection actually work?” she asked me near the end of our lesson. “It’s when instead of engaging the argument, you deflect to something else. You basically change the subject. If … Read more
A Whackadoodle lesson, prompted by my student, regarding reductio ad absurdum arguments and how they are not logical fallacies. Including an excerpt from George Conway’s satirical essay about Trump and cookies. She pulled out her phone and began typing before speaking, “I think that I have found the perfect example of reductio ad absurdum for … Read more
A Whackadoodle discussion that explains ranked choice voting, and caucus voting, in a way that even a kindergartener can understand. “So I’ve been thinking,” she said as she put her school books back into her backpack. “Good, good,” I couldn’t help but tease. “Thinking is good.” She sent me one of her dirtiest looks before … Read more
A Whackadoodle logic lesson, in which I explain why reductio ad absurdum is not a logical fallacy, despite the many websites that claim it is; including a slightly R-rated example of how reducing an argument through ridicule actually works. “Okay,” she nodded. “But I still get confused, is reductio ad absurdum a logical fallacy or … Read more
A Whackadoodle discussion on what happened when my early morning telemarketer called me back, and I offered to send him a link to the article he’d inspired. If you haven’t read it already, you should probably click here to read Part One before you read Part Two. An nearly true story by Lynn Marie Sager … Read more