How is the 201 Logic class as a "math elective"? Anyone have it? THOUGHTS?!

10/27/2009 12:17:49 AM

Logically?

10/27/2009 12:20:10 AM

i took that class with dr. blue about a billion years ago. it was fun

10/27/2009 12:22:25 AM

IMHO, that class should be required for everyone to graduate. Take it if you can.

There is a lot of overlap between the list of history's greatest philosophers and its greatest mathematicians. Rigorous training in the process of formal logic is part of that link.

I am not exaggerating to say that I still use something from that class every day, from evaluating political arguments to determining the right solution for a problem at work.

There is great power in understanding how to manipulate lines of a proof, draw out and clarify assumptions embedded in a process, string together if-then statements, etc.

Everyone thinks they know logic because they are naturally smart or have a history of solving complex problems in other areas. These people often dismiss the importance of formal logic, and they're dead wrong. I'm not saying that you are one of those - this is just my highest recommendation for that class (and others like it).

[Edited on October 27, 2009 at 1:25 AM. Reason : a]

10/27/2009 1:12:29 AM

I remember taking some logics course as a philosophy major with Dr Blue during my first couple years of undergrad. I certainly thought of it as a philosophy/logic course rather than anything close to a math course (although it clearly has more math overlap than most philosophy classes such as say an ethics course or an ancient philosophy course).

10/27/2009 1:22:03 AM

For English majors you can take Logic as an alternative to your "second math" which might have otherwise been Statistics.

I'm signed up for Logic.

10/27/2009 1:39:26 AM

my degree was in math, i found the math background quite helpful for the last couple tests/final exam which were mostly proofs

10/27/2009 2:53:01 AM

i was able to take ST101H instead of logic

we mostly told jokes and made fun of the woman who didn't understand it was a discussion course

holy hell formal logic annoys me

10/27/2009 3:09:04 AM

finally, a class women can't pass

10/27/2009 7:41:56 AM

It's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart.

10/27/2009 7:46:29 AM

neither stat or logic were bad. i preferred stat, actually.

10/27/2009 10:48:12 AM

Truth tables ftw.

10/27/2009 10:50:25 AM

Quote :

"finally, a class women can't pass"

are you saying this about LOG201?

that was required for me (Math Education major) and i took it in Fall 2001 (my Sophomore year) with Auerbach (sp?). i got 1 of only 8 A's in a class of over 40. lots of kids failed.

i still don't know why i "got it" as far as the material goes, but apparently it's a trouble-class for a lot of people. at least it was back then. i dunno about this Blue person you're talkin' about though.

10/27/2009 10:55:12 AM

Quote :

"It's a fool who looks for logic in the chambers of the human heart. "

♥

10/27/2009 10:58:25 AM

so the OP doesn't see a relationship between math and logic?

wtf.

10/27/2009 11:12:15 AM

i gotta say, it wasn't really a "math" class. i mean, if you consider that "math" is "numbers" then it wasn't. but i think there was definitely a correlation. it wasn't a "traditional math class".

10/27/2009 11:14:05 AM

i called it math with words and pictures!

10/27/2009 11:17:18 AM

Quote :

"IMHO, that class should be required for everyone to graduate. Take it if you can. There is a lot of overlap between the list of history's greatest philosophers and its greatest mathematicians. Rigorous training in the process of formal logic is part of that link. I am not exaggerating to say that I still use something from that class every day, from evaluating political arguments to determining the right solution for a problem at work. There is great power in understanding how to manipulate lines of a proof, draw out and clarify assumptions embedded in a process, string together if-then statements, etc. Everyone thinks they know logic because they are naturally smart or have a history of solving complex problems in other areas. These people often dismiss the importance of formal logic, and they're dead wrong. I'm not saying that you are one of those - this is just my highest recommendation for that class (and others like it)."

All this and you STILL think black people are inherently more violent than white people.

10/27/2009 11:37:24 AM

i think i took it

i don't remember any of it

at one point it turned into math

and at that point, my brain checked out

10/27/2009 11:45:34 AM

Homosexuality is most illogical.

10/27/2009 11:59:35 AM

personal morals have little to do with logic

10/27/2009 12:03:27 PM

Quote :

"All this and you STILL think black people are inherently more violent than white people."

You're about to reveal why you need to take this class.

Go find any quote of mine that you think necessitates that belief, post it here, and allow me to expose your poor reading comprehension.

10/27/2009 2:29:25 PM

Quote :

"so the OP doesn't see a relationship between math and logic? wtf."

No, that was not the sentiment. I just wanted to get some discussion of it going, to see if it was worth taking.

Apparently it is, although I have the same teacher that Thumper had and apparently they're not the easiest. Oh well, it was that or yet another goddamn literature.

[Edited on October 27, 2009 at 3:10 PM. Reason : sdfd]

10/27/2009 3:07:54 PM

^he's a really nice guy, so as long as you can understand the material you'll be fine.

10/27/2009 3:09:56 PM

all mathematics is logic

it does not follow from this, however, that all logic is mathematics

this post, for example, is wholly logical and wholly nonmathematical

10/27/2009 3:22:07 PM

^that's some LOG201 shit right there

only you gotta bust out those funky symbols and shit

10/27/2009 3:22:41 PM

just remember this

given:
p => q

then:
~q => ~p

but:
~p /=> ~q.

Also of note

~(p^q) = ~p\/~q

There, I learned you math

10/27/2009 3:25:27 PM

Every pointy circle is Adolf Hitler.

10/27/2009 3:26:20 PM

if its not hitler, then its not a pointy circle

[Edited on October 27, 2009 at 3:27 PM. Reason : ^ghost edit!]

10/27/2009 3:27:06 PM

yeah, I fucked up...there are plenty of pointy squares that are not Adolf Hitler

10/27/2009 3:28:28 PM

I took LOG201 as a math elective and I loved the class. I think everyone should take a logic course at some point.

I had Auerbach, and I liked him a lot. I never needed it, but he seemed to make himself very available for help outside of class (plenty of office hrs and said he had no problem arranging other times. I'm sure many students don't take him up on it though.

He will move very fast if it seems like people are getting it. Although, he would regularly stop and ask if everyone was onboard, needed him to slow down, etc. Unfortunately, it's common for people to just agree if it seems like everyone else is picking it up just fine. If you're confused about something and don't ask... he's going to move on. So be sure to stop and say something if you're not entirely sure. It took people to the end of the semester to figure this out that they needed to speak up, and by then it was usually too late because of past grades and how the material builds on itself.


I took it in the summer. The pace is faster, but there were only about 12 of us in the class. You might want to think about taking it in the summer if you think it will trouble you at all (some people really struggle with it). In some ways I think having the class everyday helped. There were no breaks in studying the material. And the small class size was good because I think most people were comfortable asking questions b/c pretty much everyone asked questions here and there.

I took the second class (log/ma335 i think), a couple of semesters later in the fall or spring and it was very different (in regard to student interaction). 30 people or so, and only a few of us would ask questions. Grades were not very good compared to the smaller class size of LOG201 I was in.

Auerbach himself is pretty easy going. Homework was not mandatory (i don't think so anyway), although it helps a lot. The grades came from 3-4 tests and some class participation/attendance I think.

10/27/2009 5:38:15 PM

J. Hafner is my instructor for it--anyone had him?

10/29/2009 10:11:30 PM