| Bad Thoughts: A Guide to Clear Thinking | 
 enlarge | Author: Jamie Whyte
Publisher: Corvo Books
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £4.26
You Save: £4.73 (53%)
New (16) Used (10) from £2.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 16984
Media: Paperback
Pages: 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 0954325532
Dewey Decimal Number: 100
EAN: 9780954325534
ASIN: 0954325532
Publication Date: October 5, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews:
 a pedant is just someone who prefers to be right March 23, 2005
40 out of 55 found this review helpful
This an engrossing book, I was hooked from page one. The writer demolishes any loose arguments in the absolute pursuit of truth. His examples of other people's logic (or lack of it) are usually flawless.
I didn't entirely follow the bits about populism and biases. He did not seem to accept that any issue could just be a matter of opinion, and his arguments failed to convince me of his case. Also, for issues where you choose not to investigate deeply you have to choose who to trust, and I'd take into account the bias's of their experts when choosing - I didn't see the point of his dismissal of this. Maybe I need to re-read...
He comes across as obsessively pedantic, and several of the laugh-out-loud bits are where I laughed at his pettyness rather than the sloppy thinking of others - he's like the woman from eats, shoots n leaves who rages when no-one else cares.
But the good bits are stunningly insightful - and that's 90% of the book.
A must for new-agers and a very worthwhile read for anyone else.
Should be Compulsory October 7, 2004
41 out of 49 found this review helpful
I ordered this book having seen Jamie Whyte interviewed in New Scientist. I was not disappointed. It is short, witty, and to the point. It should be compulsory for every sixteen year old in the future and for anybody even remotely interested in the problems that beset our world. Whyte mounts a devestating attack on modern thinking, demonstrating how we have become lazy and irrational in equal measure. After reading it, you will be amazed at how much "bad thinking" you come across and - my only negative - how much it begins to annoy having now got the tools to identify it! Buy it and then give it to someone!
Enjoyable little book August 8, 2004
39 out of 47 found this review helpful
This book is a short, easy, entertaining read. It's about errors in logic and irrationale arguments. And the writer sounds like he's been in more than his fair share of arguments. You can almost feel his anguish!I really enjoyed his attack on the "I have the right to my opinion" brigade. You don't according to Mr Whyte - unless you have researched your opinion. Brilliant! The book is instructional. You will definitely learn something from it - even if you only learn about the flaws in your own beliefs. Highly recommended.
You may never read newspapers in the same way again! June 10, 2004
29 out of 36 found this review helpful
This book is a really enjoyable romp through many of the rhetorical devices and vague claims that populate popular journalism in particular (and also popular science books). In different chapters, Whyte gives examples of the way that poor arguments are constructed and given for many claims that do not stand close scrutiny. I particularly enjoyed his examples of management consultant speak. He rightly points out that just because someone might have a motive for holding a particular view, that in itself does not nullify the argument. The book is full of topical examples, which get your attention but may in the long run reduce the shelf-life of the book. I recommend this to anyone who wants to understand what makes a good argument. Unfortunately, it may not help you win arguments with some people, but at least you will have the satisfaction of understanding why you are right.
Should be compulsory reading in schools. March 15, 2004
33 out of 42 found this review helpful
Imagine that you were unjustly thrown in jail as a small child and grew up thinking that your cell is the entirety of the world. One day a nice man comes along and throws you a key and you discover that you've been living a somewhat sheltered life. Jamie Whyte is the nice man and this book is the key! What release! Read this book and carry it around with you until you've learnt every trip and trick that keeps your mind imprisoned. Are you being subjected to inconsistency, equivocation, shocking statistics or morality fever? You probably won't know until you're armed with the insights contained in this book. Read it now before the world goes completely crazy!
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