The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1910-04-21
FALSE REASONING.

Many of our false conceptions are due
to lack of observation or to the insufficient
number of facts observed, and general con-
illusions are drawn from isolated instances
that hardly have common point if con-
tact with each other; which is but another
way of saying that our logic is faulty.
This indeed is the chief trouble, our logic
is faulty. Only a generation or two ago
logic or the science of correct reasoning
was deemed of the utmost Importance, it
formed part of the curriculum of the
high schools; now it is presumed that
every sane man will reason logically,
i. e. correctly. But he does not, and in
many syllogisms or propositions as they
are applicable to his every day life or
rather as he applies them, conclusions are
drawn from premises that are not interre-
lated and that have nothing to do with
each other. Because two things exist
simultaneously, or because one succeeded
the other Immediately in time it is taken
for granted that they are related to each
other as cause and effect. Things often
merely happen about the same time with
out one being the cause of the other; vet
the faulty reasoning crops out almost daily
Without going into the rehnements Of
logic, a few examples may be cited of
this manner of false reasoning, and the
reader is warned against similar false
conclusions where there is incogruity be-
;,veen the premises from which conclusions
are drawn:
Not SO very long ago the newspapers
and technical publications were full Of
pellegra, and many readers were under
the impression that it was new disease
recently diagnosed as another Of mans
ills, though celebrated physic;"" Dr.
Cartwright, Wi.o I..-ct.ced IN =
in the first half of the last century, speaks
in his diary of travels in Europe in 1887
Now, many physicians having found that
retients affected with pellegra were con-
5umers Of cola Tread, the conclusion was
drawn thai ..eilegra was due to corn,
though CT 4 bread was almost unknown
in Ita'- IN 1897.
:. &c hookworm is found in the south
ern states, and the conclusion is drawn
that the hookworn is a disease peculiar tC
the southern states; as well draw the con
clusion that because the state has produced
a Bilbo, therefore Mississippi is the hons
of BiIboitis.
Rice is the staple food of the Chimes,
and Japanese; the horrible disease beri
beri hourishes in China and Japan, anc
we have one Fraser who is a gradual,
in medicine with the degree of jackas
and who brays out that beri-beri is th'
result of the rice eating habit.
Hundreds of other instances like tn,
above can be cited; each, when first ar
nounced and accomplished by few tough
scientific terms have the weight peculiar
to hard Green words ornamented witt
English prefxes and suffixes. But no IN
easiness need be felt; the things simpl,
happened on or about the same time o.
very short time after each other. En-
glish peas will be in great abundance il
the proper season, but Halley's come
should not be given the credit for thi
phenomenon, though it will be neares
the earth just about the time when pea
will be the most plentiful.
/ Many laws have been passed during
but it does not follow that they ART
all good and wise laws because law
of our country should be made by wise meI
only; hey are not always SO.
The Germans are large consumers O
limburger and pretzel; the German is
scientific race; but it does not follow
that limburger and pretzel are the Gauss
of science. Aristotle and Archimedes whC
were some scientists also did not know
either of the delicacies, and perfumed thei
breath with goat milk in the latter's lift
and his meat after his untimely death
Many other instances could be citeC
equally as lucid as the pellegra, hook
worm and beri-beri proposition. The
moral of all of them is, use your braiI
for the purpose of reasoning logically anc
correctly. The germ of a deliberate false
hood or of an unintentional misconceptior
turks in crude easoning.-Natchez New.
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