This is stuff everyone needs! Adult and child alike. The material we will learn is what we need not only for science but also for everyday life. It is not merely book-learning stuff. It will help you up your game in school, at work, and in life. After all, conceptual thinking is everywhere, in everything we turn our minds to to know, to value, and to interact with: friendship, fitness, wisdom, health, work, diet, and. more.

Where should you go to college? Where should you work? Is that person at work trustworthy? How do we avoid cancer? How do we fight cancer? What is cancer? Is that person really a friend? What is the best way to exercise? Do we even need it? What is sleep? Do we need it? What are the consequences of neglecting sleep? What is a dog, or a cat, or a horse? What should we do to best take care of a pet so we are true to its biological nature? And how should be best take care of ourselves? 

What is a quadratic equation? How are they related to cubics? How are they related to physics? What kind of bird is that? Why does it sing like that? What does it eat? How does it fly? What is its place in the broader ecology? How do you define "squirrel?" What is a sonnet? What is an adjective? What knowledge gives rise to the concept "adjective?" What knowledge gives rise to the concept "friend?" 

We need to be able to think logically to help ourselves, help our friends, help our family, help at work, and help society. We need to think well to be the best we can be to be healthy and happy, and to help others be healthy and happy. How do we know if we are right? How do we know if our group of friends, our family, or our team at work are doing the right thing? What if we are wrong? 

For the love of life and things good, we need to know! Logic guides us in how to know the truth and how to use that truth well. 

History, too, shows us the importance of logic by showing us the mistakes -- everything from follies to destruction -- that happened when people lacked or violated logic. And it shows us some of the greatness and beauty that happened when people were logical, i.e., true to reality. 

Unlike what happens after some other logic courses, you will find yourself forever using what we cover in this course. This material is invaluable for anyone who will work in science, who will have a career -- whether finance, parenting, philosophy, marketing, music, art, education, technology, particle physics -- and who will need to think their way through problems and through life. That's everyone! :)

We will use a combination of lecture, interactive discussion, Q&A, and in-class work.  Be prepared to think, to learn, to take notes, and to have new horizons open up. This is a more advanced, deeper logic course than the usual. 

Topics covered:
1.  Logic: what it is and how we know it
2.  Concretes & concepts: keeping it real, keeping it efficient
3.  Definition:  knowing what you are talking about
4.  Classification: keeping your mind flexible, organized, and adaptable
5.  Induction:  drawing meaningful conclusions on your own; checking other people's
6.  Integration:  making your knowledge useful

Tentative schedule:
Week 1: What is logic
aims of course; need for logic; what logic is; how we get the concept; how it developed through history; define thinking, truth, knowledge, understanding
Week 2:  concretes and concepts
how we think; what a concept is; how we use them; some rules for forming concepts; basics of how we form concepts
Week 3: definitions
what a definition is; logical definitions vs. dictionary definitions; why they are important; how we use them; formulating definitions
Week 4: classification
what is classification; why it is important; how we use it in life and in science; some rules of classification
Week 5: induction
induction vs. deduction; how induction (i.e., generalization) works; how to do it right and how to make it work for you
Week 6: integration
what cognitive integration is: connecting to the big picture; why it is important (e.g., in wisdom); examples of how it is not practiced as much as it should be; examples of its use in science and life; advice on how to use it

Note: this is a course on logic, so we need to be prepared to think about our thinking. And the material and methods could be taught to adults, business professionals, and scientists, too; it's not just easy stuff for kids. :)

Let's make sure we add to our education the things Martin Luther King, Jr. , Thomas Edison, and others say are important. Let's make sure we have the best education we can get, so we can live the best life we can -- for ourselves, our friends, our family, and our community. 

1.  "But educators at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health assert that memorization alone does not a scientist make — above all, students must be critical, creative thinkers who are honest and responsible with data. In order to train scientists as critical thinkers, the R3 Graduate Science Initiative was recently created in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology (MMI), led by director Gundula Bosch, Ph.D." (from:  https://biomedicalodyssey.blogs.hopkinsmedicine.org/2018/03/revolutionizing-with-r3-a-new-ph-d-program-seeks-to-train-scientists-as-critical-thinkers/)

2.  "At this point, I often wonder whether or not education is fulfilling its purpose. A great majority of the so-called educated people do not think logically and scientifically. Even the press, the classroom, the platform, and the pulpit in many instances do not give us objective and unbiased truths. ... Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”  --Martin Luther King, Jr

3.  "The present system does not give elasticity to the mind. It casts the brain into a mold. It insists that the child must accept. It does not encourage original thought or reasoning, and it lays more stress on memory than on observation. The result of accepting unrelated facts is the fostering of conservatism [in thinking]. It breeds fear, and from fear comes ignorance.” --Thomas Edison

4.  "For their part, Casadevall and Bosch write that science education reform should result in scientists who are: (1) broadly interested, creative and self-directed, as were some scientists in the era of Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Linus Pauling; (2) versed in epistemology, sound research conduct and error analysis, according to the "3R" norms of good scientific practice—rigor, responsibility and reproducibility; (3) skilled in reasoning using mathematical, statistical and programming methods and able to tackle logical fallacies." (from: https://hub.jhu.edu/2018/01/03/biomedical-science-education-reform-casadevall-bosch/)


Here are some testimonials from other classes but representative of what we will do in class:

“Our daughter really enjoyed this class. She couldn’t wait to share what she learned with us, We highly recommend this class.” –Joseph P., parent, “Logic Corner: Concepts, Our Unit of Knowledge,” 3 Apr 2020

“Mr. Gold’s class was wonderful and our daughter enjoyed it. Mr. Gold kept her thinking. We highly recommend it.” –Joseph P., parent, “Logic Corner: Generalization: Its Nature, Its Rules, Its Deep Importance,” 3 Apr 2020

“My daughter truly enjoyed the class and has motivated her further study in science. She also appreciated Mr. Gold’s passion and excitement for science!” –Chigusa, parent, “Logic Corner: What Is Science?,” 12 Feb 2020

“Great overview of what geometry class will be like in the upcoming school year. It teaches you how to think about geometry, and the importance of logic and systematic thinking in general.”
–Gita S., parent, “Summer Geometry Preview/Review, Session 1,” 28 Jun 2020

"Michael Gold’s 'Summer Geometry Preview/Review' was a in-depth yet efficient way (8-classes over a two-week period @ 1.5 hours per class) to get a preview of what to expect in the fall. My daughter wants to stay sharp over the summer (around the fun and relaxation that all kids need) and the structure of a class that meets live is the only option for us. Also, the class was comprised of like-minded students and a nice group of kids.

"We first came to know Mr. Gold through his 'Logic Essentials: How to Think Well' class. I highly recommend this class because logic and deductive reasoning are the cornerstones of thinking well. We need our kids to flag poor arguments and discern the truth. Unless you are attending an elite prep school, I don’t know where you would find exposure to a class like this. I am so grateful that Mr. Gold makes this class offering available. So when I shared Mr. Gold’s Geometry offering with my daughter, she wanted to sign up knowing he is a wonderful teacher.

"What was most telling – my daughter never forgot about the class date or time. I know Mr. Gold is engaging because if I walked past her room, she was never distracted. He connected with kids on all fronts using lecture, illustrating problems on the board and showing YouTube videos. He has a warm personality, inflection in his voice and good sense humor. After each class ended, my daughter wanted to show me her notes and explain a problem set she learned. Also, I received a detailed email from Mr. Gold outlining everything that was covered in each class, along with links to videos, books, geometry worksheets and more. I also appreciate that homework was optional – your child can leisurely gain exposure or go all out on mastering the subject matter – there’s no pressure.

"Michael Gold has high standards for teaching and truly cares about his students. My family joins his long list of five star reviews because he’s that good. My daughter and I highly recommend Mr. Gold’s ‘Summer Geometry Preview/Review’ and ‘Logic Essentials: How to Think Well’. We enthusiastically encourage you to sign up for any class he teaches!"
–Mary B, parent, “Summer Geometry Preview/Review, Session 1,” 19 Aug 2020


(Image from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Le_Penseur_in_the_Jardin_du_Musée_Rodin,_Paris_14_June_2015.jpg)