Six Reasons Your Child Should Learn Logic

In Star Trek, the logical mind of Mr. Spock contrasts with the emotional minds of everyone else. But this is fiction. In reality, each of us needs to be both logical and emotional.

Unfortunately, learning logical thinking doesn’t just come naturally for most people. But it’s an important skill. Logic traps are everywhere.

Here’s what you can do about it: teach logic to your child. Why?

1. Learning about cause and effect, your child will be able to make better choices. For example, “friends” who urge him to misuse his money and his time may find he understands what the logical consequences of such behavior are.

2. Problem-solving will be something your child can do as he grows older. Faced with any problem, such as dealing with a plugged-up sink or a broken-down car, your child will be able to list options and pick one.

3. Your child will be able to see through advertising. For example, he will be able to find circular reasoning in an advertising slogan such as “Happy people buy Grandma’s Granola.” The advertiser really is saying, “Buy Grandma’s Granola, and you will be happy.” Is your child able to identify circular logic such as this?

4. Your child will be able to evaluate generalizations made in the media. Perhaps he sees a reporter interviewing five people about illegal immigration. All five think illegal immigrants should be given amnesty. Then the reporter announces that everyone thinks illegal immigrants should get amnesty. But that’s another logic error–generalizing from too small a sample group. Does your child see this error?

5. Your child can learn to evaluate advice on the basis of the qualifications of the person doing the advising. If your dentist tells you to floss your teeth, you will believe him — he’s an expert. But if he tells you to put an oil additive in your car, you need to weigh the advice because he’s not an expert there.

6. Your child will be able to understand how computers think. Computers think in nitty-gritty ways: if statement A is true, then do action B. Otherwise, do action C. Our brains tend to skip around in comparison. But learning to program a computer to follow a logical sequence helps the child learn to think logically, too. In the Information Age, this is a very useful skill to develop, now or later. The more your child knows about computers, the more he will be master of that device that is mastering our lives.