Sources to study basic logic for precocious 10-year old?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around finding suitable resources for teaching basic logic to a precocious 10-year-old who has some rudimentary algebra skills. Participants explore various books and online resources that could effectively introduce logical reasoning and its connections to mathematics and science.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the lack of appropriate logic resources for children, suggesting that many available books are either too advanced or focus on puzzles without deeper connections to mathematics or science.
  • Another participant recommends "The Fallacy Detective" for its engaging content and illustrations, which may appeal to a younger audience.
  • A suggestion is made to consider "Jacobs Geometry," specifically the first edition, for its early chapters on logical reasoning, although concerns are raised about the later editions being less effective in this regard.
  • One participant mentions the Peano Axioms as a powerful concept in mathematics, expressing uncertainty about suitable resources for teaching them to a child.
  • Another participant shares their experience with "Jacobs Geometry," arguing that it could be accessible to bright young students without a strong algebra background.
  • Concerns are raised about the cultural relevance of examples in certain textbooks, particularly for a British student, and whether they would resonate with the child's background.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a variety of opinions on the suitability of different resources, with no consensus on a single best option. Some agree on the merits of specific books while others raise concerns about their appropriateness or content.

Contextual Notes

Some participants highlight the limitations of certain editions of books, noting that later revisions may have removed valuable content related to logic. Additionally, there is uncertainty about the prerequisites for understanding some recommended texts.

  • #31
Many thanks for the interesting suggestions, jedishfru! I will definitely pass them on to the parents.
 
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  • #32
Maybe some of the books by Seymour Pappert Edit: and his LOGO project, from his MIT AI Lab, or some of the toys he developed for his AI research may also help?
 
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  • #33
WWGD said:
Maybe some of the books by Seymour Pappert Edit: and his LOGO project, from his MIT AI Lab, or some of the toys he developed for his AI research may also help?
Thanks, WWGD. What books did you have in mind? For example, his "Mindscapes" would not be appropriate to give directly to a child, although it contains suggestions which parents willing to wade through the rest of the book might be able to use. Also, do you have a link to the toys (beyond the LOGO "Turtle" which is now a standard learning device, having been for example incorporated into Python)?
 
  • #35
Thanks, WWGD. Of the suggestions, the one I find the most useful is the link https://lynxcoding.club/.
The other links seem to be philosophical discussions, a bit too abstract for the kind of direct applications that I am searching for.
As far as ChatGPT: how is that supposed to help him learn formal logic? Anyway, ChatGPT is ubiquitous, so I figure that he will learn it soon enough.
 
  • #36
Circuit Scramble is a logic circuit solitaire game for Android, available for free download at
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Circuit-Scramble-Computer-Logic-Puzzles/dp/B078X99YQG

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  • #37
Super, sysprog1! Thanks very much; this looks excellent. Weird, something free on an Amazon site..... :-)
 
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  • #38
I am not sure how to interpret the fact that I received a post in my email notifying me of a post by user "Curious Kev" which however does not show up in this thread. Would that mean that the user or the moderator has removed the post for some reason?

The post contained a recommendation for a puzzle book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Challenging-Logic-Puzzles-Official-Puzzle/dp/1402705417
I wished to ask @Curious Kev if he/she could tell me more about the book, because the advertisement for it claims that it has a wide variety of puzzles, but the "see inside" feature of Amazon only allowed me to see three pages (three riddles, as there seems to be one riddle per page), all of which were the typical constraint satisfaction logic puzzles which can be challenging until one realizes that there is a systematic way to solve them using grids, after which they become tiresome.

Since the author of this recommendation is not around, perhaps someone else is familiar with this book? Thanks.
 
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  • #39
Again it has happened, that I have received an email citing a post that turned out not to exist in the thread. This one from WWGD (whom I know is a real member, as @WWGD has in the past very helpfully and knowledgeably answered quite a few of my questions) suggests that I ping @CuriousKev. I have no idea how to ping (either CuriousKev or now WWGD). Could someone inform me how to do that?

Also, could some moderator find out what the discrepancy is between PF's email notifications and the thread?

Thanks to everyone for this wonderful forum.
 
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  • #40
paging @berkeman See posts 38 & 39, above
 
  • #41
nomadreid said:
notifying me of a post by user "Curious Kev" which however does not show up in this thread.
Yes, that post along with several others was deleted for various reasons. The link was mostly okay, but above the level that this thread was asking about.

nomadreid said:
This one from WWGD
He deleted it himself, likely since the post he was referring to had been deleted.
 
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  • #42
Thanks, berkeman!
 
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  • #43
Or PF is belatedly haunted, missing Halloween by a pair of months, with phantom posts.
 
  • #44
My imagination? Or are seeing an increase in deleted posts?
 

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