ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
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How to tell the woods from the trees
While comparison is a critical part of human cognition, when it becomes false or fatuous it leads to unhealthy competition and ineffective problem-solving, says ANDY HEDGECOCK
Cartoon by Pete Songi
SUE TURNER welcomes a thoughtful, engaging book that lays bare the economic realities of global waste management
JOHN GREEN welcomes an insider account of the achievements and failures of the transition to democracy in Portugal
SIMON PARSONS applauds an imaginative and absorbing updating of Strindberg’s classic
PETER MASON is enthralled by an assembly of objects, ancient and modern, that have lain in the mud of London’s river
MICK McSHANE rubs shoulders with Mod legend Steve Craddock and joins in with the joyous Glasgow choir
DENNIS BROE sifts out the ideological bias of the newest TV series offerings, and picks out what to see, and what to avoid
Bullsh*t Comparisons
Andrew Brooks
Footnote, £16.99
CRITICAL thinking is a dangerous theme for blurb writers, especially when the word “bullsh*t” is used in a title. Andrew Brooks’ latest book provides a trenchant and timely critique of an increasingly common form of sloppy thinking. Sadly, it fails to fulfil a spectacular claim on its dustjacket: I have not been empowered to “spot bullsh*t at twenty paces.”
The identification of misleading information is an increasingly important skill and — as Brooks demonstrates through his entertaining and clearly argued examples — one that can be learned.
There’s a caveat here: developing an ability to challenge deception and deliberately contrived ambiguity is only possible if we are properly informed on the issue under discussion.
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