Exam Overview

Thanks to Tahsin (who asked the lazy question that made me swoon), here's an overview of what to expect on the Exam on October 23rd.

The exam should last 50 minutes. In other words:
Format
(i) true/false or multiple choice
(ii) evaluating statements, sets, arguments.
(iii) short answers
(iv) translations (English to Sentential Logic)
(v) truth tables (testing consistency, validity, etc.)
(vi) derivations (SMALL SMALL SMALL portion of test)
(vii) Extra Credit

Content
Chapter 1: Logic Concepts
-Validity, Consistency, Logical Truths, Equivalence…
-study handout(s) (fix logically false definition)
-rigid definitions vs. informal meanings of words
-BEWARE OF THE CRAZY CASES! Validity checklist

Chapter 2: Sentential Logic Translations
-study ‘if/then’ (order matters)! “unless,” “provided that,” etc.
-‘Neither/nor'
-complicated translations: at least two, at most one, etc.

Chapter 3: Truth Tables
-Basic truth tables will be provided
-How do we set them up?
-How many rows?
-How do we approach them? Inside/out or small to big
-Testing t.f. truth, t.f. consistency, t.f. validity
-truth values under the main connectives are what matters
- ~(A v B) vs. (~A v B)

Chapter 5: Derivations
-tiny, tiny portion of the test!

Cat Statements

What kind of statements are these?

Let me know in the comments.

1st Week References

Here are some of the things we discussed in class this week (click the blue links for more info):

-buy the textbook here
-dancing in films
-the movie Election
-comedian Dane Cook (thief?)
-confirmation bias
-the band The Killers
-NPR
-the TV show Arrested Development (Beads?!?)
-consensus decision-making
-the color blue

Did I forget anything? Let me know.

Email Subscriptions

So why does this course have a blog? Well, why is anything anything?

A blog (short for “web log”) is a website that works like a journal – users write posts that are sorted by date based on when they were written. You can find important course information (like assignments, due dates, reading schedules, etc.) on the blog. I’ll also be updating the blog throughout the semester, posting interesting items related to the stuff we’re currently discussing in class. I used a blog in courses I taught in the past, and it seemed helpful. Hopefully it can benefit our course, too.

Since I’ll be updating the blog a lot throughout the semester, you should check it frequently. There are, however, some convenient ways to do this without simply going to the blog each day. The best way to do this is by getting an email subscription, so any new blog post I write automatically gets emailed to you. (You can also subscribe to the rss feed, if you know what that means.) To get an email subscription:

1. Go to http://rowansymbolic07.blogspot.com.

2. At the main page, enter your email address at the top of the right column (under “EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION: Enter your Email”) and click the "Subscribe me!" button.

3. This will take you to a new page. Follow the directions under #2, where it says “To help stop spam, please type the text here that you see in the image below. Visually impaired or blind users should contact support by email.” Once you typed the text, click the "Subscribe me!" button again.

4. You'll then get an email regarding the blog subscription. (Check your spam folder if you haven’t received an email after a day.) You have to confirm your registration. Do so by clicking on the "Click here to activate your account" link in the email you receive.

5. This will bring you to a page that says "Your subscription is confirmed!" Now you're subscribed.

If you are unsure whether you've subscribed, ask me (609-980-8367; landis@rowan.edu). I can check who's subscribed and who hasn't.