I was reminded by some bad logic on TV today of this joke:
| Neighbor 1: | Hi, there, new neighbor, it sure is a mighty nice day to be moving. |
| New Neighbor: | Yes, it is, and people around here seem extremely friendly. |
| Neighbor 1: | So what is it you do for a living? |
| New Neighbor: | I am a professor at the University; I teach deductive reasoning. |
| Neighbor 1: | Deductive reasoning– what is that? |
| New Neighbor: |
Let me give you an example. I see you have a dog house out back. By that I deduce that you have a dog. |
| Neighbor 1: | That is right. |
| New Neighbor: |
The fact that you have a dog leads me to deduce that you have a family. |
| Neighbor 1: | Right again. |
| New Neighbor: | Since you have a family I deduce that you have a wife. |
| Neighbor 1: | Correct! |
| New Neighbor: | And since you have a wife, I can deduce that you are heterosexual. |
| Neighbor 1: | Yup. |
| New Neighbor: | That is deductive reasoning. |
| Neighbor 1: | Cool. |
Later that same day…
| Neighbor 1: | Hey, I was talking to that new guy who moved in next door. |
| Neighbor 2: | Is he a nice guy? |
| Neighbor 1: | Yes, and he has an interesting job. |
| Neighbor 2: | Oh, what does he do? |
| Neighbor 1: | He’s a professor of deductive reasoning at the University. |
| Neighbor 2: | Deductive reasoning– what is that? |
| Neighbor 1: | Let me give you an example. Do you have a dog house? |
| Neighbor 2: | No. |
| Neighbor 1: | Fag! |
A Reasonable Man 