Your thoughts are made up of logic. Logic is everywhere; you cannot escape it.

We can think illogically, but reality will always follow the rules. When we think without logic, we are simply deluding ourselves. We can make logical errors and think we are getting away with it, but if it is important it will eventually cause us pain.

It isn't just con men that delude you if you don't understand logic; you delude yourself. I've made choices based on illogical conclusions which have cost me dearly. One of the biggest effects bad thinking had on me was when I was choosing what to do after college. My decision was to go to university and take a computing degree. My reasoning went like this:

• I have been studying computers at college for 2 years
• I am better at computers than any other subject
• Therefore I should study computers at university

I accepted it as making sense, but it didn't really. It was an unsound argument. One semester later - having suffered severe depression because of my choice - I quit. I probably wasted over a year of my life because of that decision, and it was based on faulty logic.

But what if I had put the argument differently?

• I am better at computers than any other subject
• You should follow a career in what you are best at
• Therefore I should follow a career in computing

This argument is valid, but I still would have made the wrong decision. I would, however, have been confronted with a premise that I could have challenged. Had I done so, I would have changed 'you should pursue a career in what you are best at' to 'you should pursue a career in what you are passionate about'. Unfortunately, the faulty logic allowed me to make the wrong decision.

We examine different arguments on a daily basis, and we often use faulty logic to dismiss them. Most bad decisions don't take us as far off-course as the example above; but they still slow us down. Bad logic is often the cause of these bad decision.

What influence do you have?

For several reasons, I suffered from illogical thinking when I made my career decision. What I needed at the time, was someone to talk to me and challenge my reasoning. Unfortunately, nobody did. They listened to the reason for my decision and accepted it.

Someone with a true grasp of logic would have spotted where my reasoning was faulty, and corrected me. I may have tried to ignore them, but I would have been forced to confront my beliefs in that moment.

Studying logic will give you the basis to help others correct their thinking on important issues. These could be personal issues, or they may be such things as political beliefs or an issue at work.

Logic alone probably won't win you an argument or convince others of your opinions, but it is an important part of it. If someone is making an unsound argument and you don't correct it, the argument will go round in circles. If, however, you are sure an argument is logically sound, you can look at the premises for the argument and debate them.

If you just believe differently to someone, but don't know why you believe differently, you will find it difficult to convince them you are right.

Whom do you believe?

Just as we influence others, others will influence us. As we give ourselves new goals and attempt new tasks, we will seek guidance. This may be in the form of books, research on the Internet, advice from a friend, or you may find someone to teach you face-to-face. Wherever you get your advice from, and whatever subject the advice is for, you will quickly find contradictions.

Logic will help you choose which arguments to follow and which ones to disregard. Your choice will not be arbitrary, but based on a logical understanding of the arguments presented. After hearing all the arguments, you may find that the path is still unclear; but you will have a better understanding of which way is more likely to be clearest. Being able to discover which paths are wrong before you head down them, will help you learn a lot faster.

You will even disagree with some of the things I say from time to time. It is inevitable. I will make mistakes, base my views on false premises and make assumptions. This will cause disagreement; but logic will provide a way of spotting where that disagreement exists. You will spot bad advice and ignore it, or challenge me on it.

Don't be taken for a fool

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
_{Abraham Lincoln}

In our lives we will be influenced from many sources. Whether they do so intentionally or not, corporations, politicians and the media will exploit any weaknesses in your thinking. If we don't want to be taken for fools, we must raise our awareness and learn to spot errors in what they say. This begins on an individual level. Then, once you become aware of logical errors, you can begin to point them out to others. The awareness of those around you will slowly begin to rise. And your influence will spread further than you will ever realise.

Our world is more complicated than ever, and if you don't rise to the challenge you will be conned. Con men deceive you with complicated illogical statements, designed to confuse you. Politicians do the same. And you won't realise they are doing it unless you understand why their statements are illogical.

Politicians will provide you with propaganda which is often unchallenged. They will draw conclusions where conclusions cannot be made. They will play on your doubts, while they side-step difficult questions. If you stick to only a select media source, they will also dupe you. They will play on your beliefs, giving you the news you want to hear so that you buy more of their papers.

Conversely, and some will find this difficult to believe, not all arguments that politicians make are false. But for you to understand when their arguments do bear merit, you need to understand the arguments they are making.

Whether it is politics, advertising, scientific discoveries, or debates over who should do the washing up - all conversations use, or misuse, logic. Misunderstanding logic puts you at a distinct disadvantage.