Honors Geometry Logic Project
Assignment: Find 3 real-world examples that illustrate a conditional statement. Find one additional example that illustrates the Law of Detachment, and one additional example that illustrates the Law of Syllogism, for a total of 5 examples
You may take your examples from books, magazines, the news, the internet, movies, videos, comics, song lyrics, or just about any other source of the English language.
For each example you choose, type it into a Word document as follows:
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Example #
[Type in your example in its original language.]
Name and Date of Source
[Summarize/rewrite your example in the form of a conditional statement, in the form of the Law of Detachment, or in the form of the Law of Syllogism.]
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(See specific examples on the following pages.)
You will turn in two things:
1) A Microsoft Word document, emailed as an attachment to Mr. B at . (Your Word doc must have your name typed at the top of the document.)
2) A hardcopy printout of the Word doc.
Grading:
This project will count as one quiz grade. Each of your five examples will be worth 20 points. Examples will be graded on clarity and correct wording of each example as a conditional statement, Law of Syllogism, or Law of Detachment.
Extra credit will be given for each additional example of the Law of Syllogism and/or the Law of Detachment. (Amount of extra credit to be determined by Mr. B.)
Due date:
This project will be due on the day after the test on Unit 3 (Logic).
The hardcopy printout must be turned in to Mr. Bledsoe by 2:30pm on this date; the email containing the Word doc must be timestamped by 11:59pm on this date. Points will be deducted for late work.
Mr. Bledsoe, 4th block Honors Geometry
Example #1
"Zero-tolerance" policies have taken any sort of perspective or judgment out of the hands of judges and turned possession of minor amounts of controlled substances into 30-year sentences. Zero-tolerance is creeping into other areas of life as well, evidenced by public schools punishing 4-year-old students for hugging each other("sexual harassment") or the fact that the highest percentage of additions to sexual offender registriesare teen boys between the ages of 14-16. Between the growth of zero-tolerance and the expanding definition of such terms as "cyberbullying," "sexual assault" and "terrorism," it's not likely that our nation's incarceration rate will decline any time soon.
Source: techdirt.com, One Nation, Under Guard, February 3, 2012
Conditional Statement: If sentencing for crimes is controlled by “zero tolerance” policies rather than by judges, then America’s (high) incarceration rate will not decline.
Example #2
…one of Jenzabar's founders, Chai Ling, many years ago, was one of the student leaders of the Tiananmen Square uprising -- a point that the company regularly used in its PR efforts. A documentary film from Long Bow Productions showed Lingmaking some commentsyears ago about how shehopedthe uprising would lead to bloodshed, in order to incentivize a wider uprising. Most people might write off such comments as extreme comments in the heat of the moment from a young, immature activist, and let it go. If Ling had just said that she regretted the comments, the whole thing would have probably blown over.
[Article goes on to explain how Ling attempted to keep her comments from being used in a movie by suing the movie producers.]
Source: techdirt.com, Jenzabar Continues To Try
To Censor Criticism Via Trademark Bullying, February 3, 2012
Conditional Statement: If Ling had said she regretted saying “she hoped the Tiananmen Square uprising would lead to bloodshed,” then a lawsuit would have been avoided.
Example #3
You may drive around your townin a brand new shiny car
Your face in the wind your haircut's inand your friends think you're bizarre
You may find a cushy job and I hope that you go far
But if you really want to taste some cool success, you better learn to play guitar
Source: Play Guitar (song), John Mellencamp, 1983
Conditional Statement: If you want to be successful, then you should learn to play the guitar.
Example #4 (Law of Detachment)
For most privileged, professional people, the experience of confinement is a mere brush, encountered after a kid’s arrest, say. For a great many poor people in America, particularly poor black men, prison is a destination that braids through an ordinary life, much as high school and college do for rich white ones. More than half of all black men without a high-school diploma go to prison at some time in their lives.
Source: The New Yorker, The Caging of America, January 30, 2012
Conditional Statement: If you are a black man in America and you do not have a high school diploma, then there is a greater than 50% chance that you will go to prison at some time in your life.
Statement A: J is a black man in America and J does not have a high school diploma.
Therefore: J has a greater than 50% chance of going to prison at some point in his life.
Example #5 (Law of Syllogism)
Despite the massive failures of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) program to seize domains on questionable legal theories, it's right back at it. ICE has justseized over 300 domainsapparently all related to the Super Bowl (of course). They did this last year too... and now the US government is in court over it with theRojadirectasites. Many of the sites were selling counterfeit merchandise, which is a more reasonable target, but still seems to be overblown. I'm still at a loss as to how this is any of the government's concern, rather than a civil issue that could be taken up by the NFL itself. Do we really want law enforcement officials spending time working for the NFL?
…Sixteen of the sites in question, however, were supposedly offering video streaming……
Of course, this has to raise a pretty significant question: exactly how is someone streaming the Super Bowl harming... well... anyone? The entire point of the Super Bowl is to get as many people watching the advertisements as possible. Having the game streamed only increases the number of people watching those ads. Who, exactly, is harmed by this?
Source: techdirt.com, ICE Seizes 300 More Sites; Can't Have People
Watching Super Bowl Ads Without Permission, February 2, 2012
Conditional Statement A: If the people who produce the Super Bowl want to get as many people to watch as possible, then they should encourage video streaming of the Super Bowl.
Conditional Statement B: If the people who produce the Super Bowl encourage video streaming of the Super Bowl, then the ICE should not be seizing the domains of people who offer video streaming of the Super Bowl.
Therefore: If the people who produce the Super Bowl want to get as many people to watch as possible, then the ICE should not be seizing the domains of people who offer video streaming of the Super Bowl.
Example #6 (Law of Syllogism)
“Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players, your goal should be to buy wins. And in order to buy wins, you have to buy runs.”
Source: Moneyball (movie), released September, 2011
Conditional Statement A: If you buy runs, then your team will win [baseball] games.
Conditional Statement B: If your team wins [baseball] games, then they will be a successful baseball team.
Therefore: If you buy runs, then your team will be a successful baseball team.