Logic. It gets brought up a lot but few people really grasp its nature or how it works. People misconstrue it as something cold and emotionless, misapply it during open debate, and misunderstand its basic simplicity and think it is something fit only for Vulcans, nerds, and computers that lose to Doctor Who.

In other words, logic gets a bad rep when it’s really something people already know and understand already, otherwise they would be incapable of functioning in the world at all. Because logic is not some abstruse and remote discipline, it’s the basic rules of how things work and what makes sense, and that is something anybody can use in their life.

So this article is my first attempt at giving the reading public a quick and uncluttered lesson in the basics of logic so that they, themselves, can apply the power and enlightenment of clear logic to their lives.

Logic is your friend! Trust me. Now let’s begin.

One of the major misunderstandings that plagues discussions is either ignorance of, or incomplete knowledge of, the concept of “necessary but not sufficient”. People bring it up and try to apply it, but either don’t really get it, or use it dishonestly as an intellectual smokescreen to try to intimidate their opponents into not questioning their arguments because they don’t know what the term means, exactly.

It sounds impressive, but it’s really quite simple. All “necessary but not sufficient” means is that sometimes, more than one thing is necessary in order for something to be true.

Take your basic ice cream float. It has two ingredients : root beer and ice cream. If you have both of those, you can make yourself a nice frosty treat. If you are missing either of them, you can’t.

Simple, right? Anyone can understand that. And if you understand that, you already have “necessary but not sufficient” in the bag.

When you want to make an ice cream float, both ice cream and root beer are “necessary but not sufficient” conditions to your success. You can’t make an ice cream float without ice cream. You can’t make an ice cream float without root beer. Both parts are necessary, but neither is enough by itself to get the job done.

They are both necessary, but not sufficient, for the task of making an ice cream float. Easy, right?

But in the heat of debate, people get themselves all mixed up and confused because they don’t really get this simple concept, and too much either/or type thinking makes them get lost in a completely pointless and unhelpful side argument about which of two or more things is the MOST necessary.

Think about our ice cream float. Which is more important, the ice cream or the root beer? The answer, of course, is “neither”. You can’t have an ice cream float if you have both. No matter how good the ice cream is, without the root beer, you have no float. No matter how much root beer you have, you still need ice cream or the cool and refreshing treat you crave simply will not happen. Both are equally necessary. Trying to compare the two is meaningless.

Yet in arguments and discussions, people will get entirely sidetracked with “ice cream versus root beer” arguments. The problem is that once the question is framed that way, it’s hard for people to realize the trap they are in and get out.

People are used to true or false questions, this or that questions, A versus B questions. It takes a certain amount of imagination and will to answer “Neither, and the question itself is stupid. ”

And then stick to it. Even people who get that it’s a trap can be baited into falling for by the person who simply ignores their objection and says “Whatever, which one is better?”. The secret is to simply refuse to answer inane questions, and if the person persists, ignore them.

Some games are rigged, and the only way to win is to refuse to play in the first place.

So the next time you are debating with someone, and they keep insisting that two things can’t be equally necessary to something and that you have to choose one or the other as the one that is the REALLY important one, feel free to show them this article and try to get them to read it.

And if that works, offer to make them a root beer float.

it really is that simple, folks!