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She thought this over for a minute and decided she liked it. "Magnif," she said.
她想了足有一分钟，才下了决心，说：“好极了。”
"Logic," I said, clearing my throat "is the science of thinking. Before we can think correctly, we must first learn to recognize the common fallacies of logic. These we will take up tonight."
“逻钳学，”我清了清嗓子，“是思维的学问。能够正确地思维之前，首先必须学会判断逻辑中常见的谬误。今晚就聊这个。”
"Wow-dow!" she cried, clapping her hands delightedly.
“哇！”她拍手大叫。
I winced, but went bravely on. "First let us examine the fallacy called Dicto Simplicitcr."
我眉头抖动了一下，可还是勇敢地继续：“首先，我们来看看过度概括。”
"By all means," she urged, batting her lashes eagerly.
“说呀！”她急切地眨了眨眼，催促着。
"Dicto Simplicitcr means an argument based on an unqualified generalization. For example: Exercise is good. Therefore everyboby should exercise."
“过度概括是指建之于不合格概括基础上的论断。比如说，运动是有益的，因此人人都应该运动。”
"I agree," said Polly earnestly. "I mean exercise is wonderful. I mean it builds the body and everything."
“我同意，”波莉认真地说，“我是说运动好极了，它增强体质，好处多多！”
"Polly," I said gently, "the argument is a fallacy. Exercise is good is an unqualified generalization. For instance, if you have heart disease, exercise is bad, not good. Many people are ordered by their doctors not to exercise. You must qualify the generalization. You must say exercise is usually good, or exercise is good for most people. Otherwise you have committed a Dicto Simplicitcr. Do you see?"
“波莉，”我轻柔地说，“这个论断是谬误。运动有益是不合格的概括。例如，假如你有心脏病，运动有害，而不是有益。有不少人就被医生建议禁止他们运动。你必须对这个概括加以限定。你必须说，一般来说运动是有益的。或者说，运动对多数人来说有益。否则就是过度概括，明白了吗？”
"No," she confessed. "But this is marvy. Do more! Do more!"
“不懂，”她坦率地说，“不过太有趣了，继续，接着讲。”
"It will be better if you stop tugging at my sleeve," I told her, and when she desisted, I continued: "Next we take up a fallacy called Hasty Generalization. Listen carefully: You can't speak French. I can't speak French. Petey Burch can't speak French. I must therefore conclude that nobody at the University of Minnesota can speak French."
“最好别拽我的袖子了。”我对她说。她松开手，我继续说：“接下来是草率结论。仔细听：你不会讲法语，我不会讲法语，皮蒂·伯奇也不会讲法语。因此我就会得出结论，明尼苏达大学谁都不会讲法语。”
"Really?" said Polly, amazed. "Nobody?"
“真的？”波莉大为吃惊，“谁都不会？”
