The Logical Hierarchy of Our Knowledge

Schedule: This is a 1-hour class.

Format: Lecture with some class participation. No grading; homework is optional.

Cost: $20 per person for a group class of 4 or more students; $80 for one-on-one tutoring.

Payment options: Payments can be made via PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, cash, or check.

Materials: Pencil and paper.

For more details or to schedule a class, contact Michael by phone at 281-770-2276 or by email at michaelgold@goldams.com.

Class Description.

An important aspect of thinking — something we all do in school, at work, planning a vacation, judging people, deciding how to do fitness — is forming ideas and thoughts that are more abstract than others. But doing that right ain’t automatic. That’s one reason we get confused about some things: we don’t really know what an idea means, and don’t know where it comes from. All we have is a word, but no knowledge.

Putting ideas in the right place at the right time is an art and science; it has rules we need to follow to do it right. Doing it right is like climbing a ladder, building a pyramid, or constructing a building. We need an understanding of our materials, we need to know how to use our tools, and we need techniques for getting the job done. Same basic thing happens when learning.

A more-obvious, easy example is that we need to know our algebra if we are going to get algebra 2, which we need to know if we are going to get calculus. And we need to get that martial-arts white belt as a foundation for that green belt as a foundation for that black belt.

But how does this come up in our thinking? How can we practice it? How can we use it to do better in school, at work, with our friends, and in life? This class is an intro to what this hierarchy thing is and what some rules for using it are — and how we can use it to be smarter, wiser, and more practical.

We will use a combination of lecture, interactive discussion, Q&A, and in-class work. We will learn rules and general ideas about “hierarchy” from specific examples. Be prepared to think, to learn, and to have new horizons open up. Come prepared to listen, take notes, interact, and learn!

“My teenage son enjoyed this class. A lot of material was covered. The instructor was very passionate about his subject.”
–Jean, parent, about the Outschool class “Logic Essentials: How to Think Well,” 19 Dec 2020

“Really enjoyable class from a teacher that cared and knows his stuff.”
–Anthony S., parent, about the Outschool class ““Logic Essentials: How to Think Well,” 19 Jul 2020

“Mr. Gold’s class was wonderful and our daughter enjoyed it. Mr. Gold kept her thinking. We highly recommend it.”
–Joseph P., parent, about the Outschool class ““Logic Corner: Generalization: Its Nature, Its Rules, Its Deep Importance,”3 Apr 2020

“Our daughter really enjoyed this class. She couldn’t wait to share what she learned with us, We highly recommend this class.”
–Joseph P., parent, about the Outschool class ““Logic Corner: Concepts, Our Unit of Knowledge,” 3 Apr 2020

“Both my kids, age 13 and 15, enjoyed this Logic class. It was very challenging and the kids really had to think!”
–Cat, parent, about the Outschool class ““Logic Essentials: How to Think Well,” 21 Feb 2020