I have a friend with a maths degree who gets enraged when anyone suggests that she must like Sudoko. It may use numbers as logical symbols but it is not maths. It is, however, logic. Logic is a subject which has fallen by the wayside with the disappearance of the Hogwarts style classical education or, rather, the expansion of academic opportunities to those who don't come from elite schools. I don't know, they may still teach logic at Eton, but who cares, really.
What is my concern is that logic has not really established a clear place for itself in the modern curriculum. Most students do some computer programming (or at least program flow charts) at school, but this is often disconnected from other areas of knowledge. Maths and sciences involve logic, but often the problem solving aspect is not explored in a way which would help students develop logical capacity in law.
Actually, video games are the one place where logic, skiills, organisation and planning seem to have a place. But that's a topic for another discussion.
This learning module involves a logic puzzle of the kind one might find in 'The Big Book of Logic Puzzlers", but with a legal flavour. While it may not present an accurate simulation of the use of syllogistic logic in legal practice, it is a good way to introduce some of the concepts to students. It emphasises that, especially when dealing with common law, legal issues need to be teased out, explored, and that you need a clear method to go about solving problems.
It is really fascinating watching how students react to this one. You can quickly tell who has prepared ahead. Some already know the format and get straight to solving the puzzle. Some don't know but will perserve, trying to figure out an approach. Others just throw up their hands and quit straight away, believing anything they can't instantly get a handle on is too hard to be bothered doing. This can really seperate the self motivated learners from the others.
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