Cutting the TYL Guide down to size

The Teach Yourself Logic Guide was getting rather ridiculously bloated — 138 pages in the previous version. Oops. That was getting distinctly out of hand. I was losing sight of the originally intended purpose of the Guide.

Time to re-boot the project!

So there’s now a new version of the Guide available that weighs in at a much trimmer 78 pages (OK, that probably still sounds a lot, but the layout involves small pages and largish print for on-screen reading, and the first quarter is very relaxed pre-amble). Some of the now deleted material has been re-packaged as supplementary webpages. So I hope that the resulting Guide looks a lot less daunting both in size and coverage. It should certainly be easier to maintain, having divided the core Guide from the supplements which can be updated separately.

The Guide and the add-ons can be accessed here. Spread the word to your students (or if you are a student yourself, I do hope you find something useful here).

4 thoughts on “Cutting the TYL Guide down to size”

  1. Hello Peter,

    I understand your point but since this guide is also aimed at philosophers, I wonder what your thoughts are regarding R.L. Kirkham’s “Theories of Truth”.

    Cheers,

    André

  2. Is there any new content in this revised guide, by chance? I kind of liked the old monolithic guide to be fair, but if this helps you manage it better, then I support that.

    1. Yes, I was fond (perhaps too fond!) of the old monolithic Guide — it appealed to the completist in me! But it was getting very unwieldy, and the sort of reader who might be interested in/might need the earlier parts wouldn’t necessarily have much use for the later sections on e.g. hard-core set-theory or category theory (and vice versa, of course). So splitting the core document for students wanting to get into logic from the fancy material for enthusiasts makes some kind of sense. And yes, it will — I hope — make things rather easier to manage.

      No, there isn’t any substantial new content in this revision: the work this time has gone into setting things up so it is easier to add various kinds of new content. And now I’m back on the case, that should follow sooner rather than later (promises, promises!).

      1. Hah, then it seems that I’m one of those rare readers who was attracted (or at least intrigued) by all of the sections. I see your point though, and it makes sense in the balance of things.

        I look forward to the upcoming editions, anyway. Keep up the good work on it.

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