![It is probably more illuminating to go a little bit further ...](https://readwise-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/static/images/article2.74d541386bbf.png)
Josh BeckmanIt is probably more illuminating to go a little bit further back, to the Middle Ages. One of its characteristics was that “reasoning by analogy” was rampant; another characteristic was almost total intellectual stagnation, and we now see why the two go together. A reason for mentioning this is to point out that, by developing a keen ear for unwarranted analogies, one can detect a lot of medieval thinking today.