"A Summary of Max Schulman's "Love Is a Fallacy""

In the law school in University of Minnesota, there was an intelligent freshman namely Max. Max has a roommate named Petey Bellows. If max is cool, logical, keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute, and astute. His brain was as powerful as a dynamo, as precise as a chemist's scales, as penetrating as a scalpel and to think he was still eighteen. But Petey Bellows, his just nothing without his raccoon coat! And in addition, he is the emotional type. Unstable. Impressionable. Worst of all, a faddist.

One afternoon Max found Petey lying on his bed with an expression of such distress on his face that Max immediately diagnosed appendicitis.

Despite of his feeling he tends to care for his raccoon. He spent his money, which is for textbooks just to buy for a raccoon coat and then he can’t get any. He wants a raccoon coat in order to be in the swim.

At one time Max saw Polly Espy. Max showed his desire for this young woman. Max was well aware of the importance of the right kind of wife in furthering a lawyer's career. The successful lawyers he had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omission, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly.

Polly was beautiful, gracious but intelligent she was not. But he believed that Polly would smarten up by his guidance.

He asked Petey if he loves Polly, Petey answered that he see each other a bit but they have their own dates.

Max was satisfied by Petey’s answer. And when Max was in a date with Polly they went and talked in Knoll.

They talked about logic. Different fallacies are their topics and the first fallacy is Dicto Simpliciter. An argument based on an unqualified generalization. For example: Exercise is good. Therefore everybody should exercise."

Polly said that exercise is wonderful. It builds the body and everything.

"Polly," max said that it was a fallacy.

Then they took up Hasty Generalization. After Hasty Generalization is Post Hoc.

For example, let's not take Bill on our picnic. Everytime we take him out with us, it rains.

Polly said that she knows somebody like that, a girl back home—Eula Becker. It never fails. Every single time Polly takes her on a picnic—

"Polly," Max said sharply, "it's a fallacy. Eula Becker doesn't cause the rain. She has no connection with the rain. You are guilty of Post Hoc if you blame Eula Becker."

Polly promised not to do that again. And she asked Max if he was mad.

Max answered that he was not.

Then Polly asked for more fallacies. And Max gave him the Contradictory Premises. After explaining this to Polly, he deposited her to the girl’s dorm and told her to see each other again the following night.

Still they met and situated under the oak tree. They talked about the Ad Misericordiam fallacy. And this is followed by Hypothesis Contrary to Fact. And lastly they talked about the fallacy “Poisoning the Well”.

After explaining all the fallacies to Polly, he thought that that was the right time to propose his feelings.

Max said, "Polly, I love you. You are the whole world to me, and the moon and the stars and the constellations of outer space. Please, my darling, say that you will go steady with me, for if you will not, life will be meaningless. I will languish. I will refuse my meals. I will wander the face of the earth, a shambling, hollow-eyed hulk.".

Rather than giving formal answers, Polly keeps on telling Max about fallacies.

And at the end when Max asked Polly to give him a logical reason why she wants to go steady with Petey.

Polly answered straightly, “he’s got a raccoon coat”.