Do you wish you were better at defending your views?
Do you ever feel like someone’s argument is wrong, but you can’t articulate why it’s wrong?
Do you sometimes struggle with decision-making?
There’s a set of skills that make all of these possible. People often call them “critical thinking” skills. But what are critical thinking skills? Many people talk about them, but few seem to know.
Critical thinking skills are tools for thinking accurately. If you want to do a job well, you need the right tools. For example, in order to make effective household repairs, you need a screwdriver, a hammer, a measuring tape, and other tools. The same goes for thinking. In order to do it accurately, you need some tools such as knowing how to present and evaluate arguments, and knowing how to identify biases and fallacies.
Without critical thinking skills, you’re just accepting beliefs that you didn’t choose and didn’t verify. But where do you learn critical thinking skills? They’re not taught in schools–which I think is criminal (see my rant about this about here).
Think, But How? is an accessible way to learn all the fundamentals of critical thinking. It’s a toolbox for anyone who wants to think independently, and I built it to make up for the failings of my own education.
Reasons To Learn How To Think:
- How Conservatives Saved My Liberal Mind
- Breaking the Cycle of Self Deception
- Why You Should Avoid Tribalism
- Thinking Is a Skill
Principles To Guide Your Thinking:
- What Is a Free Thinker?
- When to Withhold Judgment
- When to say, “I Don’t Know.”
- What Is an Argument?
- What Is a Valid Argument?
- What Is a Sound Argument?
- How to Use Expert Advice
- How to Avoid Bad Advice
Understanding and Managing Cognitive Biases:
- Cognitive Bias: Our Craving to Judge
- How Preconceived Notions Hijack Your Mind
- 4 Steps To Manage Cognitive Biases
- Cognitive Bias: A Feature, Not a Bug
- What is Confirmation Bias?
Understanding Errors in Thinking (Fallacies):
- What Is a Fallacy
- The Relationship between Cognitive Biases and Fallacies
- Appeal to Authority Fallacy: How to Avoid It
- Appeal to Popularity: Don’t Jump on the Bandwagon
- Ad Hominem: How to Deal With a Personal Attack
- Hasty Generalization: How to Avoid It
- Straw Man: How to Disarm It
- Circular Reasoning: We All Saw Our Parents Doing This