Starting an argument with someone can be a great way to learn more about a topic. Arguments help us check our own thinking, come to terms with someone else’s reasoning, and occasionally even arrive at a shared understanding about what we believe to be true. Being open to debate is a great way to … [Read more...] about Spotting Fallacious Arguments
Why Overconfidence Occurs and How to Overcome It
Overconfidence happens to all of us. Ever have a plan that just couldn’t go wrong? And then you get a kick in the butt. Ever know that something must be true, only to find out later that you had it backwards? Overconfidence is when you think you are more likely to be right than you actually … [Read more...] about Why Overconfidence Occurs and How to Overcome It
Confirmation Bias: 3 Effective (and 3 Ineffective) Cures
Confirmation bias is a fancy way of describing our human inclination to see what we want to see. In other words, we like to look for and interpret information in ways that confirm our expectations. The language makes it sound like confirmation bias is something only scientists can be afflicted … [Read more...] about Confirmation Bias: 3 Effective (and 3 Ineffective) Cures
Critical Thinking and the Internet: Skills for a New Era
Learning has gotten complicated. We often need to answer challenging technical and scientific questions to get by in our everyday life. The web has become the default means to get those answers. Yet learning from the internet is fraught with difficulty. Searching, sorting, and synthesizing … [Read more...] about Critical Thinking and the Internet: Skills for a New Era
Critical Thinking in Decision Making
Critical thinking is often talked about as a stand-alone activity. Like some other individual activities, thinking critically may just feel good. Yet, critical thinking seems most useful when it aids other cognitive processes, such as applying critical thinking in decision making. Anne Helsdingen … [Read more...] about Critical Thinking in Decision Making
Do You Struggle with Indecisiveness? Maybe it’s in Your Culture
Indecisiveness is bad. Indecisive politicians are a bunch of wishy-washy flip-floppers. Decisive entrepreneurs grow great businesses (or at least fail spectacularly while trying). If a decision is a commitment to a course of action, then “indecision” is a failure to commit. Indecisiveness … [Read more...] about Do You Struggle with Indecisiveness? Maybe it’s in Your Culture