X2. Reading it for a critical thinking class.
Know any good books on critical thinking?
- Thread starter Character Assassin
- Start date
X2. Reading it for a critical thinking class.
Sagan's support for the Drake eqn as probabilification of extraterrestrial intelligence disqualifies him as a skeptical/critical thinker. A grade-schooler should be able to decimate that argument.
I don't think books that demolish specific claims, like the Bermuda Triangle have sufficient generality to be of much value in gaining critical thinking skills. A 5 page synopsis of a dozen such books might be more useful. OTOH I expect that some of these books are a disconnected set of homilies tha tpoint to no general principles either.
FWIW I did enjoy Paulos ' Innumeracy: ...' mentioned above.
So I'll suggest the books noted above on debate skills and general critical thinking might be a better place to begin. Formal debate is a bit different from logical argumentation, but close enough to apply widely.
Parsing in argument in detail is a required skill, and practice is critical. Parsing political arguments (see your favorite cable news network for examples) is useful practice. I find some politicians statements easier to deal with since they are often presenting positions and not as often rebutting to vague and uncertain positions.
I don't think books that demolish specific claims, like the Bermuda Triangle have sufficient generality to be of much value in gaining critical thinking skills. A 5 page synopsis of a dozen such books might be more useful. OTOH I expect that some of these books are a disconnected set of homilies tha tpoint to no general principles either.
FWIW I did enjoy Paulos ' Innumeracy: ...' mentioned above.
So I'll suggest the books noted above on debate skills and general critical thinking might be a better place to begin. Formal debate is a bit different from logical argumentation, but close enough to apply widely.
Parsing in argument in detail is a required skill, and practice is critical. Parsing political arguments (see your favorite cable news network for examples) is useful practice. I find some politicians statements easier to deal with since they are often presenting positions and not as often rebutting to vague and uncertain positions.
Humes fork
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2011
- Messages
- 3,358
The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins, especially for children/teenagers.
One strike and you are out?
I think Sagan did worse when he went doomsday about oil fields in Kuwait, very likely motivated by political reasons.
But overall he was a good guy.
One strike and you are out?
I think Sagan did worse when he went doomsday about oil fields in Kuwait, very likely motivated by political reasons.
But overall he was a good guy.
Richard Lewontin's collection It Ain't Necessarily So - in particular The Inferiority Complex, the first essay/review of Stephen Jay Gould's book The Mismeasure of Man.
aofl
Muse
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2005
- Messages
- 505
Seconded.
This was an early influence on me and I think it's something I might reread.
A
Maurice Ledifficile
Lost in translation
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2010
- Messages
- 2,964
Here is a good place to start:
http://www.skepdic.com/ticriticalthinking.html
I can't recommend Bob's dictionary enough. When I first came across his site, I was looking for info on the Mayan "prophecies".
I quickly became an addict and read the whole thing over a few weeks. I learned more than I ever thought I could from a single source. It is also how I got introduced to Mr. Randi's foundation and forum.
His replies to e-mails are also priceless for their entertainment value.
http://www.skepdic.com/ticriticalthinking.html
I can't recommend Bob's dictionary enough. When I first came across his site, I was looking for info on the Mayan "prophecies".
I quickly became an addict and read the whole thing over a few weeks. I learned more than I ever thought I could from a single source. It is also how I got introduced to Mr. Randi's foundation and forum.
His replies to e-mails are also priceless for their entertainment value.
Natural Born Skeptic
Graduate Poster
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2007
- Messages
- 1,459
+1, it's outstanding. And it's written in such a way that it helps the reader to be more aware of areas they may fall prone to bad thinking.
IMHO some of the books being listed in this thread may exhibit critical thinking, but they have little to do with teaching it.