• In total there are 2 users online :: 0 registered, 0 hidden and 2 guests (based on users active over the past 60 minutes)
    Most users ever online was 789 on Tue Mar 19, 2024 5:08 am

12 mistakes and What Is Good Thinking lists

#141: Oct. - Dec. 2015 (Non-Fiction)
youkrst

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
One with Books
Posts: 2752
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
13
Has thanked: 2280 times
Been thanked: 727 times

12 mistakes and What Is Good Thinking lists

Unread post

Quote:
THE DIRTY DOZEN

Know these twelve common mental mistakes and resist them when they threaten to hijack rational decision making. Be on guard when others use them in attempts to convince you to accept unusual claims.

1. The Emotion Potion. We are emotional creatures, and this often leads us to make irrational decisions, embrace bad ideas, and act in ways that work against our best interests. Emotions can intoxicate us, make us dumb. Be aware of this vulnerability. If someone tells you the world is going to end in fiery chaos soon, for example, don't let your fear of such an event distract you from rationally analyzing and challenging the claim.

2. Popularity. We are social animals. The safety of the herd feels good, and it can be cold and harsh out there all alone in the wilderness. Recognize how we all can be swayed by popular support of an idea no matter how destructive or ridiculous it may be. Never forget that truth and reality are not decided by vote. The majority of people have been wrong about many things many times throughout history. There were times when a flat Earth, phrenology, and popular ideas— but they were still wrong.

3. Straw Person. A common tactic people use to promote weak or worthless claims is to attack an easy-to-beat, diluted, or counterfeit version of the counterargument. Those who say, for example, that Earth is around 4.5 billion years old should not be swayed one bit on this point if a science denier were to tell them that there was a time when geologists didn't understand continental drift and still can't explain everything today about the structure and function of the Earth's core. Of course geologists don't know everything. But this does not refute the strong evidence for a 4.5-billion-year-old Earth.

4. Loaded Questions. Sometimes people try to make their point seem more sensible by slipping in an unproven claim or bit of nonsense as filler or padding. Example: “Another reason we know the Lost City of Atlantis is real is because psychics and mediums have communicated with dead Atlanteans.” Listen well and catch weak arguments or bad ideas within the larger claim. Challenge them all.

5. Wishful Thinking. Simple but deadly to good thinking. We desire something, so we believe it to be true. This is a powerful human compulsion. Be aware of it and be tough with yourself. Always ask, “Am I accepting this claim because it makes sense and it is supported by sufficient evidence? Or do I just want to believe it so much that I am willing to pretend to know it's valid?”

6. False Dilemma. Watch out for people who frame their case as an “either, or” proposition. Sometimes there is a third option, or perhaps many more options. For example, a politician might say that more prisons must be built or there will be more violent criminals on the streets. But what if nonviolent offenders were released early or given lighter sentences, freeing up space for more dangerous criminals to serve longer sentences?

7. Explaining by Naming. Giving a name to something is not the same as explaining it. For example, calling an event a “miracle” is not an explanation for what happened. Calling a session with a psychic a “reading” does not explain how information was supposed to have been retrieved by the psychic. Watch for this deceitful form of verbal carpet bombing and simply ask people to explain names and concepts they try to pass off as explanations.

8. Circular Reasoning. Always popular in religious circles, this one also gets plenty of mileage in other arenas as well. It happens when people attempt to prove A by pointing to B, which they claim was proved by A. Example: “My special book is true because it was inspired by the gods and I know the gods are real because my special book says so.”

9. Authority Worship. Try to remember that in many ways we are essentially chimps who wear shoes. Just like them, we are obsessed with social rank and power. This is a huge weak point in our brains, because our natural reaction is to snap to and obey when we view someone as our superior. I'm not suggesting you rebel against everything every authority figure says to you, of course. But do try to think clearly about the validity of words from on high. Don't let a uniform or someone's dominant posture hoodwink you into believing nonsense or buying a junk product.

10. Special Pleading. People who promote or believe in things that are unlikely to be true often scramble to change the game when they feel the walls of reality closing in on them. For example, a person who says acupuncture works because “one billion Chinese people can't be wrong” might not like hearing that only about 18 percent of China's population relies on acupuncture and react by arguing that numbers suddenly don't matter.

11. Burden of Proof. The person making the extraordinary claim is the one who has the responsibility of backing it up. You and I don't have to prove that mediums can't talk to dead people or that aliens have never visited Earth. It's not even fair to suggest that we should, because in most cases it would be impossible to definitively disprove such things. Instead, it is the believer who must validate her beliefs.

12. Ad Hominem Attacks. When one can't get anywhere attacking facts, the next best thing seems to be attacking the person aligned with those facts. This is a weak, immature, despicable tactic— and we all do it. But that doesn't make it right. If you are discussing astrology with a jerk, remind yourself that being a jerk is irrelevant to whether or not astrology's claims are true. Focus on logic and evidence. It's better for everyone in the long run to kill the message rather than the messenger.

From Harrison, Guy P. (2015-10-06). Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser (Kindle Locations 190-232). Prometheus Books. Kindle Edition.
Last edited by youkrst on Sun Oct 18, 2015 8:36 pm, edited 3 times in total.
youkrst

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
One with Books
Posts: 2752
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
13
Has thanked: 2280 times
Been thanked: 727 times

Re: The dirty dozen, 12 common mental mistakes

Unread post

I took the liberty of putting the list up as per Interbane's excellent suggestion.

I figured we could always remove it if it was a problem.
User avatar
geo

2C - MOD & GOLD
pets endangered by possible book avalanche
Posts: 4779
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:24 am
15
Location: NC
Has thanked: 2198 times
Been thanked: 2200 times
United States of America

Re: The dirty dozen, 12 common mental mistakes

Unread post

Thanks, Youkrst! I think Interbane referred to this chart as well. It really is excellent.

WHAT IS GOOD THINKING?

Good thinking is an umbrella term for understanding the human brain and using it in ways that enable one to make rational decisions, identify deception, and avoid or discard delusions as often as possible. It requires the following:

• An understanding of the evolutionary history of the human brain and how it has left us with a thinking organ that goes about its business in unexpected ways that mislead us about reality.

• Knowledge of the basic structures and functions of the human brain, how vision and memory work, for example. How personal recollections and sensations can seem real even when they are not.

• An appreciation for the profound impact nutrition, lifelong learning, and physical activity have on the brain's health, performance, and longevity.

• Awareness of the prominent role of the subconscious mind in daily life, and the understanding that we inherited our brains from ancestors shaped by extremely competitive and dangerous environments that made fast subconscious reaction a priority over slower conscious reflection and imagination.

• An alertness to many of the natural and common mental biases and shortcuts that can undermine rational thought.

• The courage and maturity not only to question everything but also to accept the absence of answers and those answers that may contradict hopes and beliefs that appeal to us.

• Sufficient humility to prevent one from placing absolute trust in sensory perceptions, personal experiences, and even thoughtful conclusions. A willingness to always reconsider, revise, and change one's mind when better evidence demands it.

From Harrison, Guy P. (2015-10-06). Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser
-Geo
Question everything
youkrst

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
One with Books
Posts: 2752
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
13
Has thanked: 2280 times
Been thanked: 727 times

Re: The dirty dozen, 12 common mental mistakes

Unread post

thanks geo, reading back i see that was indeed the list Interbane was referring to, in my haste i just assumed it was the dirty dozen list.

that WHAT IS GOOD THINKING? list IS awesome.

it just has mental health oozing out of it. :)
User avatar
geo

2C - MOD & GOLD
pets endangered by possible book avalanche
Posts: 4779
Joined: Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:24 am
15
Location: NC
Has thanked: 2198 times
Been thanked: 2200 times
United States of America

Re: The dirty dozen, 12 common mental mistakes

Unread post

Now we have both lists in one place.
-Geo
Question everything
youkrst

1F - BRONZE CONTRIBUTOR
One with Books
Posts: 2752
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 4:30 am
13
Has thanked: 2280 times
Been thanked: 727 times

Re: 12 mistakes and What Is Good Thinking lists

Unread post

when it comes to classroom walls m8, BT does it right :)
Post Reply

Return to “Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser - by Guy P. Harrison”