7 Meditations on Logical Fallacies, Critical Thinking, Over-generalizing, Prejudices, and the Dying Art of Disagreement

+ Confirmation Bias & Conspiracy Theories + Skills to Reduce Polarization on Social Media

Jul 24, 2022

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Popular media cultures, especially networks based on niche marketing and confirmation bias, encourage flawed thinking. But if we’re aware of these seven negative patterns, we can become more sophisticated media consumers and overcome the tendency to operate on automatic pilot.

Conspiracy Theories Spread Worldwide. What Can Be Done?

March 26, 2021

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Slender Threads

Your Logical Fallacy Is...?

In response to my piece, “Gaslit By Watergate and Trump’s Sedition,” posted on Facebook, I received some serious argumentation from a friend, an attorney in Virginia. That’s fine. I generally believe that those who take the time to argue with you in good faith do you a favor because they help you sharpen your own thinking, especially if they don’t engag…

3 years ago · Jim Buie

Slender Threads

‘The Dying Art of Disagreement’

Image above, Italian painter Raphael‘s fresco illustrating discussion between Plato and Aristotle. “To say, I disagree; I refuse; you’re wrong;…these are the words that define our individuality, give us our freedom, enjoin our tolerance, enlarge our perspectives, seize our attention, energize our progress, make our democracies real, and give hope and cou…

3 years ago · Jim Buie

Slender Threads

How to Think: 3 Questions to Encourage Critical Thinking

A mission of education is not to indoctrinate students, tell them what to think, but to teach them HOW to think. I’ve previously addressed logical fallacies and how to recognize them. I maintain that people who argue with you — especially if they avoid logical fallacies — do you a favor because they sharpen your thinking…

3 years ago · Jim Buie

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To Tackle Prejudice, First Tackle Confirmation Bias

“Confirmation bias” is widespread. Indeed it is human to “look for, find, remember and share information that confirms the beliefs we already have, and the tendency to dismiss, ignore and forget information that contradicts those beliefs.” Confirmation bias is what spreads “propaganda and false or misleading claims among otherwise sensible and skeptical…

3 years ago · Jim Buie

Slender Threads

Over-generalizing, Accepting Stereotypes and Prejudices -- and Challenging A Few -- While Living Abroad

As an American expat, journalist and educator living outside the US, traveling to dozens of countries, I routinely heard racist, sexist, nationalistic, and judgmental statements about various nationalities, ethnicities, religions, and tribes in public or semi-public…

4 years ago · Jim Buie

Slender Threads

Why Do People Believe Conspiracy Theories and Logical Fallacies?

Schoolofthought.org is a non-profit providing free education resources on critical thinking, creative thinking, and philosophy, It helps students question all schools of thoughts, with a virtual “department of BS detection…

3 years ago · Jim Buie

From World Economic Forum

Critical Thinking: Resources for a Unit

Jim Buie

August 7, 2022

Adding to my collection on Critical Thinking, I’ve posted 7 Meditations on Logical Fallacies, Over-generalizing, Prejudices, and the Dying Art of Disagreement. plus confirmation bias, conspiracy theories and skills to reduce polarization on social media.

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Deck of Cards for Critical Thinking Are Among School of Thought’s Resources

3 years ago · Jim Buie

Braver Angels’ 40-minute course to build skills to …

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