Thinking can go astray

David Ludden says it is Not Very Comforting

to be reminded of just how fallible we are, Kida does provide his readers with a modicum of solace by offering copious advice on how to anticipate and work around our innate cognitive biases.Don’t Believe Everything You Think> is essential reading for anyone interested in the psychology of belief and pseudoscientific thinking. It also provides one of the best arguments around for the importance science literacy — the scientific method is the antidote to our fallible minds.

Those innate cognitive biases are there to help us understand the world around us – at least as a starting point.

  • preferring stories to statistics
  • seeking to confirm rather than question our beliefs
  • confusing the role of chance and coincidence in shaping events
  • trusting the reliability of our senses
  • a tendency to oversimplify our thinking.

    • How are these expressed? One way is to review A List Of Fallacious Arguments.

    It takes work, effort, and care to properly consider our inherent bias on perception and measure. Providing those considerations is the hallmark of intellectual integrity.

    November 25, 2006 · Filed under people

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