Analytical thinking (alternatively called logical or critical thinking) is an essential skill if you are involved in decision making (and everybody is) yet people are generally very poorly trained in it. This means they can make poor decisions themselves or allow others to persuade them to be able to do things against their better judgement.
In this course you will learn all about analytical thinking, how to reason from premises to conclusion with accuracy, learn about common fallacies (mistakes) that often occur in reasoning as well as rhetorical techniques that people (whether politicians or salesmen) use to persuade you to part with your vote / money.
Exercise
Consider whether you have fallen prey to the following errors in thinking.
The gamblers fallacy
Many people believe that if they are having a run of bad luck, their chances of turning it around next time go up. In games of chance what has happened in the past does not generally affect what will happen in the future. For example, if you were to toss a coin and it were to come up heads ten times in a row it does not mean that the chances of it coming up tails next go up. In fact, it may count as evidence that the coin is not a fair coin. This may not be the case in real life, but the belief that the odds will change is an example of...
Wishful thinking
Wishful thinking is an error in thinking that we are all prone to at times. Many people assume that an outcome is likely simply because it is desired. While wanting something strongly is a strong motivational tool, it is important to realise that merely wanting something to be the case does not make it true. People base whole career choices on this, particularly aspiring actors and sportsmen. Often they will link their happiness with the fame and fortune that achieving their goal will bring without realising that the chances of success in such a profession are very low. This can lead to another error in thinking known as the Van Gogh Fallacy...
Van Gogh fallacy
The painter Van Gogh was unrecognised in his own lifetime, lived in poverty and didn't sell many of his paintings yet is now recognised as a great artist. Some people think as follows: I too am poor, haven't sold any paintings (or songs, books etc) and am unrecognised in my own lifetime. Therefore I too must be a great artist like Van Gogh. This kind of thinking is simply deluded.
ْ
________*التــَّـوْقـْـيـعُ*_________
لا أحد يظن أن العظماء تعساء إلا العظماء أنفسهم. إدوارد ينج: شاعر إنجليزي
أمس في 11:15 pm من طرف freeman
