Jon's Network

From Feynman’s The Value of Science: When a scientist doesn’t know the answer to a problem, he is ignorant. When he has a hunch as to what the result is, he is uncertain. And when he is pretty darn sure of what the result is going to be, he is still in some doubt. We [...]

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Richard Feynman gave this talk on the value of science over 50 years ago. It’s full of wisdom from a brilliant man. If we take everything into account — not only what the ancients knew, but all of what we know today that they didn’t know — then I think we must frankly admit that [...]

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Well worth the 40 minutes to watch this intro to critical thinking by Brian Dunning. Here’s his recommended reading list from the end: The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan Flim Flam by James Randi The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Skeptoid by Brian Dunning

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I mentioned before that in Susan Wolcott’s: Steps for Better Thinking Rubric(.pdf), skilled thinkers use general principles to interpret information, i.e. they use a model and they know which model they are using. Since critical thinkers know which model they are using, they can easily question their model and adapt it to new facts and [...]

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What exactly is an open-ended problem? It’s a problem with no obviously right answer. This uncertainty causes great discomfort for many that are accustomed to approaching problems as if there is a single right answer. This, however, is a sign of underdeveloped critical thinking ability. Jack posted a bit on the importance of critical thinking [...]

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