It is hard to imagine any of these principles being much used or encouraged today, particularly in the universities. Which brings up a crucial factor that any advice on critical thinking should include: be brave. Critical thinking can and will get you ostracized by the tribe, particularly today. It can lose you friends. It can lose you your livelihood. It can result in your being hounded and threatened. None of these other principles, sound as they may be, will avail you anything unless you have the courage to stick to them.
I started that book in March 2020, but it got too real life at that time of the pandemic. On my list this summer!
Mental Floss describes “choking a fish” as “picking it up by the gills”. Or eating boatloads of fish. I’ve lived here forever, too, and never heard that!
Sagan did a great job of explaining science to non-scientists and this book is also a great primer for critical thinking. But yeah, the things he wrote about are extremely relevant today. Frighteningly so.
Just happen to have Demon-Haunted World on my TBR pile. Thought it was time to get some good advice from a "respected" scientist. As for your diagram about how to tell a jerk: a lot of "research" is done by desperate and very burned-out PhD students doing projects that their lazy advisors don't want to number-crunch but are more than willing to publish under the name Dr. Jerk etal.
This is a great article and Sagan was a pretty good human being. I'm glad I found your stack through the collaboration thread.
It is hard to imagine any of these principles being much used or encouraged today, particularly in the universities. Which brings up a crucial factor that any advice on critical thinking should include: be brave. Critical thinking can and will get you ostracized by the tribe, particularly today. It can lose you friends. It can lose you your livelihood. It can result in your being hounded and threatened. None of these other principles, sound as they may be, will avail you anything unless you have the courage to stick to them.
Excellent point!
Love Carl Sagan - Demon Haunted World is in my top ... 20?!
I started that book in March 2020, but it got too real life at that time of the pandemic. On my list this summer!
Mental Floss describes “choking a fish” as “picking it up by the gills”. Or eating boatloads of fish. I’ve lived here forever, too, and never heard that!
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/82058/11-canadas-weirdest-demonyms-and-local-nicknames
Sagan did a great job of explaining science to non-scientists and this book is also a great primer for critical thinking. But yeah, the things he wrote about are extremely relevant today. Frighteningly so.
Just happen to have Demon-Haunted World on my TBR pile. Thought it was time to get some good advice from a "respected" scientist. As for your diagram about how to tell a jerk: a lot of "research" is done by desperate and very burned-out PhD students doing projects that their lazy advisors don't want to number-crunch but are more than willing to publish under the name Dr. Jerk etal.