Wade

1
Wade Tavriss Guidelines for Critical
ThinkingYou get one example. You have to come
up with another.
2
Ask Questions. Be Willing to Wonder.

• People tend to become forgetful when they get
  old. It would be a waste of time to look for
  specific causes or ways to prevent the problem.

3
Define your terms. Define the problem.

• More intelligent people are usually also more
  attractive.

4
Examine the evidence.

• Its pretty obvious that smoking pot makes people
  crave more potent drugs. Statistics show that
  almost all people who become addicted to heroin
  or cocaine smoke marijuana first.

5
Analyze assumptions and biases.

• Susan is opposed to a proposed law that would
  forbid discrimination against homosexuals in
  housing and employment. Every gay person Ive
  met is unhappy and disturbed, she says, and I
  wouldnt want to have to live near one.

6
Avoid emotional reasoning.

• Amelia has moved to a new city and, after a few
  weeks of settling in, has started to date. Her
  first three dates are all disappointing. This
  place has no interesting men, she tells herself.
  Ill never meet anyone I like.

7
Dont oversimplify.

• Because we have never been visited by
  extraterrestrials, and have had no communication
  from outer space, we can safely assume that
  intelligent life exists only on our planet.

8
Consider other interpretations.

• The increase in violence by adolescent gangs in
  this country is just another result of the
  liberal thinking that has more sympathy for
  criminals than for their victims.

9
Tolerate uncertainty.

• I get disgusted with my science classes. We study
  the principle of this and the theory of that.
  Why cant scientists make up their minds and stop
  acting like they dont know anything for sure?