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You've probably noticed by now the thread of \"critical thinking\" that runs throughout this course. Critical research skills--locating<\/em>, evaluating<\/em>, utilizing<\/em>, and attributing<\/em> sources--are demanding tasks involving critical thinking.<\/p>\r\nCritical thinking is hard work. Even those who actively choose to do it experience it as tedious, difficult, and sometimes surprisingly emotional. Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains that our brains aren\u2019t designed to think; rather, they\u2019re designed to save us from having to think.[footnote]Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow.<\/em>\u00a0New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.[\/footnote]<\/span>\u00a0Our brains are great at developing routines and repertoires that enable us to accomplish fairly complex tasks like driving cars, choosing groceries, and having a conversation without thinking consciously and thoroughly about every move we make. Kahneman calls this \u201cfast thinking.\u201d \u201cSlow thinking,\u201d which is deliberate and painstaking, is something our brains seek to avoid. That built-in tendency can lead us astray.\u00a0<\/span>Kahneman and his colleagues often used problems like this one in experiments to gauge how people used fast and slow thinking in different contexts:[footnote]p. 44[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n A bat and ball cost $1.10.<\/span><\/p>\r\n The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.<\/span><\/p>\r\n How much does the ball cost?<\/span><\/p>\r\n [reveal-answer q=\"832015\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"832015\"]Most people automatically say the ball costs $0.10. However, if the bat costs $1 more, than the bat would cost $1.10 leading to the incorrect total of $1.20. The ball costs $0.05.[\/hidden-answer]<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n Kahneman notes, \u201cMany thousands of university students have answered the bat-and-ball puzzle, and the results are shocking. More than 50% of students at Harvard, MIT, and Princeton gave the intuitive\u2014incorrect\u2014answer.\u201d These and other results confirm that \u201cmany people are overconfident, prone to place too much faith in their intuitions.\u201d[footnote]p. 45[\/footnote]<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n Issues that trip students up with research often stem from the same kind of \"fast thinking\" mistakes and misguided trust in their instincts. It takes time to develop an analytic eye towards sources, but practicing critical research skills\u00a0will result in a marked improvement in the quality of your writing and the impact it has on your readers.<\/p>","rendered":" Critical thinking is hard work. Even those who actively choose to do it experience it as tedious, difficult, and sometimes surprisingly emotional. Nobel-prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains that our brains aren\u2019t designed to think; rather, they\u2019re designed to save us from having to think.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\u00a0Our brains are great at developing routines and repertoires that enable us to accomplish fairly complex tasks like driving cars, choosing groceries, and having a conversation without thinking consciously and thoroughly about every move we make. Kahneman calls this \u201cfast thinking.\u201d \u201cSlow thinking,\u201d which is deliberate and painstaking, is something our brains seek to avoid. That built-in tendency can lead us astray.\u00a0<\/span>Kahneman and his colleagues often used problems like this one in experiments to gauge how people used fast and slow thinking in different contexts:[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n A bat and ball cost $1.10.<\/span><\/p>\n The bat costs one dollar more than the ball.<\/span><\/p>\n How much does the ball cost?<\/span><\/p>\n \n Kahneman notes, \u201cMany thousands of university students have answered the bat-and-ball puzzle, and the results are shocking. More than 50% of students at Harvard, MIT, and Princeton gave the intuitive\u2014incorrect\u2014answer.\u201d These and other results confirm that \u201cmany people are overconfident, prone to place too much faith in their intuitions.\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Recall the story from the opening of this module, “Kim Jung-Un Named The Onion<\/em>\u2018s Sexiest Man Alive For 2012.” News editors in China and South Korea exhibited fast thinking reflexes when they responded to, and reprinted, the story. They likely had an emotional reaction and didn’t stop to question the source.<\/p>\n Issues that trip students up with research often stem from the same kind of “fast thinking” mistakes and misguided trust in their instincts. It takes time to develop an analytic eye towards sources, but practicing critical research skills\u00a0will result in a marked improvement in the quality of your writing and the impact it has on your readers.<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t Downfalls of \"Fast Thinking\"<\/h2>\r\nRecall the story from the opening of this module, \"Kim Jung-Un Named The Onion<\/em>\u2018s Sexiest Man Alive For 2012.\" News editors in China and South Korea exhibited fast thinking reflexes when they responded to, and reprinted, the story. They likely had an emotional reaction and didn't stop to question the source.\r\n
Research as\u00a0Critical Thinking<\/h2>\n
You’ve probably noticed by now the thread of “critical thinking” that runs throughout this course. Critical research skills–locating<\/em>, evaluating<\/em>, utilizing<\/em>, and attributing<\/em> sources–are demanding tasks involving critical thinking.<\/p>\nDownfalls of “Fast Thinking”<\/h2>\n
Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t