In an era when information is produced and distributed not only by billions of protein users around the world, but also by neural networks, it is not easy to separate fact from fiction, recognize manipulation and understand which sources are trustworthy and which are not. Tom Chatfield's book Critical Thinking introduces the reader to practical guidelines for analyzing primary and secondary sources, as well as some aspects of logic and rhetoric.
Excerpt for reference
We constantly, without realizing it, use critical thinking or rely on the experience gained with its help. If we took everything for granted, we would achieve little in life - eternally deceived, confused, confused victims of manipulation. Imagine if you believed everything anyone said, everything you saw, heard and read in every advertisement, every political statement! Mastering critical thinking will not change human nature and you will not be able to always behave absolutely rationally in everything. The point here is to learn to notice your own – and others’ – limitations and understand when you need to stop, think again and formulate the right questions in order to understand the essence of what is happening
British Tom Chatfield is not very well known to the Russian-speaking reader, although his first book (like all the others, exploring the changed world of media and the thinking of modern man) was published back in 2010. Chatfield examines numerous paradoxes and phenomena in detail, reminding the reader how to remain logical in an illogical world. And if you try to formulate the main idea of “Critical Thinking”, it will look like this: “We can say with confidence that the ability to question any information is one of the key competencies of the future.”
“Critical Thinking,” published in Russian by Alpina Publisher, resembles a working notebook: in each chapter, the author asks questions and leaves space for notes. This allows the reader to interact with the book as a co-author in some way - to reinforce key ideas in a semi-game form and better understand the material. However, for those who have abandoned paper, both an electronic version and an audiobook are available.
Read a free excerpt from the book on the publisher's website
