Results & Relationships Barbara Oakley on Critical Thinking and Learning
Jan 28, 2024
Barbara Oakley, creator of Uncommon Sense Teaching and Learn Like a Pro, discusses critical thinking and learning. Topics include challenges faced by mid-level managers in large corporations, breaking free from inherited mindsets in the IT industry, different types of curiosity, AI's limitations, the importance of decision-making process, probability and a serendipitous love story, questioning biases in statistical analysis, and the journey into podcasting.
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People Resist Contradictory Information
- Many people avoid critical thinking because their brains resist information that contradicts prior beliefs.
- Recognizing this bias explains why teaching critical thinking often reaches a self-selected audience.
Test Strategies With 'What Has To Be True?'
- Ask "what has to be true" to test if a strategy or claim holds up under scrutiny.
- Use that question to reveal hidden assumptions and avoid illusions of logic.
Curiosity Has Two Faces
- Curiosity comes in different forms: joyous exploration and completion-seeking urgency.
- The latter can produce shallow answers that confirm what you already want to believe.