Thinking Clearly

In this episode Bob and Julia discuss the polluted state of our information environment in this complex, technical, culturally shifting world we're living in. They then outline a step by step method for vetting our information, in order to help us tentatively decide its truth value and to help decide what to do with the information. This is the first of a three-part series on Thinking Clearly called: "Seeking the Truth of the Matter."

As the US Presidential Election approaches, a swarm of issues are being politicized—exposing us to communication from downright propaganda pieces and disinformation to reasoned balanced arguments—making this a great time to start practicing critical thinking. The timing also makes long-time critical thinking educator, Jonathan Haber, author of Critical Voter and Critical Thinking, the perfect guest for this episode of Thinking Clearly.

Bob and Julia talk strategies for recognizing and combating misinformation with psychologist and cartoonist Dr. John Cook from George Mason University. Dr Cook, a specialist in countering science denial, discusses various methods of inoculation against misinformation and the uses of cartoons, humor, and educational games to counter misinformation and build public resilience against it.

Hosts Bob and Julia discuss a variety of topics with Anthony Weston, including: the most important aspects of teaching critical thinking and those most difficult for students to master; why it's important, at this time in our culture, to learn and practice critical thinking skills; the prevalence of values-based aspects in issues we encounter in our information environment; and what led to Weston's passion for and vision to develop the agrarian, intentional community, Hart’s Mill Ecovillage.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has made critical thinking and reducing the misinformation and disinformation in our information environment more important than ever. In addition to hosts Bob and Julia discussing the issue, this episode features a prerecorded interview that Bob did with Professor Amanda Hughes from Brigham Young University, an expert on the functioning of social media during disasters and crises.

This episode features a discussion with guest, Baba Brinkman. Baba is a Canadian rapper and playwright, now based in New York, especially known for recordings and performances that combine hip hop music with literature, theatre, and science. Topics discussed include: rap and hip hop as effective means for promoting science and critical thinking, science-based evidence and critical thinking in times of crisis and some of the issues around critical thinking and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

This discussion, with Dr. Spencer Greenberg, focuses on a variety of free tools and mini-courses, on-line at: clearerthinking.org. These fun, interactive tools and mini-courses, developed by Dr. Greenberg and associates, have been meticulously designed to improve your critical thinking skills, help you understand yourself more deeply, form new positive habits, and make better decisions. Dr. Greenberg has a PhD in mathematics with a specialty in Machine Learning. Find out more about his work at: spencergreenberg.com.

This episode focuses on how we humans "construct" our perceptions of reality using our “Bayesian Brain” to integrate incoming sensory information with our preconceived notions of the world around us. Citing work done by Dr. Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex in England, Bob and Julia discuss this and related topics appearing in the special edition of "Scientific American", titled: "Truth Lies & Uncertainty."

The connectivity of the internet allows us to retrieve accurate information, which can be used to support true beliefs, but also exposes us to misinformation and disinformation created to perpetuate false beliefs. In this episode, U.C. Irvine Professor Cailin O'Connor, coauthor of the book "The Misinformation Age", discusses her research using computer modeling to explore how false beliefs form, spread and persist.

How our beliefs affect us and belief change are topics of focus in this episode of Thinking Clearly with guest: Professor Michael Wolfe from Grand Valley State University. Professor Wolfe's research interests on how our preexisting beliefs affect our evaluation of arguments, the degree to which we change our beliefs when exposed to information that is either consistent or inconsistent with those beliefs and the implications of his findings for our ability to be critical thinkers are also explored.