Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

By: Steven Novella, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Steven Novella

Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever.

These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life. By immersing yourself in the science of cognitive biases and critical thinking, and by learning how to think about thinking (a practice known as metacognition), you'll gain concrete lessons for doing so more critically, more intelligently, and more successfully.

The key to successful critical thinking lies in understanding the neuroscience behind how our thinking works - and goes wrong; avoiding common pitfalls and errors in thinking, such as logical fallacies and biases; and knowing how to distinguish good science from pseudoscience. Professor Novella tackles these issues and more, exploring how the (often unfamiliar) ways in which our brains are hardwired can distract and prevent us from getting to the truth of a particular matter.

Along the way, he provides you with a critical toolbox that you can use to better assess the quality of information. Even though the world is becoming more and more saturated information, you can take the initiative and become better prepared to make sense of it all with this intriguing course.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

Thinking is difficult!

The author explains, although not in these words per se, why thinking can be so danged difficult...and why so few people do it!

gud

I listened to "Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us" by Professor Novella as part of "The Great Courses" a couple of weeks before. I felt that this book was just a rehash of the same information under the guise of a different topic (the mind) as opposed to the Medical Profession

Extremely informative & thought provoking.

There is an overwhelming amount of information in this book. You definitely get what you pay for here. I would recommend to anyone who wants to become more aware of how we process & asses "factual information"

Great Lecture

I really liked this series. the speaker is great and there is a lot of fantastic information.

Should be a required course

Enjoyed the book. I found much of the presentations and examples useful, though a few sections were repetitive.

book of the day

a great lecture.i am at ease after hearing.i love it.thanks for the effort.good job.congrats the author

Good

very useful insights found it helpful to understand common myths and legends,I liked the analysis of the conspiracy theories

Love It

Dr. Steven Novella is a pleasure to listen to, catch him here and in his weekly podcast. The lecture series is fun and a little scary (can you really trust your own brain).

Critical thinking for all

This series is a great refresher and for those new to critical thinking.

Easy to understand, comprehensive yet fluid, and Dr Novella stayed at a steady pace. I have listened twice. I would suggest the first time can be in the car or something to pass the time, but I highly recommend setting time aside to sit, listen, and write some things down.

I wish everyone listened to this

So many people need this enlightenment. It helps me focus on being a better and more critical thinker.