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

Outstanding!

As never before , we have easy access to massive amounts of information from a myriad of sources.

How can we determine fact from fiction, science from pseudo science, the effect of biases, and the relative validity of the information we are exposed to? How do we avoid scams, charlatans, con artists, spin meisters, , bad science, and deception? How do we keep from fooling ourselves by our own faulty senses, biases, and flaws in our cognition?

Critical thinking. These skills are vital to most accurately understand and interact with the world around us. Bad information abounds and this course will give you the tools to avoid the pitfalls so many fall into.

This course is excellent. The material is presented in a very clear and enjoyable way with many examples we are all familiar with. I can't say enough good things about this course.

EVERYBODY should listen to this course!!!! The world would be a much better place.

Required listening for the analytical thinker

Where does Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5 audiobooks. This audiobook has an incredible amount of great concepts for the critical thinker. This audiobook should be required for every aspiring scientist, engineer, and general analytical thinker.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved the entire collection of chapters for this series. Dr Novella does an excellent job of introducing a new concept in each chapter and then later expands upon those concepts in subsequent chapters. Excellent progression for the listener.

What about Professor Steven Novella’s performance did you like?

Dr Novella is a very good speaker. He is articulate and coherent. He takes time to introduce new concepts at an appropriate pace.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

NA

Any additional comments?

I have already started listening to this series a 2nd time. It is definitely an audiobook that I will re-listen to over and over again.

PARADIGM SHIFT

This lecture series offers lessons for two paradigm shifts occurring in America today. One is gun control; the other is sex discrimination. Professor Steven Novella’s lessons apply to other important issues, but none seem to have the same political momentum for change.

Novella begins by inferring we all deceive ourselves. Novella explains it is caused by the nature of human consciousness. Novella argues that human brains are designed to make coherent sense of remembered experience; not to necessarily recount accurate details of events. We often add facts and change details to improve coherence of our memories.
Memory does not work like a film clip. It is not caste on celluloid that can be replayed as a memory. Memory is re-invented by reconstruction of facts to fit a story that makes sense to the person who remembers.

Critical thinking skills mean addressing facts, using those facts to create a constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation. Seventeen people are dead in Florida from one shooter. They are dead at the hand of a troubled teen. The weapon used is only designed to kill people. Everything else is irrelevant. Those are the facts. That is the truth. What is needed now is constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation.

The same can be said of sex discrimination. As far back as the oldest laws of government written by a Sumerian King in 2,050 BC, women have been singled out with human rights’ violations.

Novella’s argument that every memory is a subjective recollection may mean testimony of women who are abused and/or discriminated against are misreading the facts of their recollection. However, many facts, are independent of recollection. There is overwhelming evidence; i.e. fact-based films, recordings, physical examination records, and statistical studies that show women are abused and discriminated against all over the world. Those are the facts. That is the truth. What is needed is constructive analysis, a plan of action, and implementation.

The question is whether America has finally reached the tipping point for acting based on critical thinking. Have we finally reached the threshold for a paradigm shift in gun control and women’s rights? The facts seem clear.

Awesome subject awesome lecturer

Lots of good points, there were parts that did challenge my thinking. The lecturer's voice is not annoying which in important when investing 12:40 minutes

Best comprehensive look at the mind.

I'm a big fan of non-fiction books about the way our minds work, the way our logic works, etc... Books like "Thinking: Fast and Slow" are fascinating but at times can be overwhelming in their depth and length. This set of lectures is a concise yet all encompassing overview of the whole subject. It's got enough depth to sink your teeth into, without beating over the head with too many example, and it moves from subject to subject at a pace that keeps things interesting. You'll definitely want breaks to process some of the information, as listening to 5-6 lectures straight might make your eyes glaze over. But overall, this is the best of the great courses, in my opinion.

Perhaps best single "course" I ever took

What a bargain, this was instructive to me as a scientist yet most certainly applies to non-scientists as well. It is hard for me to think of someone who should not listen to this course, although some may find a small portion of it offensive (e.g., those that are unwilling to think critically about religious dogma, not reject it, just think about it).

great book

great lecture. because it's not a book it's a lecture . it's also not a story but I gave it 5 stars anyway. idk I'm righting random crap to get 20 words in.

Life changing

This dramatically changed my perspective on life and the way that I think. I feel both humbled and empowered.

Profound and Insightful

This was a profound and insightful look at the way how our minds work. These lectures presented the human brain has a flawed tool and gave suggestions on how to maximize its use.

Excellent

We need critical thinking in our society. Now more than ever. Please get this book.