Critical Thinking Blog

This blog contains four sections:

1. Critical Thinking Articles: Articles for teens and adults about various critical thinking topics such as what critical thinking is (and is not), how to spot pseudoscience, and how arguments can go wrong.
2. Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical tips on how to teach critical thinking to kids and teens.
3. Handbooks: Short, simple explanations of critical thinking concepts covered in Critikid's courses so that parents and teachers can better support the learning journey.
4. Puzzles and Paradoxes: Real-life paradoxes and tricky puzzles with counterintuitive solutions.
5. Media Literacy Interviews: Interviews with various media and digital literacy experts about how kids, teens, and all of us can navigate the online world in a safe and rational way.

Critical Thinking Articles

What is Critical Thinking?

by Jon Guy
Misconceptions about critical thinking include beliefs such as “We are all born critical thinkers” or “Critical thinking comes naturally” or “I’m a critical thinker because I question authority.”

Pseudo-skepticism: What Is Not Critical Thinking?

by Jon Guy
How is rational skepticism different from contrarianism, cynicism, and denialism?

The Critical Thinking Paradox

by Santiago Gisler
There lies a crucial paradox in critical thinking development: as we focus on mastering our critical thinking skills, we also learn to automate them—sometimes to their detriment.

How DebunkBot is Helping Minds Change

by Stephanie Simoes
Six lessons we can learn about effective communication from an AI chatbot that is helping people to change their minds.

How Arguments Can Go Wrong

by Stephanie Simoes
There are two main ways an argument can go wrong.

How Flawed Arguments Can Go Right

by Stephanie Simoes
Sometimes, flawed arguments have true conclusions.

Denominator Neglect: A Poem

by Stephanie Simoes
Unlikely things are likely to happen when happening happens a lot.

How to Spot Pseudoscience

by Stephanie Simoes
Pseudoscience is not the same as bad science. This post covers what pseudoscience is (and is not) and how we can detect it.

How to Type the Connective Symbols of Symbolic Logic

by Stephanie Simoes
A guide on how to type the connective symbols for symbolic logic, also called formal logic or sentential logic, on Mac and Windows.

Teaching Critical Thinking

Mathematical Fluency: A Pathway to Deeper Thinking

by Chris Hogbin
An exploration of what mathematical fluency looks like and how it inherently fosters critical thinking.

Critical Thinking for Kids

by Ronald Crouch
Tips from a child psychologist on how to teach children of various ages critical thinking at home.

Student Questions That I Don't Answer

by Stephanie Simoes
One of my favourite parts of being a teacher is the interesting and sometimes even surprising questions my students ask me. Due to their enormous curiosity, children may ask some questions that adults find difficult to answer.

The Socratic Teaching Method

by Stephanie Simoes
By asking a series of questions, you can guide students to knowledge they didn’t know they already had.

The Power of “I Don't Know” in Education

by Stephanie Simoes
As adults, we must not be embarrassed to say "I don't know" to children. Used correctly, this phrase can be a powerful educational tool, for several reasons.

Learning through Teaching

by Stephanie Simoes
Teaching equips students with essential life skills that extend far beyond the classroom.

How I Teach my Six-Year-Old about the Algorithm

by Jessica Silberman
You can encourage smart and thoughtful technology use in young children by adding in a few questions as you go about your normal day.

Handbooks

Logical Fallacy Handbook

by Stephanie Simoes
Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning. This handbook provides a brief overview of ten common logical fallacies.

Data Analysis Handbook

by Stephanie Simoes
We have access to more information than ever, but we also need skills to make sense of it all. This handbook provides a brief overview of common errors in data analysis.

Puzzles and Paradoxes

The False Positive Paradox

by Stephanie Simoes
You test for a disease that affects 1% of the population. The test has a 5% false positive rate. Your test comes back positive. What are the chances you have the disease?

Simpson’s Paradox

by Stephanie Simoes
Simpson's paradox is a counterintuitive statistical phenomenon that can result in data misinterpretation if we're not careful. Let's see how it works with the Kidney Conundrum.

The Two Child Problem: A Probability Puzzle in Three Parts

by Stephanie Simoes
The Two Child Problem shows us that our intuition can mislead us when thinking about probability.

The Two Box Puzzle

by Stephanie Simoes
Someone presents you with two opaque boxes. One has two $100 bills. The other has a $100 bill and a $1 bill. You are told that you will get to keep the second bill you withdraw...

Conditional Probability

by Stephanie Simoes
Learning this key concept in probability will help you to understand these probability puzzles.

Media Literacy Interviews

1. Understanding Algorithms

with Douglas Rushkoff
Media theorist, author, and professor Douglas Rushkoff talks about the pros and cons of algorithms and how can we challenge their influence on our online experience.