Fair & false analogies

Fair & false analogies

"Students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during examinations. After all, surgeons have X-rays to guide them during an operation; lawyers have briefs to guide them during a trial; carpenters have blueprints to guide them when they are building a house. Why, then, shouldn't students be allowed to look at their textbooks during an examination?'"

Explanation: Doctors, lawyers, and other professional are not giving their examinations to check how much they have learned whereas the students are. The situations are altogether different and comparing these makes for a false analogy.

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. Also is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who knows many facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce consequences from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Barriers to Critical Thinking

Barriers to Critical Thinking

1.   Prejudice.

2. Lack of confidence.

3.Consensus.

4.Laziness - lack of practice - rote learning.

5.Poor reading and comprehension skills.

6.   Reluctance to question people of the authority / experts.

Benefits of Critical Thinking

Benefits of Critical Thinking

Good critical thinking involves:

·        Improved attention & observation

·        More focused reading

·        Improved ability to identify key points in a text or message and not being distracted by         less important material

·        Knowledge of how to get your own point across more easily

·        Skills of analysis that you can apply to various situations

Ancillary skills:

·        Observation

·        Reasoning

·        Decision-making

·        Analysis

·        Judgement

·        Persuasion

Realistic self-appraisal

Many people probably over-estimate their critical thinking skills

Emotional self-management

We may not like evidence that contradicts our own opinions orbeliefs

Perseverance, accuracy  precision

Critical thinking involves accuracy  & precision & a dedication to finding the correct answer. It includes:

     Attention to detail

     Identifying trends & patters

     Repetition

    Taking different perspectives

     Objectivity 

    Considering implications & distant consequences

Al Gore, the one who was going to be the next president of the United States of America has dedicated his life to let the people around the world to be aware of the problem which threat life on the earth. In the next lines I’m going to outline a brief summary about his movie “An inconvenient truth”.

Global warming is the catastrophe which threats life on earth. Al Gore explained how the atmosphere works; sun ray comes from the sun everyday then some of the rays stay inside the earth with the help of ozone layer to keep it warm. The crazy increase of carbon dioxide ratio has made the layer thicker so more rays are trapped more than we normally need. As a result, a lot of temperature changing can be seen around the world such as heat wave. Another problem the global warming is causing is that the ice is melting which is a very serious danger. The level of the sea, constructions and the weather itself all can be affected if the ice or permafrost starts to melt down because of the increasing of heat. At the end of his discussion, Al Gore confirmed that most of the scientists around the world agree that we are the main reason for the global warming. What will the future generation think of their parents if this problem gets more and more serious?