“It is not that hard to understand why most of us believe strongly in things that are palpably not true. We have a natural propensity to see causal connections where there are none and our beliefs are constantly reinforced by… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“One of the first things I learned when I began teaching courses in critical thinking in 1974 was that those of us trained in… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“Perhaps the most common ad hominem fallacy is to attack the motives of the person making the argument. Critics of judicial decisions often cite… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“I noted above that when I refer to an idea as unworthy of consideration (or words to that effect that might sound a bit… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“Societies progress by the free assertion of differing proposals, followed by criticism, followed by the genuine possibility of change in the light of criticism…The… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“More than half of all Americans believe we can heal each other by psychic or spiritual means. About one-third believe in telepathy and about… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“We must work hard at overcoming the natural tendency to see causal connections and other patterns where there are none by examining all the… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“About the only uncontested effect of cognitive training is that training in a specific area improves performance in that area but does not transfer… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“This has the added negative effect of giving them the illusion of confidence. It is a hard lesson to accept, but the success of… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“Some scientists have actually done this and guess what? They haven’t found a significant correlation between phases of the Moon and hospital admissions in… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“It is not that hard to understand why most of us believe strongly in things that are palpably not true. We have a natural… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“At the very least, one would hope that by becoming aware of the many ways our brain can trick us, we would arrive at… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“Seventy-seven percent of Americans think it’s safer to talk on a hands-free phone than on a handheld phone. The empirical evidence shows otherwise. The… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“Without awareness of common pitfalls such as confirmation bias, positive-outcome bias, and subjective validation, a person trained in logic and fallacy detection is easily… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“It’s understandable that we would believe many things as children that our parents and others in our society have passed on to us as… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
“In fact, there is good scientific evidence to support the notion that being really intelligent and knowledgeable can be a disadvantage to some thinkers… — Robert Carroll Copy Share Image
