Hello, Medium friends! As a creator of online courses focused on increasing learning efficiency and effectiveness through mission-based learning, I’m excited to share insights on cultivating logical thinking.
In this article, I’ll present five essential books that can help ordinary individuals develop strong logical thinking skills. By honing your reasoning abilities, you’ll be better equipped to navigate the knowledge economy and monetize your expertise. Let’s dive in!
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Book 1: “Thinking, Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman
In this groundbreaking book, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman explores the two cognitive systems that drive our thought processes: the intuitive, fast-thinking system and the deliberate, slow-thinking system.
We are irrationally prone to jump to conclusions based on rule-of-thumb shortcuts to actual reasoning, and in reliance on bad evidence.
Kahneman’s thesis breaks our decision-making systems into two pieces, System 1 and System 2, which are the respective “fast” and “slow” of the title. System 1 provides intuitive judgements based on stimulus we might not even be conscious of receiving; it’s the snap signals that we might not even know we are acting upon. System 2 is the more contemplative, cognitively taxing counterpart that we engage for serious mental exertion. Though often oppositional in the types of decisions they produce, Kahneman is keen to emphasize that it’s not about System 1 versus System 2. Instead, he’s out to educate us about how the interplay between these systems causes us to make decisions that aren’t always rational or sensible given the statistics and evidence at hand.
By understanding the biases and heuristics that influence our decision-making, readers can improve their logical thinking abilities and make more informed choices.
Book 2: “The Art of Thinking Clearly” by Rolf Dobelli
Rolf Dobelli offers practical insights into cognitive biases that cloud our judgment and hinder logical thinking. Drawing from a wide range of fields, including psychology, economics, and social science, this book provides valuable tools for recognizing and avoiding common reasoning errors.
One of the “cute” experiment mentioned in this book is to send an email to 10,000 people with stock market prediction by dividing them into 2 groups — telling reverse prediction to each group. Prediction for one of the groups will come true. Send a new prediction to the 5,000 whom you predicted correctly earlier — again after dividing them into 2 groups…carry on like this, and the last 100 would consider you as a genius. People get inducted into a decision based on history without thinking logically.
By understanding the pitfalls of logical fallacies, readers can make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes.
Book 3: “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert Cialdini
Logical thinking also involves understanding how others may attempt to sway our judgment. In this classic book, Robert Cialdini explores the principles of persuasion and teaches readers how to recognize and resist manipulative techniques.
The six “weapons of influence” introduced are:
1)Reciprocation — People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. In his conferences, he often uses the example of Ethiopia providing thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid to Mexico just after the 1985 earthquake, despite Ethiopia suffering from a crippling famine and civil war at the time. Ethopia had been reciprocating for the diplomatic support Mexico provided when Italy invaded Ethopia in 1937.
2)Commitment and Consistency — If people commit, verbally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement. For example, in car sales, suddenly raising the price at the last moment works because the buyer has already decided to buy.
3)Social Proof — People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic. See conformity, and the Asch conformity experiments.
4)Authority — People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.
5)Liking — People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them. Some of the many biases favoring more attractive people are discussed. See physical attractiveness stereotype.
6)Scarcity — Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a “limited time only” encourages sales.
By enhancing your awareness of these tactics, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate information objectively and make logical decisions.
Book 4: “Super Thinking: The Big Book of Mental Models” by Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann
Mental models provide frameworks for understanding complex situations and making rational decisions.
In “Super Thinking,” Gabriel Weinberg and Lauren McCann introduce a diverse range of mental models, such as probabilistic thinking, inversion, and second-order thinking.
Some of the mental models that stood out for me are:
1. Argue from first principles — go back to basics and figure out what are we really trying to solve
2. Learned selflessness — people stop trying when they believe their efforts just don’t cut it anymore or it’s just not worth it anymore. Results in active disengagement
By applying these models to real-life scenarios, readers can enhance their logical thinking abilities and approach problems from multiple perspectives.
3. Asymmetric information e.g. Real Estate agent vs buyer
4. Paradox of choice — over abundance of choice lead to fear of making suboptimal choices & unhappiness. Improve design by limiting choice where possible
5. For any issues, you can find people on both sides with ‘numbers’ to back up their position
6. Three types of people required in different phases of organisation / project life cycles — commando (speed, no rules, create a beachhead), army (large numbers to build systems and infrastructures to extend advantage), police (enforce rules, build stability for growth). Having the wrong group at the wrong time can hurt you a lot more than helps
Book 5: “The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark” by Carl Sagan
In this thought-provoking book, Carl Sagan emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and skeptical inquiry. He encourages readers to rely on evidence and logical reasoning to navigate a world filled with misinformation and pseudoscience.
Honestly, this should probably be required high school reading for everyone. It illustrates clearly the many and varied personal and societal benefits gained from applying the methods of science to every corner of our thinking.
While reading, though, we need to identify the author’s views from the scientific methods and facts, for example, accusations that the Weekly World News and Beavis and Butt-Head are sources of ignorance and misunderstanding is the author’s views and so we can judge whether we think that is true or not. Training our critical and independent thinking while learning about logical thinking is also important.
By promoting scientific literacy and rational skepticism, this book fosters a mindset of logical thinking and intellectual curiosity.
Conclusion:
Logical thinking is a valuable skill that can propel ordinary individuals towards success in the knowledge economy. By delving into these five must-read books, you can cultivate your logical thinking abilities and make better-informed decisions. Remember, developing strong reasoning skills is a continuous process that requires practice and a commitment to lifelong learning. So, grab these books, expand your perspective, and embrace the power of logical thinking to monetize your knowledge effectively. Happy reading!
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