5 exercises for critical thinking

In the era of post-truth and fake news, it is very important to have developed critical thinking skills. Every day you come across a mass of information that makes you buy something or vote for someone, or just boggles your head with lies and manipulations. Critical thinking is your brain’s immune system. But for it to work effectively, it needs to be trained. We have collected 5 exercises to develop this skill. You can engage in them without interruption from your usual activities.

And in order to learn different thinking techniques, reason logically and consistently, quickly make effective decisions and find innovative approaches to difficult tasks, sign up for the online cognitive science program.
https://alpha.iodide.io/notebooks/4142/files/give-students-an-easy-and-interesting-geography-html.pdf
1
Agenda
What skills does it train: the ability to connect ideas, look for patterns and find the main thing.
Take the issue of today's newspaper or open the news site. Browse through the headings of all articles, highlight the main topics of each and make a list of them (you can mentally).

Now think about how each article in one section relates to another. Look for a common topic for each section, and then try to find an agenda for the entire newspaper. Highlight some of the main messages that this media broadcasts.

The same can be done on a weekly or monthly scale. Are there any topics or ideas that the publication is steadily promoting? Analyze several different sources in this way to see the global picture.

This exercise will teach you to look for patterns in information flows, and also help to identify manipulations - perhaps some publications specifically advocate a particular point of view.
https://alpha.iodide.io/notebooks/4142/files/learn-english-easier-with-the-ball-html.pdf
2
Go to the dark side
What skills does it train: the ability to objectively perceive information, self-criticism.

Suppose Alexey believes that global warming is an invention of politicians or fanatical ecologists. He is absolutely sure that he is right and can bring a dozen of evidence in favor of his favorite theory.

But he still reads the 4brain.ru blog and wants to pump his critical thinking skills. What needs to be done to Alexey?

Go to Google and type in the search engine the phrase: “why is global warming a reality”, “evidence of global warming”, etc.
Carefully read the proposed articles and analyze them using critical thinking skills.
It will be painful and unpleasant to read about what is contrary to his beliefs. But in this way he will truly test his objectivity. No matter what conclusions he comes to, the main thing is that he will perceive “hostile information” and analyze it.

Make a list of your beliefs and stereotypes, and then test them with critical information.
https://alpha.iodide.io/notebooks/4142/files/life-in-the-classroom-a-view-of-the-academic-level-html.pdf
3
Structuring Arguments
What skills does it train: the ability to verify information, think logically and reasonably.

There are two types of content: informational and persuasive. The first simply states the facts. For example, an article says that the water is wet and the sun is hot. The second type is trying to convince that wet water is good for health or that you should buy a sunscreen.

Persuasive content globally consists of three parts: thesis, premises and conclusions. A thesis is a statement, for example: “Drink water - it is good for health”. Parcels are various arguments in favor of the thesis, and conclusions are a logical conclusion from the arguments confirming the initial statement.

Your task is to learn to identify these convincing components in any content and verify their accuracy.

Read the article or watch the video. Find in them the thesis, premises and conclusions. Check the truth of the premises and the consistency of the conclusions. If the text claims that water is good for health, then the premises should contain references to research, and the conclusion should indicate how it is useful, based on the work of scientists.
https://alpha.iodide.io/notebooks/4142/files/russian-school-nervous-kids-html.pdf
4
Cognitive bias detection
What skills does it train: the ability to detect thinking errors and avoid them.

Cognitive biases are brain errors when it misinterprets reality. For example, people tend to seek confirmation of their beliefs, ignoring counterarguments. There is a huge amount of cognitive distortion and absolutely everyone is subject to it.

Learn some of these distortions and learn to recognize them in life. First try on others - because it is much easier for us to look for specks in the eyes of others. Sooner or later, you will begin to notice whole logs. No one has “cognitive sanctity,” so this is normal.

Now you can learn to control them. For example, if you are prone to the planning trap (underestimating the time required to complete a task), then you need to consciously assign yourself more time for this or that matter.
https://uploads.codesandbox.io/uploads/user/8a63961e-d994-4941-b060-071ef59ddbdb/llvD-biased-exams-for-teachers-new-york-html.pdf
5
Reflection
What skills does it train: self-criticism, rational decision making.

Today, Alex bought a new phone, quarreled with a colleague and was able to sell 20% more goods at work than yesterday. All day, he made many decisions, which led to victories.