Ask HN: Resources for critical thinking and communication skills?

[badrabbit]

I have a strong desire to improve my critical thinking and analytical ability. I am aware of a few cognitive biases but not so much on how to actively combat them.

Maybe I should have started another thread too but I felt like critical thinking would be useless if I can't communicate my thoughts well.

What resources have helped you in either area?

[curious_yogurt]

Critical thinking books vary widely in quality. They often get bogged down in long catalogues of fallacies and categorical logic (which, while interesting, is not as useful as sentential logic and some elementary strategies in first-order logic).

One of the shortest, simplest, and most reasonable books I have encountered is "A Rulebook for Arguments" by Anthony Weston, now in its fifth edition.[1] It's about 118 pages long, and is broken up into two basic sections: the first deals with general argument-rules, and then looks at some common sorts of inductive arguments in detail, as well as some common deductive argument-forms; the second deals with how to develop an extended argument, as well as how to compose argumentative essays and oral arguments. An appendix has brief treatments of some common fallacies.

The Rulebook does not have exercises, which some might find useful. But it is brief and to the point, written for the learner in mind, and its presentation is supported by strong examples. The advice for composing and presenting arguments tilts to the academic side of things, but is still generally applicable. The point of this book is to start you down the path of not merely appearing to be a competent reasoner, but to help you increase your analytical ability, and then to persuade others by means of stepping through a carefully reasoned argument.

[1] https://www.hackettpublishing.com/a-rulebook-for-arguments-4...

[badrabbit]

Thank you very much. Short and to the point fits my learning style,sounds likea decent book to start with.

[moh_maya]

So, imo, cognitive biases, that you mention, are distinct from 'critical thinking'.

One needs to be aware of the implicit & explicit biases, but that's not the same as the ability to think critically.

I would argue the first step is to understand how people in general think, and in particular, how one thinks.

For understanding "how" we think, with a clear focus on the biases and pitfalls, one very useful reference is "thinking fast and slow" [1]

Critical thinking requires logical / rational thinking (not necessarily the same thing) and (I think) also requires one to think of the issue from multiple perspectives and try to identify all the factors / drivers.

That, I think, would come from empathy and a deliberate attempt to systematically identify all variables. So, at some level, the skills one picks up as a scientist. But I don't know of any single book that lists them..

So, at some level, a lot of business model analysis frameworks maybe useful; for instance, Porters 5 forces [2], SWOT analysis, etc.

Finally, to be able to think critically, one also needs to be self aware. Perhaps meditation can help with that, but reading & digesting some of the philosophy classics may also help (Seneca, Bhagvat Gita & Upanishads, Kant). But these become tasks for a lifetime!

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-a...

[2] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter%27s_five_forces_analy...

(Edit: added last 2 paragraphs on business analysis frameworks and self awareness, and links)

[dwcnnnghm]

+1 for Thinking Fast and Slow.

There was a discussion on HN recently [0] about cognitive biases. Readers provided some better links than the OP, but it's all worth a read.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16875497

[i_dont_know_]

I've mentioned it before, but I'll recommend them again: Crucial Conversations and Crucial Accountability (they're almost the same book).

They might not be the communication skills you meant, but they've helped me figure out how I want to structure conversations so they don't go weird.

[hikarudo]

My recommendation for communicating better is "Nonviolent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg.

The gist of it is: be careful to separate observations from judgments, whether by yourself or others. When in a difficult conversation, try to confirm what the other person is feeling. Say what you are feeling.

[peterwwillis]

As a general website with tips on communication, this one has a lot of good things to start with: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/communication_skills.ht... . There seems to be about 140 pages of decent starting points on communicating better. Other general topics to check out (which they may touch on) would be non-violent communication, emotional intelligence, compassion, and empathy.

With regard to critical thinking, study the history of logic, specifically Greek philosophy, more specifically ancient Greek logic and rhetoric, and reasoning in general. (Logical fallacies are an extension of philosophical logic) All that could keep you busy for a few years, so I recommend just skipping around through Wikipedia for a few days/weeks and just noting down the really interesting things and then finding books and articles on those subjects.

All of that would be a base from which to understand the process of thought, logic, reasoning, rhetoric, etc. From there you can skip on to actual critial thinking as a basis for modern society: https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thi...

[wilgertvelinga]

Peter Boghossian - A Manual for Creating Atheists.

While the title suggests it is only about religion the first few chapters are actually very general. The book also sparked a movement called Street Epistemology that has an interesting way of "critical communicaging".

[JakeAl]

This site is a simple and straightforward primer on critical reading and writing and hence thinking: http://criticalreading.com

But while most books on critical reasoning and thinking are decent, so far this is my favorite as it addresses barriers to critical thinking and the various types of logic pretty well: https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-Introduction-Gregor...

I was even able to download a previous edition as a PDF for free.

[clean_send]

I think learning empathy and working with others through a practice like design thinking is a great way to work on communication. Good communicators, don't just talk. They learn to read people, listen, ask good questions, and guide conversations past the natural silence. The facilitation of helping others create good ideas is what makes people want to work with you. Collaborating in a group setting helps remove cognitive biases. What you bring to the table then is the ability to leverage everyone's skillsets to achieve a common goal.

[StanislavPetrov]

Not a resource per se, but here are a few friendly bits of advice that have been very useful in my own pursuit of critical thinking:

Always be skeptical (skeptical, not cynical) of everything. Always demand evidence that can you independently verify (and be extra-skeptical of anyone claiming to have "secret evidence" that you aren't allowed to personally scrutinize).

Always be congiscent of the fact that the number of people who hold a position or tout of a belief has absolutely no relation to the veracity of that position or belief. As social beings we are predisposed towards groupthink. Widely-held positions and beliefs seem inherently more credible because of their widepsread acceptance. They aren't.

Always be especially skeptical towards information that seems to support and/or reinforce what you believe. Humans are also innately predisposed to conformation bias. Try to be aware of this innate predisposition when scrutinizing evidence that supports beliefs.

Beware of certainty. Always remember that we are imperfect beings. Our brains, our thought processes, our memories are all fallible. Our understanding of the universe is limited and there is far more we don't know, than what we do know. There's a critical difference between being "certain" about something, and being "as certain as you can be" about something. While this sounds like a semantic difference, it most definitely isn't. Always remain constantly aware, that as convinced as you may be of something, you could be wrong.

[Keloo]

Always when I read books or articles on the subject I forget 95% of them. If you are not social by default you can try to hack it. The more tricks you have in your pocket the better (I mean healthy tricks not some NLP bullsh*t). Also I learned more on the subject by asking friends the same question you asked but in real life (face to face).

[BaconJuice]

This is a great ask, I would love to know a few answers as well! something around communication skills too?

[wpmoradi]

waiting to see what other resources y'all recommend.

[vinayms]

I have no recommendations but I want to make a point. I am not sure if by 'communication' you mean speech or writing, but IMO writing is superior to speaking when you have to communicate ideas that result from analyses and critical thinking.

Such results often tend to be elaborate (or long winded depending on who is listening) and need the listener to participate actively. Unless you are an invited speaker tasked with dissecting a topic, no one is going to have patience, and courtesy, to allow you to finish what you have to say. If you are going to be doing that at company meetings, the interruptions will be worse. The person in the chair might even cut you short by asking you to get to the point in a passive aggressive way. One could argue that developing good speaking skill is all about conveying ideas succinctly, to avoid this very situation, but I differ. Your speech is only as effective as your audience allows it to be.

Writing, on the other hand, provides a better means to communicate such ideas. Firstly, your speech idiosyncrasies, like accent, pronunciation, voice etc, won't become an obstacle. Secondly, you don't demand the listener to be patient and attentive to what you say. The engagement mechanics are better. The reader can always reread a portion any number of times till they understand, or can take a break and revisit a portion if it gets a bit involved. Then, it provides a better means of recording exactly what your thoughts are, one that lasts for a time much longer than spoken words. This not only allows your thoughts to reach people farther down the timeline, it also serves as a snapshot of what your ideas and inclinations were at the time of writing. Retrospection (along with introspection) is a key factor in growing intellectually. Finally, it doesn't suffer from the Chinese Whispers Syndrome when disseminated.

Now, I don't mean you have to develop essay writing skills because not every argument needs an essay. While writing essays is a very good intellectual activity, a short and coherent paragraph or two suffices most times.

Critical thinking is very addictive. You might start off with something small, like why a club must have a player, or why a product design is not good, which might be communicated reasonably well via speech, but you will slowly get to bigger topics where what I wrote becomes applicable.

[lemonmanfresh]

Socializing and playing chess are going to help you in those areas and possibly in tandem.

Ribbonfarm.com is a good website that has blog essays which deal with many topics and some about social strategies which are a lot like chess strategies.

Also maybe getting into debates with people as long as it isn't something so controversial that it becomes too heated.

[danielvf]

“How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie is probably the worlds best book on the basics of communication. Highly recommend it.

[jacquesm]

I'd like to vote against this recommendation. The people that live by Dale Carnegie's book can be spotted from a mile away and tend to come across as fake. This could be a cultural thing.

[sveng]

This book is a classic.

Helps with looking people in the eye and starting—and sustaining—a conversation.

[mrkoot]

The 10-part series 'How to get Smarter: A guide to critical thinking, cognitive biases, and logical fallacies' published between in Jan-Apr 2018 at Life Lessons is also quite comprehensive. Covers 50 topics, 5 per post. I apologize for the length of what follows, but I believe this resource it worth it:

- Part 1: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarter/ 50. Intellectual laziness 49. Intellectual honesty 48. Intellectual dishonesty 47. Willful ignorance 46. Self-deception

- Part 2: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 45. Be a truth seeker 44. Be a realist 43. Open your mind 42. Don’t fall in love with your beliefs or your philosophy 41. Listen to your opponents and people who disagree with you

- Part 3: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 40. Don’t dismiss things you don’t understand 39. Don’t assume you’re smarter than the stranger you’re speaking with 38. Don’t confuse your perspective for objective reality 37. Don’t confuse feelings with facts 36. Don’t believe every thought that passes through your head

- Part 4: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 35. Beware of black and white thinking 34. Beware of the Dunning-Kruger effect 33. Uncertainty > The illusion of knowledge 32. Stand on the shoulders of giants 31. Have lots of gurus

- Part 5: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 30. Don’t attack straw men (don’t misrepresent your opponents argument) 29. Beware of circular logic and reasoning 28. Watch out for red herrings 27. The genetic fallacy (examine the statement – not the speaker) 26. The fallacy fallacy (don’t confuse a bad argument with a false conclusion)

- Part 6: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 25. Political correctness 24. Groupthink 23. Tribalism 22. The bandwagon effect 21. Doublespeak

- Part 7: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 20. Occam’s razor 19. Look to where the finger is pointing 18. Sunk costs 17. Framing 16. Anchoring

- Part 8: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 15. Meditation 14. Mindfulness 13. Psychedelics 12. Pseudoscience 11. Scientism

- Part 9: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 10. Why you should try to prove yourself wrong – instead of right 9. Probability neglect & the relativity of wrong 8. Why you can’t trust statistics 7. Cognitive Dissonance 6. Sacred Cows

- Part 10: http://lifelessons.co/personal-development/howtogetsmarterpa... 5. Critical thinking questions & the Socratic Method 4. Follow the evidence wherever it leads 3. Motivated reasoning 2. Confirmation bias 1. Thinking for yourself

[extralego]

These are, to me, very different skill sets. But, the biggest challenge is to do them both at the same time. Maybe that is what you mean?

[badrabbit]

Yes,that's what I meant: To think critically and communicate my thoughts well. Although they are different skills they do work in tandem.

Without communication skills, critical thinking would not be as useful since my thoughts won't be communicated well.

For someone doing technical work, good communication skills are great but not so much without applying critical thinking (imo).

[afarrell]

I found the following books presented useful mental models:

- Thinking Fast and Slow

- Decisive by Chip & Dan Heath

- Thanks for the Feedback

- Difficult Conversations