Student: Brian Miller

Date: 09/11/14
Title: Journal Entry #1
Question:
In 250 words summarize the short book Guide to Critical Thinking. What does the author
contend is critical thinking?

After reading the book Guide to Critical Thinking, I think the author views critical thinking
as "taking that extra effort". This may seem like an overly simple way of characterizing this
subject, but I believe all of the points touched on by the author boil down to this phrase. In other
words, when faced with a subject you wish to analyze you should not stop at the easy or
obvious answer. You should dig to nd another "layer" to the problem. You should also "take
that extra effort" to make sure you are looking at the problem from all sides of the argument.
You want to make sure not to focus only on those facts which support your point of view.
A great example of nding that other layer to your analysis is looking at your
assumptions. Per the author, assumptions are "beliefs that you take for granted". Since
assumptions are taken for granted they are rarely challenged. This becomes problematic when
you base your decisions or views on faulty assumptions. Faulty assumptions can doom your
analysis before it even gets started.
One example of faulty assumptions comes from the book Think Like a Freak by Steven
Levitt and Stephen Dubner. The United Nations developed an incentive plan to reduce
greenhouse gasses by offering carbon credits to companies that destroyed certain harmful
greenhouse gasses rather than releasing them into the atmosphere.
One of the most heavily incentivized gasses was the byproduct of a harmful refrigerant.
The assumption was that companies would sell of their stockpile of the byproduct and move to a
"greener" refrigerant. What really occurred is that companies in China and India began
churning out more of the harmful refrigerant in order to earn more carbon credits for the harmful
byproduct. The end result was the production of more of the harmful refrigerant and byproduct.
This also resulted in each of the factories earning more than $20 million by selling these carbon
credits.
In closing, you must ght the urge to take the easy route and always dig for that next
layer of questions to be asked. Operating on faulty assumptions or failing to look at the problem
(or solution) from each side of the issue can lead to inefcient outcomes.

Brian Miller