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How To Teach a Healthy Dose of Skepticism?

Posted by kdawson on from the doubt-early-and-often dept.

c0d3h4x0r writes "It's no accident that 'whatcouldpossiblygowrong' is one of the most common tags applied by this community to stories about proposed ideas or laws. The ability to spot and predict faults is a big part of what makes a great engineer. It starts with having a healthy skepticism about the world, which leads to actual critical thinking. Many books and courses teach critical thinking skills, but what is the best way to encourage and teach someone to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism? Is it even a teachable skill, or is it just an innate part of the geek personality?"

5 of 880 comments (clear)

  1. Step 1 by seanellis · · Score: 4, Informative

    Subscribe to the "The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe" podcast.

    --
    Sean Ellis
    Follow OfQuack's antics on Twitter.
  2. Re:Fail a lot? by SputnikPanic · · Score: 4, Informative

    Oh, and I would recommend reading 'Why People Believe Weird Things' by Michael Shermer. The Demon-Haunted World by Carl Sagan is another good one.

  3. Carl Sagan by GreggBz · · Score: 4, Informative

    The best book I ever read on this subject is here.

    This book gives you a deep fundamental understanding of science and the scientific method. The chapters focus on debunking a variety of outrageous pseudoscience. Ideas from UFOs to conspiracy theories to the Lost City of Atlantis are swept away by convincing arguments. Once you read enough of this, the higher meaning presents itself. Don't let the nonsense comfort you falsely. Be skeptical and trust in science. It is the most reliable methodology for getting to the truth.

    Few books really changed my outlook in life. This is one of them. Read the reviews at Amazon. You will see I'm not alone. For me, in this crazy world, science really has become a candle in the dark.

  4. Here be Dragons - video on critical thinking by somegeekynick · · Score: 5, Informative

    This was posted at the BadAstronomy.com blog a couple of days ago.

    [Sceptic] Brian Dunning has put together a video on how to think critically. Itâ(TM)s called Here Be Dragons, and itâ(TM)s a pretty good primer into how to think. Itâ(TM)s about 40 minutes long, and free to use (with some caveats; see the site). I think this would do well in a classroom. Any teachers out there? I know itâ(TM)s too late for most school sessions, but you can download the movie (and a high-res version too) and keep it handy for the next year. http://www.badastronomy.com/bablog/2008/06/11/here-be-dragons/

  5. Re:Since you brought up religion ... by Coryoth · · Score: 4, Informative

    Perhaps someday we can figure out why (or if) prayer works -- is it quantum mechanics? What if it turned out that thinking positive thoughts about someone affected their life even if you never told them or interacted with them? (That's spooky action at a distance. :-) Well there have been a few double blind studies on the effectiveness of prayer in medical cases. The results were that prayer made no difference whatsoever (I seem to recall there was a very slight (not statistically significant) bias for patients who had people praying for them, and knew people were praying for them, to do worse). So how does prayer work? Currently all the evidence we have says that it doesn't.
    --
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