---
id:"kb-2026-00383"
title:"Critical Thinking"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"self-improvement"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)"
    type:"book"
    year:2011
    url:"https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374533557/thinkingfastandslow"
    institution:"Farrar, Straus and Giroux"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of claims to form a judgment. Skills: identify assumptions, evaluate evidence, recognize logical fallacies, consider alternative perspectives. System 1 (fast, intuitive) vs. System 2 (slow, deliberate) — Kahneman. Cognitive biases (confirmation bias, anchoring, availability heuristic) distort judgment.

## Core Explanation

Common fallacies: straw man (misrepresent argument), ad hominem (attack person, not argument), false dichotomy (only two options), slippery slope. Scientific method: observation → hypothesis → experiment → analysis → conclusion. Steel-manning: argue strongest version of opponent's position before countering. Bayesian thinking: update beliefs with new evidence — 'strong opinions, weakly held.'

## Further Reading

- [Thinking, Fast and Slow (Daniel Kahneman)](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374533557/thinkingfastandslow)