# Critical Thinking
Confidence: high
Last verified: 2026-05-22
Generation: ai_assisted


## 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)