Thinking Clearly

Flying solo on this episode, Bob discusses three perspectives on how our brains work and then, with the help of prerecorded audio clips, surveys the current state of our information pollution, considers some possible scenarios about our information future, including a possible "infocalypse" created by so-called "deep fakes", and gives ideas and resources for what can be done to clean up the information pollution and restore trust in our abilities to seek the truth of the matter.

There is no end in sight to the amount of misinformation and disinformation that we are currently being exposed to. With a contentious US presidential election and the seasonal spike in COVID-19 pandemic cases, that pollution is on the rise, and information that used to be politically neutral is now being politicized and weaponized. These and other topics, including the Pro-Truth Pledge movement, are discussed with guest, Tim Ward, co- author of the book: Pro Truth: a Practical Plan for Putting Truth Back into Politics.

In this episode, Bob and Julia demonstrate a unique information vetting process using as an example, a prevalent internet meme about the Black Lives Matter movement. The vetting process begins with introspection in regard to one's motivation, biases, and goals, as relating to the information being vetted, and then proceeds by analyzing the authenticity, source, claims and logical arguments put forth in the information.

A process of civil dialogue and intellectual empathy is used by hosts Bob Froehlich and Julia Minton and their guest, Pastor Dave Seaford, to share each of their perspectives on the "Nature of Truth." Dr. Dave Seaford is the pastor at the First Baptist Church in Redway, California and is also Professor of Apologetics, Reason and Theology at Veritas Bible Institute.

In this episode Bob and Julia discuss the polluted state of our information environment in this complex, technical, culturally shifting world we're living in. They then outline a step by step method for vetting our information, in order to help us tentatively decide its truth value and to help decide what to do with the information. This is the first of a three-part series on Thinking Clearly called: "Seeking the Truth of the Matter."

As the US Presidential Election approaches, a swarm of issues are being politicized—exposing us to communication from downright propaganda pieces and disinformation to reasoned balanced arguments—making this a great time to start practicing critical thinking. The timing also makes long-time critical thinking educator, Jonathan Haber, author of Critical Voter and Critical Thinking, the perfect guest for this episode of Thinking Clearly.

Bob and Julia talk strategies for recognizing and combating misinformation with psychologist and cartoonist Dr. John Cook from George Mason University. Dr Cook, a specialist in countering science denial, discusses various methods of inoculation against misinformation and the uses of cartoons, humor, and educational games to counter misinformation and build public resilience against it.

Hosts Bob and Julia discuss a variety of topics with Anthony Weston, including: the most important aspects of teaching critical thinking and those most difficult for students to master; why it's important, at this time in our culture, to learn and practice critical thinking skills; the prevalence of values-based aspects in issues we encounter in our information environment; and what led to Weston's passion for and vision to develop the agrarian, intentional community, Hart’s Mill Ecovillage.

The current COVID-19 pandemic has made critical thinking and reducing the misinformation and disinformation in our information environment more important than ever. In addition to hosts Bob and Julia discussing the issue, this episode features a prerecorded interview that Bob did with Professor Amanda Hughes from Brigham Young University, an expert on the functioning of social media during disasters and crises.

This episode features a discussion with guest, Baba Brinkman. Baba is a Canadian rapper and playwright, now based in New York, especially known for recordings and performances that combine hip hop music with literature, theatre, and science. Topics discussed include: rap and hip hop as effective means for promoting science and critical thinking, science-based evidence and critical thinking in times of crisis and some of the issues around critical thinking and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

This discussion, with Dr. Spencer Greenberg, focuses on a variety of free tools and mini-courses, on-line at: clearerthinking.org. These fun, interactive tools and mini-courses, developed by Dr. Greenberg and associates, have been meticulously designed to improve your critical thinking skills, help you understand yourself more deeply, form new positive habits, and make better decisions. Dr. Greenberg has a PhD in mathematics with a specialty in Machine Learning. Find out more about his work at: spencergreenberg.com.

This episode focuses on how we humans "construct" our perceptions of reality using our “Bayesian Brain” to integrate incoming sensory information with our preconceived notions of the world around us. Citing work done by Dr. Anil Seth, Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex in England, Bob and Julia discuss this and related topics appearing in the special edition of "Scientific American", titled: "Truth Lies & Uncertainty."

The connectivity of the internet allows us to retrieve accurate information, which can be used to support true beliefs, but also exposes us to misinformation and disinformation created to perpetuate false beliefs. In this episode, U.C. Irvine Professor Cailin O'Connor, coauthor of the book "The Misinformation Age", discusses her research using computer modeling to explore how false beliefs form, spread and persist.

How our beliefs affect us and belief change are topics of focus in this episode of Thinking Clearly with guest: Professor Michael Wolfe from Grand Valley State University. Professor Wolfe's research interests on how our preexisting beliefs affect our evaluation of arguments, the degree to which we change our beliefs when exposed to information that is either consistent or inconsistent with those beliefs and the implications of his findings for our ability to be critical thinkers are also explored.

As discussed in his recent book: "The Know-It-All Society", Michael P. Lynch, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, helps us take another look at the current state of dialogue in contemporary American culture as we discuss how polarization, conviction and intellectual arrogance has led us to believe that we have nothing to learn from those whose convictions are different from ours and rewards us for displaying emotional outrage, rather than more deliberative, rational thinking.

This episode focuses on the power of understanding statistics and probability, including how avoiding base rate neglect can help you make better decisions. Also discussed are: superforecasting (what it takes to make more accurate predictions of future events) and the power of understanding the statistical principle of regression toward the mean.

In this episode, guest philosopher, educator and author Lee McIntyre discusses his latest book, "The Scientific Attitude", and explains that the concept he calls "the scientific attitude" offers the best way to both describe what is special about science while it also solves the demarcation problem of separating science from non-science and pseudoscience. A host of other topics, including science denialism and the myth of the scientific method, are also discussed.

In this episode Bob and Julia discuss a variety of critical thinking mini-topics, including the skill of being able to identify and distinguish different kinds of claims (descriptive vs. normative and claims that are conclusions of arguments) and emphasize the power of using this skill in this age of information pollution. They also explore the difference between opinions and beliefs, the relation of skepticism to critical thinking and what is meant by the "Skeptic's Sniff Test".

Bob and Julia discuss the nature of skepticism and its relationship to critical thinking and the nuts and bolts of using and editing Wikipedia with guest Susan Gerbic, science advocate and activist skeptic. Susan is a co-founder of Monterey County Skeptics, founder and leader of the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia Project and a regular contributor to Skeptical Inquirer.

Have you ever wondered why some people have such different opinions than you on certain hot button issues; for example: climate change or gun control? Why don’t we all just objectively look at the evidence and weigh the risks against the benefits? To help answer these types of questions, Bob and Julia along with guest, Professor John Gastil from Penn. State University, explore the concepts and research in an intriguing area of human studies called Cultural Cognition.