An old Scottish nursery rhyme suggests that names or in a more general sense, words can never hurt anyone. It misses the point that language can be carefully crafted to control and manipulate an entire population into a state of social conformity...
Since Donald Trump began campaigning for the presidency a year ago, his name-calling and denigration of individuals and groups and self-congratulatory proclamations have been continually reported and criticized. (See, for example, “The GOP Nightmare...
After publishing my recent essay titled Whatever Became of Critical Thinking? I received a very appropriate question from a reader: “What approaches can teachers use to get their students to think critically?” Following are the most basic ones: To...
When Arthur was in the first grade, the teacher directed the class to “think.” “Now, class,” she said, “I know this problem is a little harder than the ones we’ve been doing, but I’m going to give you a few extra minutes to think about it. Now start...
This January 27, 2015 will mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the most notorious of all Nazi death camps – Auschwitz-Birkenau. The name of the camp will forever be linked with man’s inhumanity to man and the unspeakable crimes of...
An interesting observation about the prevalence of inconsistencies and contradictions is making the email rounds. “Food for Thought” by someone named or pen-named Junius P. Long is a simple list of eleven examples, including these: Children need a...
Have you ever seen an ad for Cognitive Dysfunction (CD) like the ubiquitous Erectile Dysfunction (ED) ads? It might feature a man getting his truck stuck in the mud while the announcer intones, “You’ve learned a thing or two—now it’s time to get...
What mental error poses the greatest obstacle to intelligent thought and behavior today? It’s hard to pick just one, but if pressed, I’d say “mine is better” thinking. The term can’t be found in most logic books—I coined it many years ago in a book...
