
Ask HN: Resources for critical thinking and communication skills? - badrabbit
I have a strong desire to improve my critical thinking and analytical ability. I am aware of a few cognitive biases but not so much on how to actively combat them.<p>Maybe I should have started another thread too but I felt like critical thinking would be useless if I can&#x27;t communicate my thoughts well.<p>What resources have helped you in either area?
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curious_yogurt
Critical thinking books vary widely in quality. They often get bogged down in
long catalogues of fallacies and categorical logic (which, while interesting,
is not as useful as sentential logic and some elementary strategies in first-
order logic).

One of the shortest, simplest, and most reasonable books I have encountered is
"A Rulebook for Arguments" by Anthony Weston, now in its fifth edition.[1]
It's about 118 pages long, and is broken up into two basic sections: the first
deals with general argument-rules, and then looks at some common sorts of
inductive arguments in detail, as well as some common deductive argument-
forms; the second deals with how to develop an extended argument, as well as
how to compose argumentative essays and oral arguments. An appendix has brief
treatments of some common fallacies.

The Rulebook does not have exercises, which some might find useful. But it is
brief and to the point, written for the learner in mind, and its presentation
is supported by strong examples. The advice for composing and presenting
arguments tilts to the academic side of things, but is still generally
applicable. The point of this book is to start you down the path of not merely
appearing to be a competent reasoner, but to help you increase your analytical
ability, and then to persuade others by means of stepping through a carefully
reasoned argument.

[1] [https://www.hackettpublishing.com/a-rulebook-for-
arguments-4...](https://www.hackettpublishing.com/a-rulebook-for-
arguments-4137)

~~~
badrabbit
Thank you very much. Short and to the point fits my learning style,sounds
likea decent book to start with.

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moh_maya
So, imo, cognitive biases, that you mention, are distinct from 'critical
thinking'.

One needs to be aware of the implicit & explicit biases, but that's not the
same as the ability to think critically.

I would argue the first step is to understand how people in general think, and
in particular, how one thinks.

For understanding "how" we think, with a clear focus on the biases and
pitfalls, one very useful reference is "thinking fast and slow" [1]

Critical thinking requires logical / rational thinking (not necessarily the
same thing) and (I think) also requires one to think of the issue from
multiple perspectives and try to identify all the factors / drivers.

That, I think, would come from empathy and a deliberate attempt to
systematically identify all variables. So, at some level, the skills one picks
up as a scientist. But I don't know of any single book that lists them..

So, at some level, a lot of business model analysis frameworks maybe useful;
for instance, Porters 5 forces [2], SWOT analysis, etc.

Finally, to be able to think critically, one also needs to be self aware.
Perhaps meditation can help with that, but reading & digesting some of the
philosophy classics may also help (Seneca, Bhagvat Gita & Upanishads, Kant).
But these become tasks for a lifetime!

[1] [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-
fast-a...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11468377-thinking-fast-and-
slow)

[2]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter%27s_five_forces_analy...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter%27s_five_forces_analysis)

(Edit: added last 2 paragraphs on business analysis frameworks and self
awareness, and links)

~~~
dwcnnnghm
+1 for Thinking Fast and Slow.

There was a discussion on HN recently [0] about cognitive biases. Readers
provided some better links than the OP, but it's all worth a read.

[0]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16875497](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16875497)

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i_dont_know_
I've mentioned it before, but I'll recommend them again: _Crucial
Conversations_ and _Crucial Accountability_ (they're almost the same book).

They might not be the communication skills you meant, but they've helped me
figure out how I want to structure conversations so they don't go weird.

------
hikarudo
My recommendation for communicating better is "Nonviolent Communication" by
Marshall Rosenberg.

The gist of it is: be careful to separate observations from judgments, whether
by yourself or others. When in a difficult conversation, try to confirm what
the other person is feeling. Say what you are feeling.

------
peterwwillis
As a general website with tips on communication, this one has a lot of good
things to start with:
[https://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/communication_skills.ht...](https://www.mindtools.com/pages/main/communication_skills.htm)
. There seems to be about 140 pages of decent starting points on communicating
better. Other general topics to check out (which they may touch on) would be
non-violent communication, emotional intelligence, compassion, and empathy.

With regard to critical thinking, study the history of logic, specifically
Greek philosophy, more specifically ancient Greek logic and rhetoric, and
reasoning in general. (Logical fallacies are an extension of philosophical
logic) All that could keep you busy for a few years, so I recommend just
skipping around through Wikipedia for a few days/weeks and just noting down
the really interesting things and then finding books and articles on those
subjects.

All of that would be a base from which to understand the process of thought,
logic, reasoning, rhetoric, etc. From there you can skip on to actual critial
thinking as a basis for modern society:
[https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-
thi...](https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766)

------
wilgertvelinga
Peter Boghossian - A Manual for Creating Atheists.

While the title suggests it is only about religion the first few chapters are
actually very general. The book also sparked a movement called Street
Epistemology that has an interesting way of "critical communicaging".

------
JakeAl
This site is a simple and straightforward primer on critical reading and
writing and hence thinking:
[http://criticalreading.com](http://criticalreading.com)

But while most books on critical reasoning and thinking are decent, so far
this is my favorite as it addresses barriers to critical thinking and the
various types of logic pretty well: [https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-
Introduction-Gregor...](https://www.amazon.com/Critical-Thinking-Introduction-
Gregory-Bassham/dp/0078038316)

I was even able to download a previous edition as a PDF for free.

------
clean_send
I think learning empathy and working with others through a practice like
design thinking is a great way to work on communication. Good communicators,
don't just talk. They learn to read people, listen, ask good questions, and
guide conversations past the natural silence. The facilitation of helping
others create good ideas is what makes people want to work with you.
Collaborating in a group setting helps remove cognitive biases. What you bring
to the table then is the ability to leverage everyone's skillsets to achieve a
common goal.

------
StanislavPetrov
Not a resource per se, but here are a few friendly bits of advice that have
been very useful in my own pursuit of critical thinking:

Always be skeptical (skeptical, not cynical) of everything. Always demand
evidence that can you independently verify (and be extra-skeptical of anyone
claiming to have "secret evidence" that you aren't allowed to personally
scrutinize).

Always be congiscent of the fact that the number of people who hold a position
or tout of a belief has absolutely no relation to the veracity of that
position or belief. As social beings we are predisposed towards groupthink.
Widely-held positions and beliefs seem inherently more credible because of
their widepsread acceptance. They aren't.

Always be especially skeptical towards information that seems to support
and/or reinforce what you believe. Humans are also innately predisposed to
conformation bias. Try to be aware of this innate predisposition when
scrutinizing evidence that supports beliefs.

Beware of certainty. Always remember that we are imperfect beings. Our brains,
our thought processes, our memories are all fallible. Our understanding of the
universe is limited and there is far more we don't know, than what we do know.
There's a critical difference between being "certain" about something, and
being "as certain as you can be" about something. While this sounds like a
semantic difference, it most definitely isn't. Always remain constantly aware,
that as convinced as you may be of something, you could be wrong.

------
Keloo
Always when I read books or articles on the subject I forget 95% of them. If
you are not social by default you can try to hack it. The more tricks you have
in your pocket the better (I mean healthy tricks not some NLP bullsh*t). Also
I learned more on the subject by asking friends the same question you asked
but in real life (face to face).

------
BaconJuice
This is a great ask, I would love to know a few answers as well! something
around communication skills too?

~~~
wpmoradi
waiting to see what other resources y'all recommend.

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vinayms
I have no recommendations but I want to make a point. I am not sure if by
'communication' you mean speech or writing, but IMO writing is superior to
speaking when you have to communicate ideas that result from analyses and
critical thinking.

Such results often tend to be elaborate (or long winded depending on who is
listening) and need the listener to participate actively. Unless you are an
invited speaker tasked with dissecting a topic, no one is going to have
patience, and courtesy, to allow you to finish what you have to say. If you
are going to be doing that at company meetings, the interruptions will be
worse. The person in the chair might even cut you short by asking you to get
to the point in a passive aggressive way. One could argue that developing good
speaking skill is all about conveying ideas succinctly, to avoid this very
situation, but I differ. Your speech is only as effective as your audience
allows it to be.

Writing, on the other hand, provides a better means to communicate such ideas.
Firstly, your speech idiosyncrasies, like accent, pronunciation, voice etc,
won't become an obstacle. Secondly, you don't demand the listener to be
patient and attentive to what you say. The engagement mechanics are better.
The reader can always reread a portion any number of times till they
understand, or can take a break and revisit a portion if it gets a bit
involved. Then, it provides a better means of recording exactly what your
thoughts are, one that lasts for a time much longer than spoken words. This
not only allows your thoughts to reach people farther down the timeline, it
also serves as a snapshot of what your ideas and inclinations were at the time
of writing. Retrospection (along with introspection) is a key factor in
growing intellectually. Finally, it doesn't suffer from the Chinese Whispers
Syndrome when disseminated.

Now, I don't mean you have to develop essay writing skills because not every
argument needs an essay. While writing essays is a very good intellectual
activity, a short and coherent paragraph or two suffices most times.

Critical thinking is very addictive. You might start off with something small,
like why a club must have a player, or why a product design is not good, which
might be communicated reasonably well via speech, but you will slowly get to
bigger topics where what I wrote becomes applicable.

------
lemonmanfresh
Socializing and playing chess are going to help you in those areas and
possibly in tandem.

Ribbonfarm.com is a good website that has blog essays which deal with many
topics and some about social strategies which are a lot like chess strategies.

Also maybe getting into debates with people as long as it isn't something so
controversial that it becomes too heated.

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danielvf
“How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie is probably the
worlds best book on the basics of communication. Highly recommend it.

~~~
jacquesm
I'd like to vote against this recommendation. The people that live by Dale
Carnegie's book can be spotted from a mile away and tend to come across as
fake. This could be a cultural thing.

~~~
sveng
I respect this viewpoint.

Having read this book many times, I have grown to appreciate it. Particularly
because I try to approach it from a position of seeking understanding, rather
than attempting any manipulation.

I managed lawyers, engineers, and scientists for many years. It is not easy,
but it was worth it. And this book helped.

I would rather read a great book 10 times, than 10 average books.

Here is a one page summary:

[http://www.csus.edu/indiv/l/luenemannu/pdf/communicationprin...](http://www.csus.edu/indiv/l/luenemannu/pdf/communicationprinciples.pdf)

This Dale Carnegie book is available in all public libraries and even online.

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mrkoot
The 10-part series 'How to get Smarter: A guide to critical thinking,
cognitive biases, and logical fallacies' published between in Jan-Apr 2018 at
Life Lessons is also quite comprehensive. Covers 50 topics, 5 per post. I
apologize for the length of what follows, but I believe this resource it worth
it:

\- Part 1: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarter/](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarter/) 50\. Intellectual laziness 49\. Intellectual
honesty 48\. Intellectual dishonesty 47\. Willful ignorance 46\. Self-
deception

\- Part 2: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart2/) 45\. Be a truth seeker 44\. Be a realist
43\. Open your mind 42\. Don’t fall in love with your beliefs or your
philosophy 41\. Listen to your opponents and people who disagree with you

\- Part 3: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart3/) 40\. Don’t dismiss things you don’t
understand 39\. Don’t assume you’re smarter than the stranger you’re speaking
with 38\. Don’t confuse your perspective for objective reality 37\. Don’t
confuse feelings with facts 36\. Don’t believe every thought that passes
through your head

\- Part 4: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart4/) 35\. Beware of black and white thinking
34\. Beware of the Dunning-Kruger effect 33\. Uncertainty > The illusion of
knowledge 32\. Stand on the shoulders of giants 31\. Have lots of gurus

\- Part 5: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart5/) 30\. Don’t attack straw men (don’t
misrepresent your opponents argument) 29\. Beware of circular logic and
reasoning 28\. Watch out for red herrings 27\. The genetic fallacy (examine
the statement – not the speaker) 26\. The fallacy fallacy (don’t confuse a bad
argument with a false conclusion)

\- Part 6: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart6/) 25\. Political correctness 24\. Groupthink
23\. Tribalism 22\. The bandwagon effect 21\. Doublespeak

\- Part 7: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart7/) 20\. Occam’s razor 19\. Look to where the
finger is pointing 18\. Sunk costs 17\. Framing 16\. Anchoring

\- Part 8: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart8/) 15\. Meditation 14\. Mindfulness 13\.
Psychedelics 12\. Pseudoscience 11\. Scientism

\- Part 9: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart9/) 10\. Why you should try to prove yourself
wrong – instead of right 9\. Probability neglect & the relativity of wrong 8\.
Why you can’t trust statistics 7\. Cognitive Dissonance 6\. Sacred Cows

\- Part 10: [http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpa...](http://lifelessons.co/personal-
development/howtogetsmarterpart10/) 5\. Critical thinking questions & the
Socratic Method 4\. Follow the evidence wherever it leads 3\. Motivated
reasoning 2\. Confirmation bias 1\. Thinking for yourself

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extralego
These are, to me, very different skill sets. But, the biggest challenge is to
do them both at the same time. Maybe that is what you mean?

~~~
badrabbit
Yes,that's what I meant: To think critically and communicate my thoughts well.
Although they are different skills they do work in tandem.

Without communication skills, critical thinking would not be as useful since
my thoughts won't be communicated well.

For someone doing technical work, good communication skills are great but not
so much without applying critical thinking (imo).

~~~
extralego
Makes good sense to me. It is really hard to focus on both at the same time.

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afarrell
I found the following books presented useful mental models:

\- Thinking Fast and Slow

\- Decisive by Chip & Dan Heath

\- Thanks for the Feedback

\- Difficult Conversations

