[lowbloodsugar]

My wife took a Critical Thinking course at college. Changed her life, and as a result, my life and our kids'. Blows me away that only 90 people per year at that institution took that course. Meanwhile, back in the public school system, we have examiners mistaking their own opinions as fact. [1]

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13348672

[alexandercrohde]

Really? My college experience was very different. All the professors talked about how essential "critical thinking" was.

And to this I asked:

- Is there even a definition of "critical thinking"?

- (As a psychology major) Is there evidence that this is a sound objective concept (rather than something everyone thinks only they have)?

- Is there any objective measure of critical thinking? If not, how can you have any objective reason to believe your courses increases critical thinking?

And to this they said various forms of "I don't know." I guess they had never really thought about it critically.

[lowbloodsugar]

I think you are making the same point. There was just one course, with just one professor, on critical thinking at this college, and then there are 1000 where the professor assumes that you know, indeed that they know, what critical thinking is. In fact most don't. My alma mater didn't have a critical thinking course.

[rsivapr]

Any chance she'd be kind enough to provide some book recommendations?