Thinking Rationally In an Irrational World

By Alex Burdeshaw

Have you ever been involved in a contentious, fruitless discussion about politics, science, or current events with a coworker, friend, or family member? Thinking Rationally in an Irrational World, by author Alex Burdeshaw, explores why those conversations get so contentious, and he offers easily applicable ways to make such talks less tense and more fruitful for everyone involved. Burdeshaw discusses the major factors that exacerbate a person’s lack of rational, critical thinking skills. He offers a variety of culprits, including the flawed education system, poor dietary and exercise habits, the hyperpolarization and groupthink mentalities of the media, and the collective lack of well-trained interpersonal skills. In Thinking Rationally in an Irrational World, Burdeshaw proposes possible solutions to combat each of these identified areas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Mar 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781483465555

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Copyright © 2017 Alex Burdeshaw.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-6554-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-6556-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-6555-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017902323

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 02/28/2017

CONTENTS

Introduction

Education And Its Role In Irrationality

The Problem with Textbooks

Reformation of Textbooks

Standardized Testing: Politically Useful, Useless for Kids

Alternatives to Standardized Testing

Solutions from Other Nations

Recommendations and Reform

Exercise, Nutrition, And Critical Thinking

Nutrition’s Effect on Overall Brain Health

Public School Diets

Exercise and Critical Thinking

Fundamentalism, Groupthink, And Critical Thinking

Groupthink and Rationality

Strategies To Teach Critical Thinking

How To Engage People Respectfully And Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

H UMANS ARE NOT RATIONAL animals. Our frontal lobes and cortices are too small, our emotional centers are too large, and our societal values and typical manners of thinking reflect this unfortunate fact. Irrational thinking lies at the heart of political gridlock, our hyperpolarized media, our lack of civilized discourse that arrives at meaningful conclusions, a dearth of basic scientific and philosophical literacy, and even our desire to have meaningful conversations with other people. Examples of each of these points abounds. Any debate on a network like Fox News or MSNBC that interviews someone from a different political or religious ideology is almost guaranteed to be snarky and rude, if not outright hostile. Here are some example videos that prove this point:

• Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera fight on camera¹

• Shouting match over Obama’s debt²

• Heated interview between Megyn Kelly and Kirsten Powers on Fox News³

• Breitbart and Shuster in epic shouting match on MSNBC⁴

In all of these clips, a profound lack of decorum, critical thinking, and substantive discussion can be seen. These displays are nothing more than emotions, specifically anger, run rampant, and they do nothing to help the American people understand the issues facing the country. Worse, they are frighteningly common on many mainstream television news networks.

It is apparent that neither network wants to have serious conversations with smart, articulate people from the other side of the ideological fence or even experts on the subject they happen to be discussing. This is a problem because critical thinking involves looking at all relevant evidence on a particular issue and making decisions based on that.

This country’s lack of scientific literacy is another depressing point to consider. In a Gallup Poll from 2014, 42 percent of Americans believe in creationism over evolution.⁵ In a study published by the University of Michigan, researchers found that the American public excels in easy-to-answer, basic science questions but struggles with understanding the issues currently facing the United States government, like climate change and stem cell research.⁶

Critical thinking as a scientific, operationalized concept has never been studied in the scientific literature. Because of the many definitions of critical thinking currently present in the public forum and no single definition has been agreed on for the purposes of scientific study, it is hard to pin down what collection of clearly delineated cognitive processes makes up the incredibly complex act of thinking, evaluating evidence, and synthesizing conclusions based on that evidence.

Imagine the process of writing a term paper in college, or a report in whatever job you happen to work in. During this process, the writer must hold the question he or she is trying to answer in his or her mind while researching and writing the paper. In addition to this, the writer must find the most objective, unbiased sources possible and present that information in an intellectually honest way while synthesizing an original conclusion from the information he or she has gathered.

The closest cognitive process that has been studied in peer reviewed, scientific literature that seems to fit this example of critical thinking is working memory; however, even here there is debate about terms within the scientific community. Working memory is essentially a cognitive process wherein an individual holds some information in his or her mind while processing new information as well. This definition comes from the work of two scientists, Gathercole and Alloway, who worked for years to define this cognitive process.⁷

For example, solving a multiplication problem requires that you hold the two numbers you are multiplying in your mind while also calculating those numbers and coming up with a (hopefully) correct solution. It is not a stretch to say that this same process is a somewhat close match with critical thinking, which I have already defined as the ability to weigh evidence and synthesize conclusions from that proof.

Examples of critical thinking I have given in the preceding pages show a very clear link to the definition of working memory that is set forth by Gathercole and Alloway, although other scientists disagree about the exact, operationalized definition of this cognitive process.⁸ For example, when weighing evidence and synthesizing conclusions from that evidence, you would have to keep said evidence in mind while drawing your conclusions.

I would also argue that fluid intelligence, or the ability to use existing information in new circumstances, is almost as important as working memory in regards to enhancing critical thinking. An example of this would be the scientific process when doing research. While performing an experiment or working on a study, we are drawing conclusions from the evidence gathered in that experiment, and working memory is a fairly close match for the cognitive process that accounts for this ability. Fluid intelligence allows us to take existing information into a new problem and see if it can be used to illuminate conclusions.

For the purposes of this book, we will use the term working memory to describe the closest scientifically defined cognitive process to my previously stated definition of critical thinking. Please keep in mind, this single cognitive process encompasses much of the definition for critical thinking that I have put forward, but does not line up with it 100 percent. Fluid intelligence will account for cognitive flexibility in applying these critical thinking skills to multiple types of problems.

Given these examples, it seems prudent and important to explore what particular factors exacerbate a person’s lack of rational, critical thinking and to discuss in detail different avenues of combatting this problem. I believe several major factors exacerbate humanity’s natural irrationality: our flawed education system, poor dietary and exercise habits, the hyperpolarization and groupthink mentalities of the media, and our collective lack of well-trained interpersonal skills. In addition, I have proposed possible solutions to combat each of these identified areas. The point of this book is to show you how certain aspects of American society contribute to our difficulties with using reason, evidence, and critical thinking to solve the tough issues we face.

EDUCATION AND ITS ROLE IN IRRATIONALITY

A MERICA’S PUBLIC EDUCATION SYSTEM requires significant reform. I had the privilege of being born to parents who had scraped and saved enough to send me to private schools for most of my life, which resulted in me avoiding the terrible standards of education that currently exist in public schools. However, despite my insular and atypical educational existence, I was still subjected to poor educational practices, like standardized tests, surprisingly often. Public schools are subjected to these tests even more frequently, with a greater emphasis placed on the results as an indication of future academic achievement.

Before I go any further, I would like to unequivocally plant a flag and state that this problem with standardized testing is not the fault of the schools themselves. The faculty is forced to administer these tests, and many disagree with the system. For every ineffective teacher in the system, there are hundreds of others who are dedicated and striving to teach the students in their class to the best of their ability. Unfortunately, they are constrained by policies put in place by politicians who do not understand education as the complex issue it is. Even more problematic is the disgusting lip service that this country’s politicians pay to teachers’ working conditions, salaries, and work environment. Teachers are frequently praised as integral and necessary to the nation’s development, while their curriculums are dictated and forced on their students, their salaries remain abysmally low, and textbooks used in public schools remain inaccurate, poorly designed junk.

There is a fundamental disconnect between a politician’s rhetoric and his or her action with regards to education in this country. While this double talk is fairly standard in the political world of America, it is utterly inexcusable in the context of education. Teachers are, in fact, indispensable to our success as a nation and are arguably the first and best way to teach individuals the cognitive ability to think critically and analyze evidence. There are finer points to be parsed and fully explained when it comes to education as it currently exists and the ideal education to be found in American society. But it is safe to say that the public education that currently exists in America is not conducive for a child to learn critical thinking or higher order thinking skills or to express creativity or innovation.

With so many taking advantage of public education, it doesn’t make any sense at a first, superficial glance why so many American citizens struggle to recall basic scientific, political, or technological facts. Critical thinking