3 Discussion Questions

  

Question 1

The video clip, “The Baloney Detection Kit,” this week discusses the ways an effective critical thinker assesses claims made by others.

Examine some key reasons why people might seem attracted to pseudoscience-type claims.
Describe at least two (2) such claims that you have heard people make and analyze the main reasons why such claims do or do not meet rigorous scientific methodology standards.
Determine at least two (2) ways in which the material discussed this week has changed your own thinking.

 Question 2

Imagine you are interviewing for a job you really want.
The interviewer asks you the following question: “Explain a specific example in which you used critical thinking/problem solving strategies to solve a problem in the real world.”

What is your answer to the question?
Choose one classmate’s own response to the interviewer’s question. If you are a job coach, what suggestions would you make to maximize your classmate’s answer to the interview question?

 Question 3

Consider the following quote by the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who believed that thought without language was impossible.
“The limits of my language are the limits of my life.”
For more information on Wittgenstein and his analysis on the importance of language, watch the video Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889 – 1951) The Limits of Language.
 Next, examine whether it is possible to think without using language. If you believe it is possible, describe the primary ways in which a person might enact so-called “language-less” thinking. If you believe it is not possible, describe what you foresee as major problems with language-less thinking.