Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills

By: Steven Novella, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Steven Novella

No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever.

These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life. By immersing yourself in the science of cognitive biases and critical thinking, and by learning how to think about thinking (a practice known as metacognition), you'll gain concrete lessons for doing so more critically, more intelligently, and more successfully.

The key to successful critical thinking lies in understanding the neuroscience behind how our thinking works - and goes wrong; avoiding common pitfalls and errors in thinking, such as logical fallacies and biases; and knowing how to distinguish good science from pseudoscience. Professor Novella tackles these issues and more, exploring how the (often unfamiliar) ways in which our brains are hardwired can distract and prevent us from getting to the truth of a particular matter.

Along the way, he provides you with a critical toolbox that you can use to better assess the quality of information. Even though the world is becoming more and more saturated information, you can take the initiative and become better prepared to make sense of it all with this intriguing course.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

Blew. Me. Away.

Any additional comments?

As another listener stated, this should be required listening for everyone. I honestly feel like that the skills I learned as a result of these lectures have made me a more observant, overall better person. I have a better grasp on the reality of the world around me because I learned how to pierce through the crap, and really wonder why and how things happen. Thank you Professor Steven Novella for sharing your wisdom.

Nice job summarizing Personality theory

As a past teacher of psychology this course accurately describes the cognitive thought process. Very well researched and presented. Biggest drawback is the professor's failure to see that he subtly falls into some of his own bias traps he tells students to avoid whenever possible. There are multiple biases he describes accurately but then goes on to display his own biases, especially when giving examples of a negative-type biases/arguments by overweighting politically conservative biases versus left-leaning liberal biases. He implies that conservatives are more likely to display biased thinking than the 'liberal" thinking political groups. These is quite far from psychological truth. Both political sides are equally likely to have biased/prejudiced views. Simply knowing that the vast majority of university professors are politically left-leaning would allow a student to protect themselves from such manipulation however they do not have the experience or background to realize how easily their though processes can be manipulated by these nefarious "Teachers" of free-thinking. Quite ironic and hypocritical that the University level of education where they attempt to mold our youth to their own "liberal" point of view, while being critical of other viewpoints. Unfortunately for them it does not go unnoticed by fair and balanced psychology teachers like myself. I present both side of the arguments and let my students freely decide which seems correct to them. It was rare that a student could identify my political leanings after completing my course, and that's the way it should be.

Great course!

What did you love best about Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills?

The narrator is wonderfully leading you through the story, makes you think and get engaged with the course itself. There were several of "Aha" moments that keep you motivated and interested in hearing more about it

Perfectly structured and Narrated.

Professor Novella has always been an inspiration. This course is a must listen! You won't regret it!

Worth the listen

Where does Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

There are tidbits in here for everyone, if you have the mind to listen.

Which scene was your favorite?

I love learning about the brain, there are so many aspects that can be surprising.

Excellent course!

I recommend it to everyone interested in thinking about thinking and critically review information that come your way.

Explains the problems we have in America.

This series of lectures explains the critical thinking skills that less and less American's use today.

For the intellectual

You must be acquainted with the truth of yourself in order to handle the precepts laid down in these lectures. It is a hard thing to handle, knowing we can be our own worst enemies, but understand that is what creates the foundation of better communication in your relationships.

Understanding Biases

Great course. Professor Novella is an excellent lecturer. Now I question everything! Looking forward to other courses.

Excellent presentation.

Presenter was articulate and engaging. Content was interesting and useful. Will listen to again in the future.