{"ops":[{"insert":"Critical Thinking has its \"True Colors.\" I applied CT recently and 2nd naturedly traced my thinking backwards and found an assumption that I had taken for granted was not accurate, not rational. My behavior that followed my assumption was irrational, my feelings that followed were irrational. In short, I found my out of the fog of confusion and back to being intellectually, emotionally, and behaviorally, balanced and rational. I used CT to figure it all out. What a relief!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"William, I think the Paul-Elder CT framework provides most of the instruments for a universal application. It is up to us to practice and to continue to learn how to use it. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This video, also about the wonders of Neuroplasticity, gives more substantial and convincing reasons for teaching and learning P&E CT. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This youtube video is about \"Neuroplasticity\" Because of neuroplasticity we can change the chemical, structural, and functional aspects of our brains, positively or negatively, by the way we think and behave.\n\nThe speaker, Dr. Lara Boyd, is a brain researcher. As I listened to this video I thought that learning P&E CT is not only good for our minds but because of Neuroplasticity, CT changes our brains, too.\n\nIf school administrators, faculty, etc, were aware of the ways P&E CT contributes to brain development, they might be more inclined to include P&E CT in their organizations.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Is this the link? "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/college-degree-life-expectancy-rcna118571"},"insert":"https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/college-degree-life-expectancy-rcna118571"},{"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Yes, probably. The article I read was about how a college education increases longevity while less educated people\ndie sooner.\n\nI've also heard that the closer you live to downtown, the sooner you die due to more stress.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"The key takeaway from this from my point of view is that the working class is falling and failing life expectancy. Quote: \"As Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton show "},{"attributes":{"link":"https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/1_Case-Deaton_unembargoed.pdf?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email"},"insert":"in their new research"},{"insert":", the gulf in life expectancy between people with and without a college degree has widened dramatically since the 1990s. As of the end of 2021, there was a shocking 8.5-year age gap between the two cohorts, with the life span of Americans without a college degree trending sharply downward in recent years.\"\n\nWhy is this? \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello Joe and Bill,\n\nI'm doubtful about a link between education and longevity. It's clear from the data that the two are correlated. but that is very different from saying the one "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"promotes"},{"insert":" the other. There are so many factors that form the context for something like longevity, that I'd need a lot of in-depth study to draw a conclusion even with minimal plausibility. It's certainly not the kind of study that a news outlet could pursue, and if they are citing someone else's study, they to consult a lot more studies of different factors.\nHere are some questions:\nIs this only in the US?\nIs this only in countries where health care is not a basic right?\nIs this only in countries with extremely high medical costs?\nIs this only in countries with massive inequality?\nIs this only in countries that send huge numbers of people (especially poor people) to prison?\nAnd so forth.\n\nBest,\nGerald\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Regarding the youtube video I posted above: The old TV show \"Star Trek\" sometimes referred to a concept called a \"Reality Distortion Field.\" A RDF was used by \"Aliens\" to conquer other civilizations. Wikipedia used to have a definition of a RDF. However, it's kind of self explanatory.\n\nAs I have been learning how to think about my thinking while I'm thinking, I recently came to the sobering insight (clarity) that my own distorted and confused thinking has created my own personal RDF in my own mind. \"But wait! There's more.\"\n\nI also clearly see that there are, have been, and always will be, cleverly disguised \"Aliens\" in my external world, who have or may, knowingly or inadvertently, in bad faith or good, expose me to or try to impose their RDF on me. It has been said on Wikipedia that Steve Jobs created a RDF to get his employees to be more productive. \n\nMy distorted, reactionary, and confused thinking and other people's thinking have \"cast a spell\" on me. In a recent video interview with Dr. Elder and Alison Morrow, Dr. Elder stressed the importance of \"Focusing on Yourself.\" How I think and behave toward myself has an effect on me. How others think and behave towards me, effects me. My thinking and behavior toward others has an effect on them.\n\nMoral of this story: Use Paulian Critical Thinking at least twice before you act and at least twice before you speak or write. Also, remember that in the FCT literature the authors clearly state that learning how to think critically is \"daunting,\" \"challenging,\" and a \"tall order.\n\n \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"William: watching the first part of the Don't Believe Everything You Think video, I found myself thinking about the trait Intellectual Curiosity and how this was diminished over time by egocentric and social centric thinking. Our environment has much influence on our responses or reactions to the stimulus that are given to us and our Intellectual Curiosity will be altered if we let it. Critical thinking is a strong defense to not let it happen. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello Joe,\nThank you for your thoughts. Yes, CT is a defense against Ego and Socio, my own and other peoples.\nI'm going to post a video about \"Neuroplasticity.\" What we think and do alters our brains chemically, structurally, and functionally, for good or bad, positively or negatively. All the more reason to teach CT K-12, college level and adult education.\n\nI might be able to post an article about how education has an effect on our longevity. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Hello William, appreciate your response. Good to see active participation on these pages.\n\nResearch is needed in many facets of critical thinking and it’s good to share what the latest scientific valid information is available. I feel sometimes we live in a medieval period of ignorance on this subject and the more we bring to knowledge the better in understanding the critical thinking person.\n\nOne of the best books I read on conditioning of thinking is the one written by Dr Spencer Johnson, “Who Moved My Cheese”. It is a great self analysis of the stages of changes we face and our reactions/responses to them. Sniff, Scurry, Haw and Hem are the characters created to identify who we are. I presented this materials to my children’s classes in second grade and 12 grade and found a significant differences in the identification of characters with that time span. It was only one demonstration but an eye opener on what conditioning does to our thinking over a formative period of time. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Is this intellectual humor?\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Sweet humor.\n"}]}