How to Win an Argument
Towards the end of last year, I was approached by a company called Listenable that produces audio courses built around ten or so podcast-like lectures, each of which are around 5-10 minutes in length....
View ArticleDiscourse – Part 1
From LogicCheck… Last year, the online publication Inside Higher Education decided to eliminate comment sections, joining a long list of publications that have dropped features that allowed readers to...
View ArticleDeliberation
Why was the second (and final) presidential debate so much more satisfying than the train wreck that took place the first time the candidates jousted? Kudos have been handed to the debate’s moderator,...
View ArticleEquivocation
In this New York Times run-down of last night’s dueling presidential town-hall meetings, the reporter accuses the President of equivocating on the subject of support for mask-wearing. Equivocation is...
View ArticleLogic-Checking Ranked Choice
Time to take a break from national and viral politics to logic-check a local issue on the ballot in my home state of Massachusetts. Massachusetts publishes a detailed voter guide that it mails to...
View ArticleJust Released: the 2020 Edition of Critical Voter
Just in time to navigate the home stretch of the weirdest election in American history, I’ve just released a new edition of Critical Voter, a how-to guide for using election politics to teach and...
View ArticleBreaking 100
Just hit 100 Amazon ratings for Critical Thinking from MIT Press! Some additional news coming soon for those of you wondering how to can get through the current election season with your mind not just...
View ArticleDonald Trump: Acting Base (Rate)
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Continuing on the topic of fallacies: Having taken a look at fallacies on...
View ArticleJoe Biden: Cool Kid and Rooster
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Finishing up with the basics: Many of Joe Biden’s official campaign...
View ArticleFallacies
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Kicking off a general discussion of fallacies: The math topics covered in the...
View ArticleA Complex Argument for Opening Schools
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Another Logic-Checker, this time of a NYT editorial: For this week’s...
View ArticleCountdown to the Next Big Count
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Continuing on the topic of mathematical fallacies: Perhaps the problems I been...
View ArticleGetting Started 4 – Argument Health Check
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Finishing up with the basics: To introduce you to the concept of...
View ArticleGetting Started 3 – The Editorial
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Continuing with the basics: So far, we’ve taken a look at the logic behind a...
View ArticleGetting Started 2 – The Tweet
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Continuing with the basics: How big (and how good) an argument can you fit...
View ArticleLogicCheck – Getting Started 1 – The Zinger
I’ll be reposting articles from my new LogicCheck site over the course of the next election cycle here at Critical Voter. Starting off with some basics: To introduce you to the concept of...
View ArticleLook What Just Showed Up in the Mail!
Critical Thinking Essentials from MIT Press will be available from all the usual place in a couple of weeks. Perfect reading when thinking through a crisis (in case one happens along). Journalists...
View ArticleIntroducing LogicCheck.net
Just wanted to announce a new project called LogicCheck that will be using this coming election cycle to analyze the arguments behind the news. Why logic checking? Well cribbing from my initial post...
View ArticleCover Art
Lookee what showed up in my Inbox! I’ll have more news about the new book to supplement the nifty cover art (like release dates and book-event plans) shortly. In the meantime, as some readers may have...
View ArticleCivics and Critical Thinking
From the new blog… One of the reasons last month’s Civic Learning Impact and Measurement Convening in California was so familiar, even for this relative newbie to the community, was that the...
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