Why it Pays (or Doesn't) to Think Critically

Okay, this is a different sort of blog post I think, as it doesn't have any real research. It's more of a personal anecdote, but I feel it'll serve as a prime example as to why critical thinking is important.





Consider the following: some unsolicited mail comes to you through the post, and you decide to see what it is. It's spam, of course, the good old fashioned kind promising riches if you happen to be the lucky winner. Only this time, it's got a more modern twist; enclosed with the letter is an electronic doodad that can display a number, which may or may not be the very same number you need to match with the letter to win said riches.

Ooh, it glows!

Look at that! I won! I'm a winner! I guess I'm not guaranteed to get the cash, but those other prizes are nice, too. Hell, I'd even take a lamp shaped like some woman's leg. Who cares, right? I won!

Well hang on a second. That was almost too easy. I mean, statistically there has to be a winner, right? The odds of it being me, assuming this letter was sent out all over the country, are pretty slim. And Kia Motors Corporation really felt so compelled to offer as much as $25,000 to just anyone in a mass mail campaign, just to advertise for their vehicles? Something about this seems fishy.

Let's take a closer look at this electronic thingummy.

Yep, that's a thingummy.

Oh, wow, it wasn't even glued together. Just popped right open.

Not much to it.

Now, if we remove the batteries...

Zounds!

Gasp! By Bellerophon's flowing mane! What sorcery is this?! I've been fooled! Bamboozled! Swindled, if you will!

Well, no, actually I haven't. Rather than taking at face value that I was a lucky winner, or even just assuming that this was a scam and tossing the letter, I put my noggin to work. Was this a legitimate contest? Was it really possible that I had won? I chose not to throw out the letter, and instead did some investigative work to verify its authenticity. And what I found was a bit of transparent tape with some numbers printed on it over a thin bit of plastic and a blue LED. (Disappointing, as I could actually use a number-printing screen in some electronics projects.)

I'm obviously dragging out a two minute story, but I want to make something clear: this is a scalable exercise. A small amount of critical thinking in a situation such as this is a tiny version of a highly applicable process. Evaluate the situation, consider the claims, verify their veracity, arrive at a reasonable conclusion. Bump it up to the next phone call you get where someone tells you that you've won a cruise, or that forwarded email from a Nigerian prince. Seemingly silly examples, but people are still constantly suckered in by them. And those are nothing compared to the widespread and much more slippery frauds such as immune boosting vitamins, self-help seminars, and so on.

Critical thinking is a powerful tool, that should be wielded with the finesse of a fencer's foil, the strength of a logger's axe, and the finality of an executioner's blade. If for no other reason than to save you a few bucks.