• ThePowerOfGeek
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      205 months ago

      Chat GPT et al; “To improve your critical thinking skills you should rely completely on AI.”

    • @Petter1@lemm.ee
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      15 months ago

      Improving your critical thinking skills is a process that involves learning new techniques, practicing them regularly, and reflecting on your thought processes. Here’s a comprehensive approach:

      1. Build a Foundation in Logic and Reasoning

      • Study basic logic: Familiarize yourself with formal and informal logic (e.g., learning about common fallacies, syllogisms, and deductive vs. inductive reasoning). This forms the groundwork for assessing arguments objectively.

      • Learn structured methods: Books and online courses on critical thinking (such as Lewis Vaughn’s texts) provide a systematic introduction to these concepts.

      2. Practice Socratic Questioning

      • Ask open-ended questions: Challenge assumptions by repeatedly asking “why” and “how” to uncover underlying beliefs and evidence.

      • Reflect on responses: This method helps you clarify your own reasoning and discover alternative viewpoints.

      3. Engage in Reflective Practice

      • Keep a journal: Write about decisions, problems, or debates you’ve had. Reflect on what went well, where you might have been biased, and what could be improved.

      • Use structured reflection models: Approaches like Gibbs’ reflective cycle guide you through describing an experience, analyzing it, and planning improvements.

      4. Use Structured Frameworks

      • Follow multi-step processes: For example, the Asana article “How to build your critical thinking skills in 7 steps” suggests: identify the problem, gather information, analyze data, consider alternatives, draw conclusions, communicate solutions, and then reflect on the process.

      • Experiment with frameworks like Six Thinking Hats: This method helps you view issues from different angles (facts, emotions, positives, negatives, creativity, and process control) by “wearing” a different metaphorical hat for each perspective.

      5. Read Widely and Critically

      • Expose yourself to diverse perspectives: Reading quality journalism (e.g., The Economist, FT) or academic articles forces you to analyze arguments, recognize biases, and evaluate evidence.

      • Practice lateral reading: Verify information by consulting multiple sources and questioning the credibility of each.

      6. Participate in Discussions and Debates

      • Engage with peers: Whether through formal debates, classroom discussions, or online forums, articulating your views and defending them against criticism deepens your reasoning.

      • Embrace feedback: Learn to view criticism as an opportunity to refine your thought process rather than a personal attack.

      7. Apply Critical Thinking to Real-World Problems

      • Experiment in everyday scenarios: Use critical thinking when making decisions—such as planning your day, solving work problems, or evaluating news stories.

      • Practice with “what-if” scenarios: This helps build your ability to foresee consequences and assess risks (as noted by Harvard Business’s discussion on avoiding the urgency trap).

      8. Develop a Habit of Continuous Learning

      • Set aside regular “mental workout” time: Like scheduled exercise, devote time to tackling complex questions without distractions.

      • Reflect on your biases and update your beliefs: Over time, becoming aware of and adjusting for your cognitive biases will improve your judgment.

      By integrating these strategies into your daily routine, you can gradually sharpen your critical thinking abilities. Remember, the key is consistency and the willingness to challenge your own assumptions continually.

      Happy thinking!

  • Sibbo
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    515 months ago

    Sounds a bit bogus to call this a causation. Much more likely that people who are more gullible in general also believe AI whatever it says.

    • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      195 months ago

      This isn’t a profound extrapolation. It’s akin to saying “Kids who cheat on the exam do worse in practical skills tests than those that read the material and did the homework.” Or “kids who watch TV lack the reading skills of kids who read books”.

      Asking something else to do your mental labor for you means never developing your brain muscle to do the work on its own. By contrast, regularly exercising the brain muscle yields better long term mental fitness and intuitive skills.

      This isn’t predicated on the gullibility of the practitioner. The lack of mental exercise produces gullibility.

      Its just not something particular to AI. If you use any kind of 3rd party analysis in lieu of personal interrogation, you’re going to suffer in your capacity for future inquiry.

  • @Snapz@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Corporations and politicians: “oh great news everyone… It worked. Time to kick off phase 2…”

    • Replace all the water trump wasted in California with brawndo
    • Sell mortgages for eggs, but call them patriot pods
    • Welcome to Costco, I love you
    • All medicine replaced with raw milk enemas
    • Handjobs at Starbucks
    • Ow my balls, Tuesdays this fall on CBS
    • Chocolate rations have gone up from 10 to 6
    • All government vehicles are cybertrucks
    • trump nft cartoons on all USD, incest legal, Ivanka new first lady.
    • Public executions on pay per view, lowered into deep fried turkey fryer on white house lawn, your meat is then mixed in with the other mechanically separated protein on the Tyson foods processing line (run exclusively by 3rd graders) and packaged without distinction on label.
    • FDA doesn’t inspect food or drugs. Everything approved and officially change acronym to F(uck You) D(umb) A(ss)
    • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      85 months ago

      Learning how to evade and disable AI is becoming a critical thinking skill unto itself. Feels a bit like how I’ve had to learn to navigate around advertisements and other intrusive 3rd party interruptions while using online services.

    • @Zacryon@feddit.org
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      45 months ago

      Well at least they communicate such findings openly and don’t try to hide them. Other than ExxonMobil who saw global warming coming due to internal studies since the 1970s and tried to hide or dispute it, because it was bad for business.

  • @kitnaht@lemmy.world
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    105 months ago

    How many phone numbers do you know off of the top of your head?

    In the 90s, my mother could rattle off 20 or more.

    But they’re all in her phone now. Are luddites going to start abandoning phones because they’re losing the ability to remember phone numbers? No, of course not.

    Either way, these fancy prediction engines have better critical thinking skills than most of the flesh and bone people I meet every day to begin with. The world might actually be smarter on average if they didn’t open their mouths.

    • @ch00f@lemmy.world
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      265 months ago

      Memorization is not the same thing as critical thinking.

      A well designed test will freely give you an equation sheet or even allow a cheat sheet.

      • @UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        25 months ago

        Memorization is not the same thing as critical thinking.

        A library of internalized axioms is necessary for efficient critical thinking. You can’t just turn yourself into a Chinese Room of analysis.

        A well designed test will freely give you an equation sheet or even allow a cheat sheet.

        Certain questions are phrased to force the reader to pluck out and categorize bits of information, to implement complex iterations of simple formulae, and to perform long-form calculations accurately without regard to the formulae themselves.

        But for elementary skills, you’re often challenging the individual to retain basic facts and figures. Internalizing your multiplication tables can serve as a heuristic that’s quicker than doing simple sums in your head. Knowing the basic physics formulae - your F = ma, ρ=m/V, f= V/λ etc - can give you a broader understanding of the physical world.

        If all you know how to do is search for answers to basic questions, you’re slowing down your ability to process new information and recognize patterns or predictive signals in a timely manner.

      • @kitnaht@lemmy.world
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        25 months ago

        You’re right it’s not the same thing as critical thinking, but it is a skill we’ve lost. How many skills have we lost throughout history due to machines and manufacturing?

        This is the same tale over and over again - these people weren’t using critical thinking to begin with if they were trusting a prediction engine with their tasks.

        • Optional
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          15 months ago

          I think “deliberately suppressed” is different than lost.

    • @BradleyUffner@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Mostly just this one:

      0118 999 881 999 119 725 3

      But even back when we only had land lines, I could barely remember my own phone number. I didn’t think it’s a good measure.

    • @Snapz@lemmy.world
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      25 months ago

      Something something… Only phone number I remember is your mother’s phone number (Implying that is for when I’m calling her to arrange a session of sexual intercourse, that she willingly and enthusiastically participates in).

  • @jdeath@lemm.ee
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    45 months ago

    i use my thinking skills to tell the LLM to quit fucking up and try again or I’m gonna fire his ass

    • @werefreeatlast@lemmy.world
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      15 months ago

      Keep it on its toes… Ask chatgpt, then copy paste the answer and ask perplexity why that’s wrong and go back and forth…human, AI, Human, AI…until you get a satisfactory answer.

  • Lexam
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    35 months ago

    Gemini told me critical thinking wasn’t important. So I guess that’s ok.

  • @protonslive@lemm.ee
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    35 months ago

    I find this very offensive, wait until my chatgpt hears about this! It will have a witty comeback for you just you watch!