I've begun to view modern life as a large complex experiment, involving numerous difficult yet exciting problems. Solving these problems in a way that leads to the richest human experience is made more probable by embracing curiosity and doubt. Don't believe me? Good, you're on the right track already. 

"Skepticism rather than credulity is the highest principle the human intellect can use to ennoble our existence."   Lawrence Krauss

I love that quote by Krauss because it reminds me that how we think is more important than what we think. 

If like many people you assume that rationality, objectivity and logic are intuitive products of an applied mind - you're distinctly less likely to actually be rational, objective or logical. Which is to say that thinking in and of itself is useful only insofar as it's 'good' thinking. 

Humans have always been able to grapple with ideas and confront preconceptions - but never before have we been able to do so with the probability of meaningful discovery so stacked in our favour.  

The ease at which we're able to access a surging snowball of online information has enormous implications for humanity. With the click of a button we can learn more than even the most ambitiously optimistic minds could have predicted. 

Despite this, we should be mindful that the value of information is proportional to our ability to interpret it.

Which is precisely why critical thought is every bit as important today as it's ever been. With this in mind I'd like to recommend the following introduction to scepticism:

Skepticism 101: How to Think like a Scientist

Taken from the course description:  

"Nobel prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman said, “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.”

These words are no less insightful today than they were when he wrote them in 1985.

"Despite our best efforts, we are all vulnerable to believing things without using logic or having proper evidence—and it doesn’t matter how educated or well read we are. Our brains seem to be hardwired to have our beliefs come first and explanations for our beliefs second. And although we are skilled at recognizing the cognitive biases in other people’s thinking, we often have blinders on when it comes to our own."

If you recoil at the thought of nine hours of audio lectures then find a book that speaks to you, mine the internet or simply read chapter twelve of Carl Sagan's brilliant work: The Demon-Haunted World. 

You may find, as I have, that even a slight improvement in reasoning ability transforms the lens through which one views the world. 

From existential ponderings to reflecting on the universe, scepticism connects our beliefs with reality and fuels ongoing enquiry.

Putting aside intellectual curiosity and philosophical introspection, there are simple, practical benefits to critical thinking that help us navigate minefields of everyday decisions in a deeply irrational world.

Much of how we think is a reflection of our values. If you value understanding the state of things as they actually exist, then in pursuing that goal one must acknowledge methods of thinking that are better than others. 

If you desire to inhabit a rational and reasonable society then honing the blade of critical thought is never time wasted.  

On the other hand, if you believe there is no relationship between facts and truth, or if you value "alternate means of knowing" - those not founded on evidence and reason, then perhaps it's time to ask yourself the following questions: 

• What kind of thinking do I value?
• How could I be wrong about the things I believe?
• What could be the consequences of holding false beliefs?
• Am I a spider? (Relax, you're not a spider - though you are related to spiders)

And so this post ends not with the encouragement to think - but to think well.