There is a great list of critical thinking traps & tips over at litemind.com. I'm summarizing them here so I remember them!
1. The Anchoring Trap: Over-Relying on First Thoughts.
initial impressions, ideas, estimates or data “anchor†subsequent thoughts
Always view a problem from different perspectives Think on your own before consulting others Seek information from a wide variety of sources
2. The Status Quo Trap: Keeping on Keeping On
status quo automatically has an advantage over every other alternative
Consider the status quo as just another alternative. Know your objectives. Avoid exaggerating switching costs.
3. The Sunk Cost Trap: Protecting Earlier Choices
it's a sunk cost, and it shouldn't influence your decision
Be OK with making mistakes. Listen to people who were not involved in the earlier decisions. Focus on your goals.
4. The Confirmation Trap: Seeing What You Want to See
looking for information that will most likely support your initial point of view
Expose yourself to conflicting information. Get a devil's advocate. Don't ask leading questions.
5. The Incomplete Information Trap: Review Your Assumptions
(my favorite, but hard to execute!)
overlooking a simple data element can make our intuitions go completely astray
Make your assumptions explicit. Always favor hard data over mental simplifications.
6. The Conformity Trap: Everybody Else Is Doing It
other people's actions do heavily influence ours
Discount the influence of others. Beware "social proof". Be courageous.
7. The Illusion of Control Trap: Shooting in the Dark
we still tend to irrationally believe that we can somehow influence results. We just love to feel in control
Understand that randomness is part and parcel of life. Beware of superstitions.
8. The Coincidence Trap: We Suck at Probabilities
Probabilities can be unintuitive.
Don't over-rely on gut estimates. Beware of "after the fact" probabilities.
9. The Recall Trap: Not All Memories Are Created Equal
we analyze information based on experience, on what we can remember from it
Get hard data. (there's that hard data thing again - see # 5) Be aware of your emotions.
10. The Superiority Trap: The Average is Above Average
people have much inflated views of themselves
Be humble. Don't go overboard. (wrt applying rigor and rational thinking)
I encourage you to
read the full article as it contains several good examples and great explanations of the tips.
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