Think Straight: An Owner's Manual for the Mind

by Jon Guy

Put simply, Think Straight is an owner’s manual for the human brain. Drawing from the vast history of scientific and cognitive research, this book is a tour de force through the science and philosophy of the human mind, and what it means to think as a rational human being in the 21st century. Our world is awash in mis- and disinformation, baseless conspiracy theories, New Age ideology, anti-science propaganda, and all manner of magical thinking. Pseudo-experts fill the airwaves with false and bogus claims, news media twist and spin information to suit their ends, celebrities and corporations push evidence-free beliefs on their followers, and politicians continue to mislead the masses with false promises and bad thinking. In careful detail, author Jon Guy investigates the art of thinking critically, offering readers the ability to empower themselves and our society at large. In order to think critically, we must also learn what it means to know, what knowledge is, how to investigate, how to question, and how everything from computer algorithms written by geniuses to psychological traits embedded in us from our evolutionary origins conspire to construct a model of reality that we have much reason to doubt. The human mind is not only the most powerful and complex structure ever discovered, it is also riddled with a host of flaws, shortcomings, errors, and limitations, most of which none of us are ever made aware of. Critical thinking is the ability to both capitalize on the strengths and power of human cognition, as well as understand and combat the error-prone nature of our brains. Think Straight encourages us to accept that not everything we think is true and explores how we can compensate for the many errors of our minds. Backed by the best available research and data, and written in clear and decisive language, Think Straight provides readers with the proper guidance and tools to improve your thinking, inform your decisions, avoid fraud and deceit, and make the world a better place to live and prosper.

Genres: Nonfiction

396 pages, Paperback

Published October 31, 2022

Reviews

[Nick Ferraro]

I’ve read a lot of books about critical thinking, so some of this was definitely familiar material. If you’re new to the subject, this is a great place to start. Very readable and interesting, while explaining all of the key concepts you’d need to know. There’s something in here for everyone

[Michael Schrimsher]

Think Straight was really a good read and I learned a lot from it. It’s about how the brain works and it shows how you can trick yourself or be tricked by others and how to figure out if something you read or see is likely to be true or not. It also lays out how memory works, common logical fallacies, proper argument strategies and lots of other useful information. It was easier to understand than other critical thinking books I’ve read because he gives a lot of examples of real world situations that really illustrate the principles well

[Paul Hartog]

I have read a pile of CT books in the last decade and I have to say that this one is different from all others. There is a good part of straight-to-the-goal definition on CT and skeptisism in Chapter 1. It's nicely worked out and I like the selection of quotations. Nice collection!
For me Chapters 2 and 3 seemed to be well written but a bit of a detour. I realise it might be interesting to other readers. There is ofcourse no way to not cover Logic and Cognitive biases (Chapters 4 and 5) and both are well written and do the trick.
The sweet surprise for me were Chapters 6, 7, 8 and 9. I have never seen any book delve so deep in Self Deception. Very enjoyable!
Chapters 10, 11 and 12 on Science seemed again to be well written but detour-ish. And again; I realise it might be interesting to other readers.
And to finish it off; I really enjoyed Chapter 13 on Conspiracy Theories. It reminded me of Adam Grant's book 'Think Again' but this takes the subject from a different and interesting angle.
The only downside to the book is that it's a 'big boy', it will probably scare off my students. My tip for commercial succes; deliver a condensed version aimed at students and have yourself a US roadshow. We know you have stories to tell Jon!

[Bradley Weber]

Tip-top read. Guy breaks down the complexities of critical thinking and details how and why our brains constantly try to thwart our best efforts to be truly rational. THINK STRAIGHT is a rich and worthy read. Buy one for yourself and another as a gift.

[Keith.94928]

Excellent

[Candice]

This book was 12 chapters in what ways people are stupid and 1 chapter in different ways to think.