A field guide to lies : critical thinking in the information age / Daniel J. Levitin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Levitin, Daniel J., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Critical thinking.

Fallacies (Logic).

Reasoning.

Physical Description:

xi, 292 pages : illustrations, maps, charts ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, New York : Dutton, [2016]

Summary:

We are bombarded with more information each day than our brains can process, especially in election season. It's raining bad data, half-truths, and even outright lies. Daniel J. Levitin shows how to recognize misleading announcements, statistics, graphs, and written reports and the ways lying weasels can use them.

Outlines recommendations for critical thinking practices that meet the challenges of the digital age's misinformation, demonstrating the role of science in information literacy while explaining the importance of skeptical reasoning in making decisions based on online information.

Contents:

Introduction: Thinking, critically

Part one: Evaluating numbers. Plausibility ; Fun with averages ; Axis shenanigans ; Hijinks with how numbers are reported ; How numbers are collected ; Probabilities

Part two: Evaluating words. How do we know? ; Identifying expertise ; Overlooked, undervalued alternative explanations ; Counterknowledge

Part three: Evaluating the world. How science works ; Logical fallacies ; Knowing what you don't know ; Bayesian thinking in science and in court ; Four case studies

Conclusion: Discovering your own

Appendix: Application of Bayes' Rule.

Glossary.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-282) and index.

ISBN:

9780525955221

0525955224

9781101985588

1101985585

OCLC:

934676963