#162 [EN] Tom Chatfield - Amplifying minds: the vital role of Critical Thinking in the Digital Era

Tom Chatfield is a British author and tech philosopher, interested in improving our experiences and understanding of technology. He is the author of several books on good thinking in today’s tech-dominated world, including “Critical Thinking” and “How to Think”. He also teaches these skills to diverse audiences, ranging from schools to corporate boardrooms, and he has recently designed a successful online course on Critical Thinking for the Economist education. His most recent book is Wise Animals, an exploration of the co-evolution of humanity and technology—and the lessons our deep past may hold for the present. He’s also an experienced Chair, Non-Executive Director, advisor and speaker across the private and public sectors.  -> Use o código "45graus" para um desconto em blanky.pt. -> Inscreva-se aqui no módulo 3 dos workshops de Pensamento Crítico: «Decidir Melhor». Registe-se aqui para ser avisado(a) de futuras edições dos workshops. _______________ Índice: (00:00) Introduction in Portuguese (2:54) Introduction in English (5:00) How did you end up writing about critical thinking and technology? | Is critical thinking a soft or a hard skill? |  Heuristics and biases (work of Daniel Kahnemen and Amos Trvsersky) | The art of knowing when to seek ‘cognitive reinforcements’ | Why communicating nuances and uncertainties is so hard today. | Arguments when our basic assumptions differ | Why critical thinking is not about being always right. | The importance of challenging our assumptions. (32:40) Why asking questions is the best way to dispute arguments. | The importance of creating trust to have open discussions. | Useful tricks to improve collective decision-making: pre-mortems; obligation to dissent; Oxford-style debates | How much of corporate work today runs around sending and replying to emails | The Amazon memo | ask religious schools | The importance of thinking before talking: book Robert Poynton - Do Pause: You Are Not A To Do List (47:40) Difference between teaching critical thinking to 12 year olds and corporate audiences? | The ubiquity of business jargon | Richard Feynman and the power of questions | Why did SpaceX give up on “catching” falling fairings? | Thomas Kuhn on paradigm shifts | Richard Feynman On The Folly Of Crafting Precise Definitions (1:09:00) New book:  Wise Animals: How Technology Has Made Us What We Are | Impact of mass interactive media on democracy. | impact of social media on social health. Book by Jonathan Haidt: The Anxious Generation _______________ Today we're diving into an enlightening conversation with Tom Chatfield, a British author and tech philosopher. Tom is the author of several books on good thinking in today’s tech-dominated world, including “Critical Thinking” and “How to Think”. He also teaches these skills to diverse audiences, ranging from schools to corporate boardrooms, and he has recently designed a successful online course on Critical Thinking for the Economist education. In his most recent book, Wise Animals, Tom explores our relationship with technology, examining the lessons that our ancestral past may hold for our present challenges.  In this thought-provoking conversation with Tom, we discussed his advice for how to think more critically in today’s complex world. We talked about strategies to combat the influence of cognitive biases in our mind, as popularized by thinkers like the late Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, and the importance (and difficulty) of challenging our own assumptions. We also discussed the importance of creating trust in order to be able to have open conversations, and some techniques for deep discussions and good decision making in all contexts.  In the final part, we turned our focus to Tom’s latest book, which explores our relationship with technology, and I asked his view on two big impacts technology is currently having in society: the destabilizing effect of mass interactive media on traditional democratic structures, exacerbating polarization and eroding public trust in institutions; and the troubling rise of what many experts refer to as an “Epidemic of Mental Illness” among children and teenagers, driven by pervasive social media use.  ______________ Obrigado aos mecenas do podcast: Francisco Hermenegildo, Ricardo Evangelista, Henrique Pais João Baltazar, Salvador Cunha, Abilio Silva, Tiago Leite, Carlos Martins, Galaró family, Corto Lemos, Miguel Marques, Nuno Costa, Nuno e Ana, João Ribeiro, Helder Miranda, Pedro Lima Ferreira, Cesar Carpinteiro, Luis Fernambuco, Fernando Nunes, Manuel Canelas, Tiago Gonçalves, Carlos Pires, João Domingues, Hélio Bragança da Silva, Sandra Ferreira , Paulo Encarnação , BFDC, António Mexia Santos, Luís Guido, Bruno Heleno Tomás Costa, João Saro, Daniel Correia, Rita Mateus, António Padilha, Tiago Queiroz, Carmen Camacho, João Nelas, Francisco Fonseca, Rafael Santos, Andreia Esteves, Ana Teresa Mota, ARUNE BHURALAL, Mário Lourenço, RB, Maria Pimentel, Luis, Geoffrey Marcelino, Alberto Alcalde, António Rocha Pinto, Ruben de Bragança, João Vieira dos Santos, David Teixeira Alves, Armindo Martins , Carlos Nobre, Bernardo Vidal Pimentel, António Oliveira, Paulo Barros, Nuno Brites, Lígia Violas, Tiago Sequeira, Zé da Radio, João Morais, André Gamito, Diogo Costa, Pedro Ribeiro, Bernardo Cortez Vasco Sá Pinto, David , Tiago Pires, Mafalda Pratas, Joana Margarida Alves Martins, Luis Marques, João Raimundo, Francisco Arantes, Mariana Barosa, Nuno Gonçalves, Pedro Rebelo, Miguel Palhas, Ricardo Duarte, Duarte , Tomás Félix, Vasco Lima, Francisco Vasconcelos, Telmo , José Oliveira Pratas, Jose Pedroso, João Diogo Silva, Joao Diogo, José Proença, João Crispim, João Pinho , Afonso Martins, Robertt Valente, João Barbosa, Renato Mendes, Maria Francisca Couto, Antonio Albuquerque, Ana Sousa Amorim, Francisco Santos, Lara Luís, Manuel Martins, Macaco Quitado, Paulo Ferreira, Diogo Rombo, Francisco Manuel Reis, Bruno Lamas, Daniel Almeida, Patrícia Esquível , Diogo Silva, Luis Gomes, Cesar Correia, Cristiano Tavares, Pedro Gaspar, Gil Batista Marinho, Maria Oliveira, João Pereira, Rui Vilao, João Ferreira, Wedge, José Losa, Hélder Moreira, André Abrantes, Henrique Vieira, João Farinha, Manuel Botelho da Silva, João Diamantino, Ana Rita Laureano, Pedro L, Nuno Malvar, Joel, Rui Antunes7, Tomás Saraiva, Cloé Leal de Magalhães, Joao Barbosa, paulo matos, Fábio Monteiro, Tiago Stock, Beatriz Bagulho, Pedro Bravo, Antonio Loureiro, Hugo Ramos, Inês Inocêncio, Telmo Gomes, Sérgio Nunes, Tiago Pedroso, Teresa Pimentel, Rita Noronha, miguel farracho, José Fangueiro, Zé, Margarida Correia-Neves, Bruno Pinto Vitorino, João Lopes, Joana Pereirinha, Gonçalo Baptista, Dario Rodrigues, tati lima, Pedro On The Road, Catarina Fonseca, JC Pacheco, Sofia Ferreira, Inês Ribeiro, Miguel Jacinto, Tiago Agostinho, Margarida Costa Almeida, Helena Pinheiro, Rui Martins, Fábio Videira Santos, Tomás Lucena, João Freitas, Ricardo Sousa, RJ, Francisco Seabra Guimarães, Carlos Branco, David Palhota, Carlos Castro, Alexandre Alves, Cláudia Gomes Batista, Ana Leal, Ricardo Trindade, Luís Machado, Andrzej Stuart-Thompson, Diego Goulart, Filipa Portela, Paulo Rafael, Paloma Nunes, Marta Mendonca, Teresa Painho, Duarte Cameirão, Rodrigo Silva, José Alberto Gomes, Joao Gama, Cristina Loureiro, Tiago Gama, Tiago Rodrigues, Miguel Duarte, Ana Cantanhede, Artur Castro Freire, Rui Passos Rocha, Pedro Costa Antunes, Sofia Almeida, Ricardo Andrade Guimarães, Daniel Pais, Miguel Bastos, Luís Santos _______________ Esta conversa foi editada por: Hugo Oliveira _______________ Bio: Tom Chatfield is a British author and tech philosopher, interested in improving our experiences and understanding of technology. His most recent book is Wise Animals, an exploration of the co-evolution of humanity and technology—and the lessons our deep past may hold for the present. His recent work around future skills and technology includes designing and presenting the Economist‘s new business course Critical Thinking: Problem-solving and decision-making in a complex world. Tom’s non-fiction books exploring digital culture, including How To Thrive in the Digital Age (Pan Macmillan) and Live This Book! (Penguin), have appeared in over thirty languages. His bestselling critical thinking textbooks and online courses, developed in partnership with SAGE Publishing, are used in schools and universities across the world. He’s also an experienced Chair, Non-Executive Director, advisor and speaker across the private and public sectors. Topics he’s written about recently include the ethics of AI, what it means to think well, technology in deep time and the philosophy of fake news.