04/26/2026
This post is quite a bit different in subject matter from the many previous posts I have done.
For the think tank I work at, I have been involved for several months creating a plain-language, practical guide to making better choices that lead to better actions and a better life. It covers the basics of logic, scientific method, evidence standards, common errors in big data sets, probability, causality, bias checking, and systems theory. It even includes a section that human resources departments can use to assess the level of rational thinking and analytical skills in prospective staff.
Even if you believe you are already a smart, highly rational thinker, reviewing this new guide can significantly strengthen those skills and introduce you to important principles and information you may have forgotten or never encountered before. Being smart is only a cognitive thinking potential and capacity. But that capacity and potential has to be trained with the best possible thinking tools to realize its full potential and capacity.
Unfortunately, the world has many smart people who have not yet developed many of the new tools of modern thinking, rationality, and analysis. Consequently, they continue to make too many problematic personal and career decisions, leading to lower-level or unintended negative results.
Knowing these modern rationality tools can put your analysis and decision-making significantly ahead of most others. When applied regularly, these tools enable users to make significantly higher-quality life, career, and business decisions.
More about the new guide
Please note this brief guide cannot possibly cover all aspects of logic, scientific methodology, evidence, common errors in big data sets, probability, causality, bias, and systems theory. But it does provide an easy-to-understand, quick, and useful guide with many illustrations that can be used as cheat sheets for the basics of those areas, propelling most individuals to significantly more effective and accurate levels of rational thinking and analysis.
The many rational thinking information and strategies explained in this guide can be tailored to most any situation. But the good news is that one does not have to use every listed modern rational-thinking methodology in every situation. Through a natural process of practice and habit, individuals will learn to select only the most appropriate rational-thinking tools for the complexity of the situation or problem they are facing.
And finally, there is an important background question to ponder in the back of your mind as you read and use this new guide to the basics of effective rational thinking: "Maybe what the world needs most right now is not another new technological innovation or breakthrough, but a widespread rationality and thinking effectiveness upgrade to how most people think, analyze, and decide. This would allow humanity to more wisely and justly use the technological breakthroughs we already have (or that may soon arrive), so that the actions and results we are creating in the world will improve." To see this new guide, go to:
Rationality Skills: A Practical White Paper on Clear Thinking, Better Decisions, and Better Action.
