Critical thinking for Students (17 page)
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Authors: Roy van den Brink-Budgen
Critical Thinking for AS Level
(How To Books) This covers
everything
that you will need if you are taking the British OCR AS Level examination. But, despite its title, it also provides a thorough introduction to the skills involved in Critical Thinking for those of you who want to use them in any course of study. There are lots of examples and exercises.
Advanced Critical Thinking Skills
(How To Books) This takes the skills introduced in the present book and extends and builds upon them. As a result, it will be especially useful for students on advanced level courses, whether this be in schools, colleges, or universities.
For those of you who just want to relax with family and friends for a Critical Thinking evening, then there’s even a game of cards. It’s called ‘infer’ (for obvious reasons), and it can be ordered from
www.ifthen.co.uk
You might have asked a number of questions about the evidence. Here are some which would be relevant.
• How is the word ‘entrepreneur’ defined?
• Is the definition of ‘entrepreneur’ the same in the US as it is in the UK?
• Is the definition of ‘dyslexia’ the same in the US as it is in the UK?
• Are the figures of 35 and 20 per cent significant?
• More specifically, what figure would we expect if the percentage of dyslexic
entrepreneurs
was the same as the percentage of the population that is dyslexic?
• If the figure is not the same (or not even nearly the same), what might be an (or the) explanation?
Though the percentage of people with dyslexia can vary depending on how different oprganisations estimate it, it is never as high as the 20 or 35 per cent given for entrepreneurs with dyslexia. The figure is likely to be around 10 per cent at the most.
The research that produced the evidence is described in the article ‘Tracing Business Acumen to Dyslexia’. It can be found on
The New York
Times
website at
http:
//
www.nytimes.com
/
2007
/
12
/
06
/
business
/
06dyslexia.html?
_
r
=
2&ei
=5087& em
=&oref
=
slogin
This gives suggested explanations, although doesn’t give much information on the definition of ‘entrepreneur’ beyond the US figures being based on a study of ‘139 business owners in a wide range of fields across the United States’.
The explanations given are the following:
• Dyslexics were more than twice as likely as non-dyslexics to delegate authority.
• Dyslexics excel in oral communication.
• Dyslexics excel in problem-solving.
• Strategies that dyslexics have used since childhood to offset their weaknesses in written communication include being able to identify trustworthy people to whom responsibility can be delegated for taking major decisions.
• The difference between the US and the UK percentages is explained by ‘earlier and more effective intervention by American schools to help dyslexic students deal with their learning problems.’
Inferences from these explanations could include the following:
• The UK should have a better strategy for helping dyslexics in schools.
• People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where the ability to delegate is important.
• People with dyslexia should be recruited to work in organisations where
problem-solving
abilities are important.
Hopefully, you’ll have been able to see that asking explanatory questions about a simple evidence-claim can take you in all sorts of useful directions.
There are many assumptions being made here. Here’s one:
• Injuries to students are a bad thing.
This might be so obvious as to not be worth mentioning but you can see that the author has to believe this to be true in order to draw their conclusion! (Try the negative test.)
Here are some others:
• The number of injuries from students doing gymnastics can be reduced.
• Improving the training of PE teachers can reduce the risk of injuries from
gymnastics
with their students.
• Students doing gymnastics will do what their teachers tell them.
• PE teachers will put their improved training into practice when teaching students gymnastics.
• Gymnastics is taught by PE teachers.
Here are some claims that are not assumed:
• Gymnastics has the highest rate of injuries for students.
• The number of students doing gymnastics is increasing.
• PE teachers do not know that gymnastics can cause injuries.
ability to perceive (sufficient access),
1
,
2
,
3
ad hominem
,
1
appeals,
1
to history/tradition,
1
to pity,
1
argument
circular,
1
defined,
1
evaluation of,
1
producing,
1
weaknesses in,
1
negative test for,
1
causation,
1
circular argument,
1
claim
counter-,
1
evidence,
1
meaning of term,
1
prediction,
1
principle,
1
recommendation,
1
conclusions,
1
intermediate,
1
contradiction,
1
correlation,
1
corroboration,
1
counter-argument,
1
counter-claim,
1
counter-examples,
1
credibility of evidence,
1
false dilemma
see
restriction of options
generalisation,
1
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All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or stored in an information retrieval system (other than for purposes of review) without the express permission of the publisher given in writing.
The right of Roy van den Brink-Budgen to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
© 2010 Roy van den Brink-Budgen
First edition 1996
Second edition 1999
Third edition 2003
Reprinted 2001, 2002, 2003 (twice), 2004 (three times), 2005 (twice), 2007, 2009
Fourth edition 2010
Reprinted 2010
Reprinted 2011
First e-book edition 2012
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Print ISBN 978 1 84528 386 5
e-book ISBN 978 1 84803 420 4
Cover design by Baseline Arts Ltd, Oxford
Produced for How To Books by Deer Park Productions, Tavistock
Typeset by PDQ Typesetting, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
NOTE: The material contained in this book is set out in good faith for general guidance and no liability can be accepted for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying in particular circumstances on statements made in the book. The laws and regulations are complex and liable to change, and readers should check the current position with the relevant authorities before making personal arrangements.
