Category Archives: Critical Thinking

Some of the posts are examples of critical thinking, rather than being about critical thinking

What percent of Americans are rational?

Preface. Why does rationality matter — what’s the harm in believing there’s a fat “Santa Claus” God in the sky noting down every time any intelligent creature in the entire universe is naughty or nice on the trillions of inhabited … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking and Scientific Literacy, Religion | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mental Health. Coping with the future: notes from Jackson & Jensen’s “An Inconvenient Apocalypse”

Preface.  Because I’d been reading non-fiction since college across every section in bookstores for decades before I stumbled on Peak oil in 2000 (full story in about), I understood the horror and tragedy of energy decline and was depressed for … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Health What to do | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mental Health. Coping with the future: notes from Jackson & Jensen’s “An Inconvenient Apocalypse”

Why is everyone afraid of AI or thinks it will solve all our problems?

I question how useful and existentially threatening AI really is. I am not denying that AI can do marvelous things, especially finding patterns, which is terrifically useful across many fields.  It is best when it has very narrow objectives, such … Continue reading

Posted in Artificial Intelligence, Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Why is everyone afraid of AI or thinks it will solve all our problems?

Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Source: Russel Rhodes (2011) Explosive Lessons in Hydrogen Safety. https://appel.nasa.gov/2011/02/02/explosive-lessons-in-hydrogen-safety/ Preface.  What is hopium? Irrational or unwarranted optimism. An addiction to false hopes. A metaphorical substance that causes people to believe in a false hope (H + opium). And Hopium … Continue reading

Posted in CAES Compressed Air, Drought & Collapse, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Hopium, Hydrogen, Trucks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Hydrogen hopium: Storage

Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water

Additional energy consuming steps not shown: pumping water to the electrolyzer, purifying the water, compressing or liquefying to -423 F, pumping into storage container, the trucks to deliver H to stations costing $75 million each, since pipelines are super expensive … Continue reading

Posted in Energy Production, Hopium, Hydrogen, Peak Water | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Hydrogen hopium: green hydrogen from water

QAnon and Witchcraft. Hard to tell them apart

Preface.  I just read Schiff’s book “The Witches: Salem, 1692”.  As I read it, I kept thinking that these Christian witch killers weren’t much different from QAnon believers, who are also mostly Christians (evangelists). I’m not the first to think … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on QAnon and Witchcraft. Hard to tell them apart

Predicting who will become a violent terrorist

Preface. This study was clever in predicting the political and religious outlook of people using abstract tests that were not political or emotional, such as memorizing visual shapes. This study of worldviews was able to predict political preferences 4 to … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Politics | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight & Loose Cultures Wire Our World

Preface.  A must-read book for those who want to understand themselves, their family and friends, their culture and the world.  A new framework that gives clearer vision, rather than muddying it up by giving false understandings like astrology or seeing … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking, Human Nature | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Book Review: Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight & Loose Cultures Wire Our World

Over 250 Cognitive biases, fallacies, and errors

Preface. All of us, no matter how much we’ve read about critical thinking, or have a PhD in science, and are even on the lookout for our biases and fallacies can still fall prey to them, after all, we’re only … Continue reading

Posted in Critical Thinking | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Over 250 Cognitive biases, fallacies, and errors

The orbiting solar power fantasy

Preface. This 2020 article “Solar Power Beamed Down To Earth From Space Moves Forward” will leave you all warm, fuzzy, and unworried about the future. The Scientists Will Come Up With Something.  But that’s because you know little to nothing … Continue reading

Posted in Alternative Energy, Critical Thinking, Far Out, Orbiting Solar | Tagged , , | 2 Comments