Critical Thinking

Bridging the Psychological Gap

This is an entry from my personal blog: murderformoney.wordpress.com. (Do not be alarmed, it is not entirely dedicated to 9/11, however, that was my impetus). After reading Phil Mole's article in http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-09-11/ , I felt compelled to fill in the gaps of Mole's piece.

Skeptics and Conspiracies

There is no consensus among skeptics, except by accident. And typically for different reasons. Skeptics are my people. I understand them. A real skeptic is not afraid to question authority, nor does a skeptic oppose an idea because it originates from an authority. Skeptics are professional doubters–not inclined to a supposition until reasons can substantiate it. It is the analysis of these reasons that sets critical thinkers apart from the advertising-prone masses.

Which is why it pains me to see skeptics defending the official narrative of the WTC collapses without turning a critical eye on the details at its core. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of “truther” theories concerning the various aspects, and let me be clear: several non-official theories are far more outlandish than the official story. For instance:

Study: Many college students not learning to think critically

McClatchy Washington Bureau - Jan. 18, 2011
Sara Rimer, The Hechinger Report
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949/study-many-college-students-not.html

NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher-order_thinking ), complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education.

Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn't determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.

The last place on earth I expected to find 9/11 misinformation

"Consider a conspiracy theory like the claim that the Apollo moon landing was a hoax or that 9/11 was secretly planned by President Bush or that the Holocaust never happened. There are such conspiracy theories and they are believed by a reasonable number of people, but all of them require a large number of unproved and individually extremely unlikely assertions to be true simultaneously."

The preceding passage appears on page 105 of a book called, incredibly, Critical Thinking, Logic, and Argument by Eric Dayton. He's a professor of philosophy.

Making 9/11 skepticism the equivalent of Holocaust denial is a tactic usually reserved for the most pernicious forms of misinformation. This philosophy professor lets the above sentence stand without any explanation.

9/11 Truth: Analysis and Critique

Summary

I argue that while the 9/11 Truth Movement has had many successes and innovations, it has also been limited by it's sole purpose being the propagation of a narrative. The goals, strategy, and tactics of our activism should be seriously reconceptualized. The prevailing culture of the Truth Movement has become insular and needs to branch out into other revolutionary traditions which are already well established and have their own unique dialogues. I suggest that our activism should be reconceived as strictly a media movement rather than being the revolution itself so long as our sole goal is to spread information, and that Truth activists should participate in workshops for Non-Violent Direct Action.

Critiquing Bazant: Now and Zen

Commentary on the Bazant and Verdure article Mechanics of Progressive Collapse: Learning from World Trade Center and Building Demolitions; page 308; JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MECHANICS (© ASCE); MARCH 2007:

by ShineOn*

At the outset it should be noted that if the articles published by Dr. Bazant are even modestly on target with regard to the analysis of the progressive collapse of the WTC Towers and (WTC 7), this still does not preclude the possibility that planted explosives were used to make sure that the demolition of the these buildings was achieved. This is basic logic and is contrary to one of his listed reasons for writing (and publishing) this latest article (2007):

“It could also help to clear up misunderstanding (and thus to dispel the myth of planted explosives).”

The formal fallacy of the above statement shows what appears to be a predisposition on the part of Dr. Bazant to only be willing to support one interpretation of these collapse events, namely that the airplanes and subsequent fires were the only causes of the rather “interesting” collapse sequences (dynamics) observed for the WTC Towers and WTC 7 on 9/11 (referred to throughout this commentary as the “official conspiracy story”).

Americas Closest Enemy

The information battle continues against 'Americas closest enemy' ........

Critical thinking and a greater understanding to current issues inspired me to write todays thoughts .......

Just like the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, shape charge explosive devices were planted in the twin towers and building seven of the world trade center complex, months perhaps years in advance.
Who's to say the same 'state sponsored terrorists' didn't plant explosives in other buildings throughout America for future events ?
Unfortunately for 'our closest enemy' and righteously so, most people are beginning to understand 'their' modus operandi.
People in greater numbers are starting to understand what state sponsored terrorism is, who benefits and what 'their' main goal is.
In my estimation, 'our closest enemy' will undoubtedly try and create another event to help achieve 'their' ultimate goal unless of course more and more people understand 'their' operational ways .....

Unlike the movie WAR OF THE WORLDS, these bombs weren't planted by aliens from a different planet. No way. They were planted by cowards who want to kill us and our national sovereignty.

Developing Critical Literacy

Developing Critical Literacy

From the show Truth in America

Are you getting the truth about major events such as September 11, the War in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina? According to the Poynter Institute's Dr. Roy Peter Clark, "The truth is being distorted from all corners, and Americans don't see it, or if they do, too many don't seem to care."

The most powerful antidote to these distortions, Dr. Clark says, is critical literacy. Here are seven things Dr. Clark says you can do to recognize manipulation in government, media, business and advertising:

  1. Find three political bloggers who represent the right, the left and the middle. Consult them to help you sort through political issues and media messages.
  2. Look for role models of candor and accountability, people in public life who have proven to be reliable over time. Look especially for folks within a movement or political party who have the courage to speak against the interests of their own party.
  3. Prefer people who want to have a vigorous conversation to those who want to shout at each other.
  4. Do not be seduced into thinking that every hot-button issue requires you to be on one side or the other. There may be a middle ground. Don't be afraid to be puzzled or uncertain about an issue. It's okay to be working to make up your mind.
  5. Get up off the couch. Join a club. Volunteer. Sing in the choir. One way not to be fooled by political or media manipulation is to learn from direct experience, from reality and not reality TV.
  6. In an age of celebrity culture, try to pay more attention to people for what they do than for who they are.
  7. Be a skeptic, but not a cynic. A skeptic doubts knowledge. A cynic doubts moral goodness. The cynic says, "All politicians are liars," or "all journalists have a secret bias." The skeptic says, "That doesn't sound right to me. Show me the evidence."

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