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Often we can be our own worst enemy. And this is true in our thinking about and perceiving the world. Our minds are imperfect instruments, and they can make fundamental errors about the nature of reality. Our vision of what is true becomes distorted or skewed, and this can have less than satisfactory consequences on work performance.

These distortions are called cognitive biases, because they are biases in the way we think. To avoid these biases and to improve our critical thinking, there are things we can do. Here are a few tips.

1. The majority is not always right.
Just because many people believe something to be true does not make it true. Yes, some people talk about the wisdom of the common man, or the wisdom that lies in numbers, but how true are these beliefs, especially when there are many contradictory examples? Rely on evidence rather than what you hear people say.

2. Don’t be fooled by scientific jargon.
There is a lot of pseudoscience floating around out there as well, people who try to fool others by using scientific jargon, and scientific references. But again, look at the actual evidence. When someone cites neuroscience studies to prove that there are drugs that can improve brain function, don’t be fooled.

3. Look at plausibility
Many claims are just farfetched on their face, and should be treated with skepticism. If someone tells you of an article he read about a man in Australia alive at 120 while smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, the first thought that should enter your mind is – highly unlikely.

4. Know the difference between correlation and causation.
One is not the same as the other. Two things can change at the same time, but that does not mean that one caused the other. For example, automobile accidents may increase as the weather gets warmer, but that does not necessarily mean that warmer weather is causing the jump in accidents.

5. Does a claim follow from the evidence.
Citing a ream of evidence for a claim is one thing, but looking to see if the evidence actually supports the claim is another. If someone cites as evidence for living longer eating more meat and more bread because his Uncle Ernie eats a lot of those foods and is 95, is this truly evidence for his claim?

6. Look at the conditions that go with a truth claim.
For example, someone might claim that drinking red wine increases life expectancy because a study showed that people who drink a glass of red wine a day live longer than people the same age who do not drink wine. But ask yourself, could there be other factors influencing the result? Do the people who drink red wine exercise more as a group than the non-wine drinkers, do they generally get more sleep? These all could affect the truth claim here.

If you think critically about finding a job, your inevitable conclusion will be to partner with Winston Resources. There is no one better in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut to help you find a job that fits your skills and experience. Give Winston Resources a call today.


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