Thinking Clearly: Why We Need the Thinking Process
Six short lessons with puzzles you solve in the browser. You’ll catch your own mind taking shortcuts, see how a well-meant fix wrecked a national park, and learn the logic the Thinking Process tools are built on.
- 6 lessons, about 84 minutes in all
- Free, no sign-up. Your progress is saved in this browser
- Certificate of completion when you pass all six quizzes
- 1 Why think clearly?The most expensive mistake isn’t a bad solution; it’s a good solution to the wrong problem. See why the problem deserves most of your thinking time, and what this course will give you. 10 min
- 2 Why we don’t think clearlyOur minds are wired for speed, not accuracy. Meet System 1 and System 2, catch them at work in two quick puzzles, and see five biases that shape decisions without our noticing. 14 min
- 3 When cause and effect hideIn simple systems, cause and effect sit side by side. In complex ones they are far apart, and well-meant fixes backfire. The story of Yellowstone’s elk shows how, and what it asks of anyone managing a business. 12 min
- 4 Three habits of clear thinkingSlow down, try to prove yourself wrong, and reason from rules to cases. Test your instincts on the 2-4-6 rule and the nine-dots puzzle, and learn to spot the boundary an assumption draws around your thinking. 16 min
- 5 The logic of the Thinking ProcessEvery Thinking Process tool is built from two kinds of logic: sufficiency (“if… then…”) and necessity (“in order to… we must…”). Learn to tell them apart, and to challenge any cause-and-effect claim without making it personal. 16 min
- 6 The Thinking Process toolkitA first look at the tools TOC uses to answer what to change, what to change to and how to cause the change, how they connect, and how they deal with the six layers of resistance to any change. Then try one yourself. 16 min
- ✓Your certificateUnlocks when all six quizzes are passed.
This course grows out of the “Thinking Clearly” session for engineering students and budding entrepreneurs: think about the problem before rushing to a solution. When you want to practise the tools on your own problems, continue with the Thinking Process Workshop.