What Do We Know and How Do We Know It

When a decision really matters, two of the most important questions that we can ask are: what do we know and how do we know it? Unfortunately, we are often not very good at answering them, choosing instead to believe what we wish to be true. What Do We Know and How Do We Know It? examines the following questions: (1) What forces are at work when we think or reason about an issue? (2) How are we manipulated to believe and act in certain ways? (3) How should we evaluate different sources of information? (4) Why is science so controversial? (5) How do numerical concepts help and harm reasoning? A better awareness of these contributors to decision making can reduce the extent to which we simply succumb to our prejudices, enabling us to do a better job of assessing information sources, deciding what to accept and reject, and backing any important decisions with a firm foundation.