Test yourself Think you have critical thinking down to a fine art? Let's see if you can score 100% on this short quiz... <section><h2><h2><strong>The Critical Thinking Quiz</strong></h2></h2><p>See if you're as good a critical thinker as you... think</p></section><section><h2><p><strong>Maria is having a discussion with Tim about various cultural differences between their two countries. Maria is from Spain, and Tim is from the UK. Tim suggests to Maria that Spanish people are far more stubborn than people from the UK. Maria objects, and points out that according to a recent, peer-reviewed international psychological study, Spanish people do not rank as any more stubborn than their UK counterparts. Tim responds as follows: "Ah ha! You see! Such a typical Spanish person response, too stubborn to accept the truth!" </strong></p><p><strong>Which of the following is the most accurate statement regarding the exchange between Maria and Tim?</strong></p></h2></section><section><h3><p><strong>A famous study asked spouses how large their respective personal contributions to keeping their home tidy were, in percentage terms. They also responded to similar questions about taking out the garbage, initiating social engagements, etc. <strong>Each spouse was only asked to esimate <em>their own</em> personal contribution in each case.</strong></strong><strong> The study wanted to see if the self-generated responses from both spouses for each question added up to 100%. Furthermore, the study asked the spouses about how much they each individually contributed to <em>negative</em> occurrences, such as quarrels, disorder, etc. <br /><br />The results were unamiguous: for both the positive and negative estimates, the combined percentages totalled more than 100% in every case. <br /><br />The above is an example of ___________ in action.</strong></p></h3></section><section><h3><p><strong>Consider the following argument:</strong></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em></em><br /><em>(P1) If God exists, then he is infallible.</em></p><p><em>(P2) The Bible contains the word of God.</em></p><p><em>(P3) The Bible says that God exists.</em></p><p><em>(C) Therefore, God exists.</em></p><p> </p><p><strong>Which of the following, if any, best applies to the above argument?</strong></p><p> </p><h2><p><em><br /></em></p></h2></h3></section><section><h3><p><strong>Candidate Green and Candidate White are involved in a presidential debate. When asked about his plan for dealing with Climate Change, Candidate Green explains that she plans to invest $100 billion into solar and wind energy programs to reduce carbon emissions. The same question is put to Candidate White. Candidate White responds as follows: "I will answer that question, but before I do, let me just say that Candidate Green is a vile and immoral person, and I have it on good authority that she once flipped off a baby. Now as to Climate Change, Candidate Green's plan is untenable because solar and wind alone are not scalable or reliable enough to support our economy sufficiently to avoid widespread human suffering. I propose heavy investment in nuclear energy as a statisically safe, scalable, and carbon-neutral alternative". <br /><br />Which of the following statements, if any, is most applicable to this scenario?</strong></p></h3></section><section><h3><p><strong>Frank is debating with some friends about politics. Frank has a PhD in political science, and knows a great deal more than his friends do about the subject. One of Frank's friends makes a claim that Frank knows is true, and that Frank in fact agrees with. Nevertheless, while studying for his PhD, Frank came across many arguments against this particular claim. These arguments appear to most people to be compelling at first sight. Only very careful scrutiny and extensive research shows these arguments to be ultimately unsound. Despite knowing this, Frank decides to use these arguments against his friend, even though he actually agrees with the claim his friend is making. Frank wants to be seen to have won the argument, whatever it takes. </strong></p><p><strong>Which of the following statements, if any, best applies to this scenario?</strong></p></h3></section><section><h3><p><strong>Michael is giving a TedTalk at a conference titled "Success in Modern Business". The main thesis of his talk is that having Asian women on your board of directors increases the likelihood that your business will succeed. As part of his study, Michael looked at the top 10 companies currently in each of a number of different sectors. In each list of 10 companies, at least 60% had at least one Asian woman on the board.</strong></p><p><strong>Based on the above scenario, which of the following are the most likely sources of error in Michael's analysis (select ALL that apply):</strong></p></h3></section><section><h2><h2><strong>Thank you for taking part!</strong></h2></h2></section><section><h3></h3></section>
