Ninety-Nine Lessons in Critical Thinking

Abstract

There is a danger that key factors in the development of young doctors and scientists are being lost because of the unremitting competition for their attention created by a continuous avalanche of information. The needs of the patient may be lost because of a focus on data and the electronic medical record. Key features of scientific problems may similarly be lost through extensive focus on methods and the monumental growth of the literature. Critically, medical and scientific insights are frequently lost because questions have not been properly identified and the many forms of bias have interfered with clinical and scientific judgment. This book presents 99 ways in which the capacity for observation, attention, understanding, and compassion can be enhanced. Using stories from the author’s experience and from the literature, methods for focusing attention and enhancing the awareness of preconceived ideas and other biases are presented. Young doctors and scientists face the difficult task of acquiring a vast amount of information. Attention to human evolution and how it has influenced the way the brain works provides valuable guidance in developing skills of selective attention and critical thinking. The needs of the patient and of the scientific matters at hand must not be lost in competition with the vast amount of data that the internet provides. Young doctors and scientists must learn how to be aware of how they think and how they can enhance their observational skills and judgment to become more effective professionals.