critical thinking

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Peter Frank

October 30, 2015

The False Semblance of Business (and its gift to entrepreneurs)

Earlier this month, I gave a lecture on critical thinking to an association of Hungarian economists in Targu Mures. At the end of the conversation, I […]

September 9, 2015

Georg Brandes (1842-1927) [Source: http://denmark.dk/en/meet-the-danes/great-danes/scientists/georg-brandes/]

Moby-Dick? Sure. Look In Our Fishing Section

In business and in life, it’s the small things we take for granted that generally cause our mistakes. After all, you might wonder, what’s so hard […]

September 1, 2015

The Psychology of Stupid

(Originally published in the August issue of Psychologies magazine.) — How would you define stupidity? — Stupidity, in the way that I use it in the […]

August 20, 2015

Hillary and The Otter Defense

Logical fallacies are great fun. Ok, they’re not very instructive in learning how to think critically. Like driving down a street filled with potholes, it’s a […]

April 28, 2015

Don’t Blame Me. I’m Only The Boss.

(Abbreviated version originally published in the April issue of Cariere magazine.) I have been working since I was 14 years old. I have had jobs in […]

September 15, 2014

Welcome to Lugera. Ahead to Passport Control.

(Originally published in the Summer issue of Esquire magazine.) It’s not often that a business displays wisdom sufficiently profound that it actually provides an example of […]

July 13, 2014

Confessions of a Former Current Ex-Banker

(Originally published in the Spring issue of Esquire magazine.) I am a banker. No, hold it. I mean, I was a banker. Or rather, I worked […]

April 1, 2013

Now Showing: A PowerPoint Presentation

You know how this happens – see if this reminds you of your meetings: The presenter (a senior manager who wants to seem smart), makes it clear that he knows the topic much better than anyone in the room. Are you convinced? (That’s called the “cognitive estrangement” that sets up the rest.) And so you quickly believe you’re watching something you don’t fully understand. And why should you? It’s not your job to know this stuff. Then the presenter moves on and leverages this weakness (the one we think we must have), and we settle into listening, passively watching with what Coleridge long ago termed the “willing suspension of disbelief.” And then you sit back and go along for the ride. Well, next time you present (or the next time you watch), add a big Zero and place it up front. Call it the 0/10/20/30 Rule. Yes, a Big Zero – for NO selling, NO buying, NO uncritical thinking. Just a good tough discussion to make sure that you’re right.