CS 100 - Week 1 Lecture 2 - 8-24-12 - Projected Notes
(with a little post-lecture editing)

*   READ CHAPTER 2 for net Tuesday, August 28

*   to read more information about up-to-date earthquake
    preparedness advice:
    *   earthquakecountry.org/dropcoverholdon

*   text's definition of critical thinking:

    "the general term given to a wide range
    of cognitive skills and collective
    dispositions needed to effectively
    identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments
    and truth claims;

    to discover and overcome personal 
    preconceptions and biases;

    to formulate and present convincing 
    reasons in support of conclusions;
    
    and to make reasonable, intelligent
    decisions about what to believe and what
    to do."

*   if you prefer:
    ...it is "disciplined thinking governed
    by clear intellectual standards"

    such as?
    clarity
    precision
    accuracy
    relevance
    consistency
    logical correctness
    completeness
    fairness

*   projected examples in Python related to numerical precision in computers

>>> 3 * 8
24
>>> 1000000 * .00000003 * 7
0.21
>>> .00000003 * 7 * 1000000
0.20999999999999996
>>> .0128 * 1000000
12800.0
>>> .0129 * 1000000
12900.0

*  some common barriers to critical thinking:
   *  lack of relevant background information
   *  poor reading skills
   *  bias
   *  prejudice
   *  superstition
   *  egocentrism (self-centered thinking)
   *  sociocentrism (group-centered thinking)
   *  peer pressure
   *  conformism
   *  provincialism
   *  narrow-mindedness
   *  closed-mindedness
   *  distrust in reason
   *  relativistic thinking
   *  stereotyping
   *  unwarranted assumptions
   *  scapegoating
   *  rationalization
   *  denial
   *  wishful thinking
   *  short-term thinking
   *  selective perception
   *  selective memory
   *  overpowering emotions
   *  self-deception
   *  face-saving
   *  fear of change