Smart Thinking

Smart Thinking By Matthew Allen

Smart Thinking: Skills for Critical Understanding and Writing 2e is a practical step-by-step guide to improving skills in analysis, critical thinking, and the effective communication of arguments and explanations. The book combines an accessible and straightforward style with a strong foundation of knowledge. The text treats reasoning as an aspect of communication, not an abstract exercise in logic. The book not only provides detailed advice on how to practice analytical skills but also demonstrates how these skills can be used in research and writing. In particular, it emphasizes how to develop arguments that are coherent and that take account of their audience and context.

Preface How to use this book Smart Thinking Claims: The Key Elements of Reasoning Linking: The Key Process in Reasoning Understanding the Links Between Claims More Effective Reasoning I: Better Claims More Effective Reasoning II: Better Links Types of Reasoning Research, Reasoning, and Analysis Planning and Creating your Reasoning Bringing it Altogether Summary Answers, Discussion, and Further Advice Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts Further Reading Guide to Important Skills.

Smart Thinking By Matthew Allen: A Book Review

Smart Thinking by Matthew Allen is a book for those who want to improve their thinking skills. The book is about gaining control over your mind and making decisions based on logic rather than emotions. It discusses how to improve memory and concentration and take advantage of your brain’s natural strengths.

The author argues that every person has an innate ability to think competently, but they need to train it like any other skill to get the most out of it. He says that people generally don’t know how they think and therefore make decisions based on emotions instead of logic. This can lead them down a path where they waste time and energy worrying about things that aren’t important or don’t exist at all (like what other people think about them).

The author claims that there are three main reasons why we have trouble with our thinking:

We don’t pay attention.
We don’t know how our brains work.
We use the wrong tools when trying to solve problems or make decisions.
We overthink ourselves instead of focusing on others around us.
We overthink things we can’t control instead of focusing on things that can be controlled (like ourselves).