So we got a couple responses, and the critical thinking meter has been pushed up just a tick or two. But let’s get real. Are we just to afraid to approach topics that may force us to see things in a way we are uncomfortable with? Are we too strong in our biases, too buried in our dusty attics, that we are scared to open up new avenues?
Arguments for assuming that everyone in the CR who disagrees with me lacks critical thinking skills and has a dusty brain:
1. I am so smart and my position so correct, that anyone who disagrees with me is obviously closed-minded and dusty brained.
2. My failure to convince anyone else of my position is totally because they are closed minded and dusty brained, and it certainly isn’t because of my own persuasive abilities or flaws in my positions that need to be addressed.
3. I can easily see the flaws in other people’s positions, so the fact that they hold those positions is because they are closed minded and dusty brained, certainly not because they have valid reasons that I may not understand fully because I never asked.
4. I can throw out some meager points in favor of the opposing view. Because I never see anyone else do this, they must all be closed minded and dusty brained.