AI Assistants
Claude (Anthropic) https://claude.ai Excellent for exploring arguments, steelmanning, and checking reasoning. Free tier available.
ChatGPT (OpenAI) https://chat.openai.com Popular AI assistant for dialogue and analysis. Free tier available.
Books on Critical Thinking
Thinking, Fast and Slow — Daniel Kahneman The foundational book on cognitive biases and dual-process thinking. How System 1 and System 2 work.
Rationality — Steven Pinker Comprehensive guide to rational thinking, covering probability, logic, and common reasoning errors.
The Scout Mindset — Julia Galef Contrasts "soldier mindset" (defending beliefs) with "scout mindset" (seeking truth). Practical and accessible.
Superforecasting — Philip Tetlock How to make better predictions and calibrate confidence. Based on research on forecasting.
Being Wrong — Kathryn Schulz Why we make errors and why being wrong can be valuable.
The Art of Thinking Clearly — Rolf Dobelli Catalog of cognitive biases with clear examples. Good reference.
Calling Bullshit — Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West How to identify and counter misleading claims, especially with data and statistics.
Books on Logic and Fallacies
A Rulebook for Arguments — Anthony Weston Brief, practical guide to constructing and evaluating arguments.
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments — Ali Almossawi Visual guide to logical fallacies. Free online at bookofbadarguments.com.
How to Think About Weird Things — Theodore Schick and Lewis Vaughn Critical thinking applied to pseudoscience and extraordinary claims.
Crimes Against Logic — Jamie Whyte Entertaining tour of common reasoning errors in public discourse.
Books on Evidence and Science
Bad Science — Ben Goldacre How to evaluate medical claims and scientific evidence.
The Demon-Haunted World — Carl Sagan Defense of scientific thinking and skepticism.
Factfulness — Hans Rosling Challenging common misconceptions with data. Corrects availability bias about the world.
How to Read Numbers — Tom Chivers and David Chivers Understanding statistics and avoiding common misinterpretations.
Books on Dialogue and Persuasion
Crucial Conversations — Patterson, Grenny, McMillan, Switzler Communicating effectively in high-stakes conversations.
Difficult Conversations — Stone, Patton, Heen Framework for having productive disagreements.
How Minds Change — David McRaney The science of changing beliefs and persuasion.
I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening) — Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers Productive political dialogue across differences.
Websites and Blogs
LessWrong https://lesswrong.com Community dedicated to rational thinking. Deep dives on biases, decision-making, and epistemology.
Clearer Thinking https://www.clearerthinking.org Free tools and exercises for better decision-making. Created by rationality researchers.
Effective Altruism Forum https://forum.effectivealtruism.org Discussions applying rigorous thinking to doing good.
Farnam Street https://fs.blog Blog on mental models, decision-making, and learning.
Slate Star Codex / Astral Codex Ten https://astralcodexten.substack.com Essays on reasoning, science, and controversy. Deep, nuanced analysis.
The Nonlinear Library Podcast versions of top posts from rationality blogs.
Fact-Checking Sites
Snopes https://snopes.com One of the oldest and most comprehensive fact-checking sites.
PolitiFact https://politifact.com Political fact-checking with truth ratings.
FactCheck.org https://factcheck.org Nonpartisan political fact-checking.
Full Fact https://fullfact.org UK-based fact-checking organization.
MediaBias/FactCheck https://mediabiasfactcheck.com Rates sources for bias and factual accuracy.
Courses and Videos
Coursera: Critical Thinking https://coursera.org Multiple courses on reasoning and logic from various universities.
Khan Academy: Critical Thinking https://khanacademy.org Free lessons on logic, arguments, and reasoning.
Julia Galef's YouTube https://youtube.com/juliagalef Videos on rationality, updating beliefs, and scout mindset.
Wireless Philosophy (Wi-Phi) https://youtube.com/channel/UCpvhlSLzg2LT89FNUuN-Sig Short, accessible philosophy videos including logic and critical thinking.
Podcasts
Rationally Speaking Julia Galef explores rational thinking with diverse guests.
Very Bad Wizards Philosophy and psychology discussion — playful but rigorous.
Making Sense Sam Harris interviews on reasoning, science, and controversial topics.
The Knowledge Project Shane Parrish (Farnam Street) on decision-making and mental models.
Mindscape Sean Carroll on science, philosophy, and thinking clearly.
Tools and Exercises
Clearer Thinking Tools https://www.clearerthinking.org/tools Free interactive exercises for reducing bias and improving decisions.
Metaculus https://metaculus.com Prediction platform for calibrating your forecasts.
Calibrate Your Uncertainty https://programs.clearerthinking.org Exercises for improving probability estimates.
Argument Mapping Tools Various tools for visualizing argument structure:
- Kialo (https://kialo.com)
- Argdown (https://argdown.org)
Academic Resources
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://plato.stanford.edu Authoritative, peer-reviewed articles on philosophical topics including logic, epistemology, and reasoning.
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy https://iep.utm.edu Accessible academic articles on philosophy.
Cognitive Biases Codex https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Cognitive_bias_codex_en.svg Visual categorization of 180+ cognitive biases.
Cynked Ecosystem
FreeAcademy.ai https://freeacademy.ai Free courses on AI, programming, and automation.
AIWire.ai https://aiwire.ai AI news and insights.
FreeLibrary.ai https://freelibrary.ai Free books on technology, business, and more.
Cynked https://cynked.ai AI consulting for businesses.
Note: Links and resources may change after publication. Verify current availability before relying on any resource.