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Critical thinking and evidence
Test claims, separate evidence from interpretation and ask questions that can change what you believe.
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Ask questions that produce usable evidence instead of polished generalities
Turn an unclear information need into neutral questions, concrete examples, timelines, artifacts and explicit unknowns that can change a decision.
Trace where information came from before deciding whether to trust it
Separate provenance, authenticity and factual support so repeated or AI-mediated information can be verified from accountable origins rather than from appearance or citation volume.
Challenge the leading explanation before confidence hardens
Add structured analytic techniques for assumptions, competing hypotheses, disconfirming evidence, indicators, adversarial challenge and low-probability/high-impact scenarios.
Check what a study can actually tell you
Inspect sampling, uncertainty and analysis choices before converting a statistical result into a decision.
Make the numbers answer the right question
Check percentages, averages, units and uncertainty before a neat calculation turns into a misleading decision.
Search for evidence as a reproducible process, not a lucky query
Find stronger evidence by decomposing concepts, testing retrieval, chaining citations, documenting searches and using AI as a search assistant without letting generated summaries become the evidence.
70 ideas
Ask what the percentage is a percentage of
A percentage without its whole is an unfinished sentence.
Read the idea ConceptSeparate percentage points from percentage change
Two extra points and twenty percent more can describe the same movement.
Read the idea ProtocolMultiply successive percentage changes
The second change usually acts on what the first change left behind.
Read the idea ProtocolWeight a combined average by what it represents
A tiny group does not acquire equal weight because its result occupies one spreadsheet cell.
Read the idea HeuristicChoose the average that fits the question
The arithmetic mean can be correct and still describe nobody's ordinary day.
Read the idea ConceptRead a percentile as a rank, not a score
The 90th percentile is a position in a crowd, not ninety correct answers out of a hundred.
Read the idea QuestionPut variation beside the average
Five minutes on average can mean five minutes every time—or an unpleasant lottery.
Read the idea ProtocolBuild an overall rate from totals
Averaging the printed rates may average the wrong things.
Read the idea ProtocolLet the units check the formula
Units are a second line of reasoning, not decoration after the answer.
Read the idea HeuristicRound for reporting, not by accident during calculation
Rounding errors can accumulate while each individual cell looks harmless.
Read the idea ConceptSeparate repeatable measurements from correct measurements
A clock can be reliably five minutes wrong.
Read the idea ChecklistKeep a proportion's value separate from its display
The symbol can disappear while the factor of a hundred remains.
Read the idea HeuristicSet a rough bound before trusting the exact answer
An extra zero is less convincing when you already know the right neighborhood.
Read the idea ProtocolSubtract the overlap before combining counts
Two category totals do not necessarily describe two different crowds.
Read the idea ConceptRead expected value as a weighted average of possibilities
An expected outcome need not be an outcome that ever occurs once.
Read the idea PrincipleDo not confuse authentic provenance with factual truth
Knowing exactly who made a statement does not make the statement correct.
Read the idea HeuristicTreat a provenance gap as an unknown, not a verdict
A missing receipt is not automatically evidence of theft.
Read the idea ChecklistPreserve the transformation chain with the artifact
The final file is easier to trust when its journey did not disappear on the way.
Read the idea ProtocolBind the verification to the exact artifact reviewed
'I checked the file' is incomplete when the file can become a different file tomorrow.
Read the idea PrincipleVerify each ingredient at the level the evidence allows
One trustworthy layer does not retroactively authenticate every ingredient inside it.
Read the idea ProtocolTrace the claim to an accountable origin before counting citations
Ten echoes can still have one source.
Read the idea HeuristicWeight evidence by traceability, not popularity
Popularity is a retrieval signal, not a reliability model.
Read the idea ChecklistSeparate creator identity from claim support
A credible author can still make an unsupported sentence.
Read the idea ConceptKeep creation, transformation and claim layers separate
One green badge can hide three different questions.
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Decision making
Compare your options, weigh the evidence and check what could change your decision.
71 ideasWorking with AI
Give AI a clear task and context. Check its work and set limits on what it can do.
133 ideasKnowledge management and research
Find information, check its sources and keep useful notes easy to find and update.
63 ideas