I am happy that your post was restored. I find the versions of the "baloney detection toolkit" extremely helpful. Critical thinking is a skill that should be taught as soon as children are old enough to understand the concepts, and that would be a great tool.
Unfortunately, for so many reasons, we are afraid of such learning. Why?
- It would encourage children to question things they are taught, both in school and at home.
- Too many teachers would not understand the curriculum
- Free-thinking citizens would not be appropriate for the way our society is structured. We would start to ignore advertising and other foundations of capitalism. We would question religious claims. We would question political claims. Our school system can't afford being attacked by the representatives of business, religion, and the political sphere that funds them. The more conservative and backwards the society, the greater the emphasis in education on the "basics" and direct preparation for the job market.
I wish I knew of a solution.
P.S. You did say you would only "seriously consider" his proposal; you are free to choose me instead.
